8 Reasons Why You Should Never Go to Wales
When most people (and especially most Americans) plan their first trip to the UK, a handful of destinations usually end up on their itinerary: London, Stonehenge, maybe Oxford, Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands, and perhaps a hop over to Dublin since it's so close.
I don't know of very many people who add Wales to their first UK itinerary.
In fact, it took me more than five visits to Britain before I finally spent any mentionable amount of time in Wales. Everyone knows about London, and Scotland does a great job of marketing itself to tourists. Wales, on the other hand, largely gets overlooked.
But I get it. Because there are so many reasons why you should never go to Wales.
First, watch this video from Wales:
Why you should never visit Wales*
Reasons why you should probably never plan a trip to Wales include…
1. Castles, castles, castles
Wales has a ridiculous number of castles – over 600 of them, in fact, which leads many people to call the country the “castle capital of the world.” That seems a bit excessive, doesn't it? I mean, does a small country like Wales really need THAT many castles?
Many of them are in ruins now, and a few are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Seems like a lot of upkeep, if you ask me.
And, really, who wants to drive around and see a castle on nearly every hilltop? Doesn't that get old after a while?
2. All the legends
Wales has a lot of legends associated with it and its history, from dragons to magic swords to holy drinking vessels.
The legend of Merlin, for example, was based on the Welsh legends of the wizard Myrddin Wyllt, and many historians argue that King Arthur isn't a myth at all, but instead a real figure from Welsh history (though perhaps not actually a king). There's the mystery surrounding the Nanteos Cup, too, which many believe to be THE Holy Grail.
But c'mon, Wales. No need to be putting fairy tales in peoples heads.
3. Old language
Go home, Wales: your language is drunk.
The Welsh language is an old one – it dates back thousands of years, in fact, and is likely the oldest language in Britain. And yet the language has changed little despite so many millennia passing. It's still ridiculously difficult to speak (well, for us non-Welsh, at least), and don't even bother trying to read signs in Welsh. It's just futile.
This is seriously a place name in Wales:
It means “The Church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the Church of Tysilio by the red cave.”
Yes. For real. It's one of the longest place names in the world.
If the place names aren't silly enough, Tolkien also based one of his versions of the Elvish language (Sindarin) on Old Welsh. So yes, it's so strange-sounding and old that it was actually the basis for a made-up fantasy language.
4. The scenery
Wales has all sorts of scenery, from rolling hills (that they call mountains) to crashing coastlines. The roads through some of this scenery are twisting and so narrow that two cars literally can't pass one another. And they're often littered with sheep.
The combination of these two things will probably mean that you'll stop a lot when driving and you'll be late to everything.
And then there are the beaches, which are far too empty and clean compared to ones you'll find elsewhere in Europe. Some have even won awards and stuff, which kind of just makes it feel like Wales is showing off.
5. Adventure sports
People in Wales are a little crazy.
Not only do they do things like surfing and whitewater rafting in frigid mountain water, but they also like to fly down mountainsides on bikes, hurtle over old quarries on zip lines, and even invented a sport that combines swimming, coastal hiking, and cliff jumping in a sport the Welsh have dubbed “coasteering.”
I know of New Zealand as an adventure-crazy country, but Wales may be just as insane when it comes to inventive (and abundant) ways to hurt yourself.
RELATED: 7 Epic Adventures to Have in North Wales
6. Adorable towns
Little Welsh towns – like the ones you'll find in Snowdonia – are unbearably cute. With old stone buildings and cozy low-ceilinged cafes and pubs, it's just too much.
Dial back on the quaintness, Wales. Seriously. You're going to leave people very disappointed when they visit other villages after these.
7. Welsh humbleness
People in wales are far too humble. Whereas in Scotland they are quick to tell you what a town or loch or island is famous for, in Wales you almost have to force it out of the locals.
