The Cambrian Way is threaded together by some of Wales’s most powerful castles. You begin in Cardiff with the great Victorian-Gothic fantasy of Cardiff Castle, pass the immense concentric walls of Caerphilly, and eventually reach the mighty Edwardian strongholds of north Wales, including Conwy. These are not isolated photo stops — they form a narrative of conquest, resistance, power and ambition. Each sits in a landscape that explains why it was built there, and together they tell the long, contested story of Wales better than any history book ever could.

Bannau Brycheiniog — still widely known in English as the Brecon Beacons — is where the Cambrian Way first lifts into real mountain country. This is a landscape of long ridges, open moorland, deep valleys and famous waterfalls, where roads climb onto high plateaux and views stretch for miles in every direction. It’s a place for scenic drives, ridge walks and quiet moments beside rivers and reservoirs. The scale is uplifting without being overwhelming — and it provides a magnificent transition from the lowlands into the wild heart of Wales.

Between the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia lies the least visited and most thinly populated part of Wales: the Cambrian Mountains. This is a landscape of rolling uplands, empty roads, long horizons and a deep sense of solitude. There are no big towns here, no crowded honeypots — just rivers, reservoirs, sheep farms and sky. Driving through this region feels like crossing a hidden middle kingdom, where Wales becomes quieter, slower and more elemental before rising again into the mountains of the north.

As the route reaches north Wales, the landscape and its history become inseparable. Slate quarries, steep valleys and narrow-gauge railways tell the story of how this rugged country was opened up and industrialised. Today, heritage railways climb through spectacular scenery, linking valleys, lakes and mountain passes. These aren’t just tourist rides — they’re living pieces of Welsh history, and one of the most atmospheric ways to experience the dramatic terrain of Eryri and the old slate country. © Crown Copyright / Visit Wales

Mid Wales is one of the UK’s best places for stargazing — and along the Cambrian Way, the night sky is nothing short of spectacular. Far from city lights, the region’s Dark Sky Discovery Sites, Dark Sky Parks, and Dark Sky Reserves reveal skies thick with stars and constellations and, on clear nights, even the Milky Way stretching overhead.
Whether you're wrapping up warm on a hillside in the Cambrian Mountains or standing beside a peaceful reservoir, these dark skies offer a sense of calm and wonder that’s hard to find elsewhere. It’s the perfect way to end a day on the road: quietly watching the universe come alive above you.
Image: © Crown Copyright

The journey ends in Conwy, one of the most complete and dramatic medieval towns in Britain. Its vast castle, intact town walls and position above the estuary make it a natural full stop to the story. After crossing mountains, reservoirs and empty uplands, arriving here feels like returning to history and civilisation all at once. It’s a powerful, beautiful place to finish — where mountains, sea, and stone come together in one final, unforgettable scene.

The Elan Valley is one of the quietest and most atmospheric places in Wales — a landscape of Victorian reservoirs, empty roads, and huge open skies. By day, you drive between sweeping dams, open moorland and long, empty valleys. By night, this becomes one of the best dark-sky areas in Britain, where the Milky Way is often visible to the naked eye. It feels remote, calm and slightly unreal — a pause in the middle of the journey where space, silence and sky become the main event.

Cardiff is one of the most approachable and rewarding small capitals in Europe, and a perfect place to begin this journey. Roman walls, a Norman keep, Victorian extravagance and modern waterfront life all sit within easy walking distance. The castle rises straight from the city centre, arcades hide cafés and galleries, and the bay shows how the city has reinvented itself. It’s a place that eases you gently into Wales — urban, lively and cultural — before the road begins to climb into mountains and open country.

The Cambrian Way is anchored by a chain of distinctive Welsh towns, each shaped by trade, travel and landscape. Brecon feels military and historic, Machynlleth quietly cultural, Dolgellau dramatic beneath the mountains, and Betws-y-Coed sits among forests and rivers like a Victorian postcard. They’re perfect places to pause, walk, eat, and explore — and they give the journey a human rhythm between the big open spaces and mountain scenery. Image Crown Copyright.

Water quietly shapes almost the entire route. You follow rivers out of the Brecon Beacons, pass through the drowned valleys of Elan, cross upland lakes in Snowdonia and drive beside fast-flowing mountain streams. Some of the most memorable moments on this journey are small and quiet: a bridge over a river, a still reservoir, a lake appearing between ridges. It’s a road trip held together not just by mountains, but by water in all its forms.

This route connects three of Wales’s greatest walking landscapes. In the Brecon Beacons, paths follow ridges and waterfalls. In Eryri, walking becomes steeper, wilder and more alpine. And near the border, Offa’s Dyke follows the ancient line between Wales and England through hills and woodland. Whether you want short scenic walks or serious mountain days, the Cambrian Way quietly links some of the finest and most varied walking country in Britain. Image Crown Copyright.

More than anything, the Cambrian Way is about space. Space to drive without rushing. Space to stop without crowds. Space to see weather, light and landscape change. Long sections of this route pass through places with no attractions, no signs, no shops — just road, hills and sky. It’s one of the best journeys in Britain for people who love empty landscapes, quiet beauty, and the feeling of crossing a real country rather than hopping between highlights.

The land turns into the Welsh Valleys as you drive north. There used to be a lot of mining in this area, but now there are green hills and historic factories. These valleys offer a lot of personality, with charming villages, meandering paths, and reminders of the communities that have kept Wales going for decades. You may walk or ride your bike along parts of the Taff Trail, see the creepy ruins of Llanthony Priory, or go inside Caerphilly Castle, which is one of the biggest fortifications in Britain.
There are a lot of things to see and do along this portion of the Cambrian Way, whether you're here for the stories, the beauty, or the slower pace of life in the valley. Image: © Crown Copyright

Eryri is the dramatic climax of the Cambrian Way. The road winds between sharp peaks, deep valleys, glacial lakes and some of the highest mountain passes in Wales. Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa dominates the skyline, but it’s the whole landscape that impresses: stone villages, dark ridges, waterfalls and changing light. Whether you explore by foot, train or car, this is a place that feels vast, ancient and powerful — and a fitting contrast to the quieter uplands you’ve crossed to reach it.