Hello, I'm Briallen. I'm a Coleg Cymraeg ambassador at Bridgend College, and I study at the Pencoed campus. I live in Neath which means I take 4 trains and walk 30 minutes to get to and from college, so I am no stranger to travel.
I'm truly grateful for the ability to travel. It allows me to go to a college I love, and learn how to care for animals whilst representing Coleg Cymraeg as an ambassador.
In addition, my parents like travelling, so I am fortunate that I have had the opportunity to visit many places in Wales. The country has many excellent, beautiful, and unique places. In this blog I will mention some of the places I've been to on holiday which evoke happy thoughts for me, and which I revisit time and time again.
Ynys Môn is a place that evokes fond memories. I went there on holiday about 7 years ago. If you love castles, Beaumaris Castle is a great place to visit. I'm not very interested in castles but I, like many people, definitely enjoyed seeing it. Most of the castle is surrounded by a moat. It is truly breathtaking to walk across a drawbridge that takes you over water into a castle. The castle has near-perfect symmetry. It is known as the greatest castle never built. Due to a lack of funds and Edward I switching his attention to focus on an attack on North Wales by the Scots, the castle was never finished. The castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means it is a legally protected area.
When I think of that trip to Ynys Môn, I remember the fun experience of going along the pier and eating fish and chips. As many say, it's those little things in life. I also remember going into a shop with my parents and begging them to buy me a skateboard. I had no interest in skateboarding before seeing that skateboard, but I asked incessantly and promised to use it. After buying it, I tried to use it to skateboard by the castle. We still have the skateboard to this day, but there are no scratches at all on it as it has not been used since that day. I can positively say that since then I have learned to evaluate things before buying them. That memory makes me laugh.
I also remember visiting the place where Halen Môn, 'Hand-harvested, organic Welsh sea salt made from Anglesey sea water' is created. It was a good experience where my family and other groups took a 'behind the scenes' tour of the establishment. The tour, which still takes place to this day, explores 'salt's place in our history, culture and what makes Halen Môn a standout product', lasts around 45 minutes and includes salt tasting at the end.
I can say that I have never since had an experience like this in my life.
I was lucky enough to have stayed at Hay-on-Wye for a weekend with my parents last year. We decided to stay there overnight after visiting the town once or twice during daytrips. It has around 20 bookshops, and people refer to it as 'Book Town’. The atmosphere in Hay-on-Wye is unlike anywhere else. You can sense the love of books. It is not an uncommon sight to see people with books by their sides whilst walking around town. I am a huge fan of reading books and shopping. There are many unique shops in Hay-on-Wye, ranging from art gallery shops to fudge shops – there is something to suit everyone.
I hope you have enjoyed my recommendations and I hope that this blog has reminded you of places in Wales that evoke happy memories. Thanks, Briallen.