They also don't like to brag about their famous Welsh residents (like Tom Jones and Roald Dahl) or about cool accomplishments (they built the first traffic suspension bridge) or fun facts (Wales is home to a 4,000 year old tree!).
Stop being so darn sheepish, Wales! (I mean, I know you HAVE lots of sheep, but you don't need to act like them.) A little bragging every once in a while will do you good.
8. Not a lot of tourists
Lastly, since most tourist to the UK go to places like London and Edinburgh, you'll find many parts of Wales virtually devoid of any tourists. You can walk into a pub in many small cities and find only locals speaking Welsh (who will give you a strange look when you start speaking English).
Even the touristy places still feel very quiet.
It's a real shock after visiting so many other parts of the UK where you just find busloads and busloads of tourists.
*I don't hate Wales, folks
To address all the angry people leaving comments on this post… of course I don't actually hate Wales!
In case my snarkiness didn't come through, let me state it plainly: this entire post is written tongue-in-cheek.
These are all reasons why you SHOULD visit Wales. I think Wales is an amazing part of the UK, and I'm frankly baffled over why more people don't visit.
With all the castles, beautiful scenery, outdoor adventure, and the fact that there aren't a ton of tourists, there's really no denying that Wales is a great destination.
I only spent a handful of days in northern Wales, but it was long enough for me to conclude that Wales is very special (and I'm definitely not saying that just because I have a Welsh surname…).
In fact, I think my next trip to the UK might be JUST a trip to Wales!
Who's ready to plan a trip to Wales?
Pin it for later:
*Note: I was a guest of Visit Wales and Visit Britain on this trip, but all opinions – along with replies to all nasty comments left by people who haven't actually read this post – as always, are 100% my own.
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
You just insulted wales by calling it an amazing place? How stupid can one man get? You said that adorable towns and not a lot of tourist are reasons you should not go to wales. But man, come on bro. You should of thought this through
And you should perhaps read the entire post before commenting, bro. This is all sarcasm – these are reasons why people SHOULD go to Wales, and I explicitly explain that at the end because apparently lots of people have been confused by this. And as for how stupid one man can get… well I dunno because I’m not a man. 😉
I LOVED Wales !!!
Me too! I need to plan another trip.
I was soooooo angry reading this because I am Welsh and it was quite offensive, no one that I have gone up to has ever said anything like this. I know your joking and all but Wales isn’t all what you just said we have beautiful landscapes, amazing schools and also the Welsh language is actually quite beautiful as I am half-Fluent. This comment is not meant for any hate I just wanted to get my point across thank you ?
I guess Wales just doesn’t use sarcasm in the way the rest of the UK does? These are all actually reason why Wales is AMAZING, which I explain if you read all the way to the end of the post!
They do…just there appears to have been a load of dozys reading this article wrongly!
so do they like really have a different language? that seems so weird when they are right next to england which has like an amazing language with shakespear and stuff is it like english?
The English were not the first people to settle in Wales – or Scotland or Ireland. All of those places have native languages (often a version of Gaelic), and the same is true in Wales! It looks and sounds nothing like English.
Yes we do have our own language, but most people can speak English.
There are still many areas where people speak Welsh as their first language, particularly in the north.
It’s not a bit like English – It’s a Celtic language. The Welsh are possibly the last enclave of the original British.
I would love to travel to Wales I always thought I’d enjoy Wales now I’m convinced I’d hate Wales and must make plans to visit
Maureen Floyd (that’s taken from the Welsh name for Lloyd)
?
Haha! Thanks for embracing my sarcastic humor. 😉 Wales is great and you should definitely visit!
Hey Amanda. Herby from South Germany visited Scotland and Ireland 10 times or more. But never had planed to go to Wales. This year i decided to plan a Trip to Wales in 2019 – May-June. I will be alone and travel with a rental car through Wales for two weeks. My wife and a lot of my friends looked very astonished about my plan… Why Wales… what´s there ? So i have seen a report in the german tv about Wales, and i knew for one moment, i must visit this country ! So i found today your Internet- report and i will say: Thank you for the informations there…
If you like Scotland and Ireland, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t also like Wales!
These are no reasons not to visit Wales. Wales is one of the most beautiful countries ever. And the language is great. By the way, castles are really fun to climb on! (Yup, I’m that kind of kiddo). Ans what’s wrong whit legendes? And I’m learning Welsh now. I have to say that it doesn’t make any sense, but it’s fun to learn. And yes, Welsh is an old language, but why is that a reason for not going to Wales. I don’t try to be mean, but I just don’t think these are good reasons. And I’m sorry when my English Sucks, I’m Dutch.
Clearly you didn’t read to the end of the post – this post is written to be sarcastic, and I do explain at the end that these are all reasons why you SHOULD go to Wales!
Are people really that stupid?? Clearly, the title and whole article was a joke. “3 reasons to not like puppies 1) Adorable 2) Fun 3) Loving”
…..”Oh my God, how dare you say something mean about puppies!!!!!!”
Thanks for all the reasons not to go, surely gonna strike Wales trip off from my bucket list ; )
Yup, definitely don’t wanna go there! 😉
Oh I know! It’s a bloody awful place! Can’t go anywhere without tripping over a castle or a legend. <3 😉
I know, right?? 😉
I do like Wales itself but obviously like Welsh less, especially after I read those comments. Fantastic article Amanda, thank you! Welsh should be proud to have you as their tourist ambassador 🙂
Best regards from Croatia – come to visit us as well one day!
Hey Gala. Don’t hate all of us just because of a few humourless idiots. Every country has idiots, and the internet has a special way of finding them!
What are you saying!? Wales is an amazing place! All of these reasons are garbage! Castles are cool, and myths and fairy tales are just stories and shouldn’t be a reason not to go there. Besides the castles, Wales is just like any other country, only a lot more interesting. What if I said I was from there? What if I said I can pronounce llanfairpwllg
wyngyllgogerychwrndobwyllllantysiliogogogoch? (and I can!) Also, this is WAY more than 8 reasons. >:(
It’s exactly 8 reasons, and clearly you didn’t read to the end because I very clearly point out that this post was written with loving sarcasm. I love Wales and think everyone should go there!
While Welsh’s are known for thier humble and friendliness….they aren’t very cultured outside of thier country, OR they are a bit serious. Explains why I am called weird growing up in USA but have mostly DNA from people of Wales. I’m sarcastic likes it’s my job. £¥©× formality and stiff personality…but, seriously I want to go to Wales to feel it. It’s amazing to go anywhere I’ve never been and learn while there for the first time, what history in it’s geography is like.
Go to Isle of Man and you can see ireland England Scotland and wales from there, was up on the Dublin mountains during the week and could see welsh mountains Isle of Man and mourne mountains in Northern Ireland. All so close together so you can easily spend a few days in each country and see a lot of stuff
Replies to this lovely article show how uneducated and lazy these people are. How would you believe that someone is wasting her time on a long article with charming pictures in order to say bad things about a country? SMFH!
Thank you so much for all these information. I am planning a UK+Ireland trip(a month) and thinking about Wales even though this is going to be my first time 🙂
Perhaps you can spend a week easily but I need to figure out how to organize Wales part(what to do, how many days) properly.
What would you do?(I know the question is not fair)
Thank you
A month sounds like a long time, but you could easily spend two weeks in Ireland and two weeks in Scotland alone! I mean, I guess you could do a week each in Ireland/NI, Scotland, England, and Wales if you wanted to divide it up that way, but it would probably mean only getting to see a couple highlights in each country!
Hi, I live in Wales in Cardiff and i wanted to see what others saw when they visited Wales! also next time you go to Wales be sure to go to Cardiff and there is one magnificent castle right in the centre. And i totally agree, people here can be quite crazy!!!.
Yes I definitely need to get to Cardiff!