Take a short walk with your guide and enjoy the fantastic views overlooking the whole of Cardiff, a panoramic view of the South Wales coast, combined with stunning views of The Valleys and The Brecon Beacon National Park.

Caerphilly Castle

We drive to Caerphilly Castle, the second largest castle in Britain. Built in the late 13th century, the fortress is a supreme example of the concentric 'walls within walls' system of defence. Also the castle's outstanding water defences made it almost impregnable to siege warfare.

Particularly noteworthy features include the gatehouse, banqueting hall and full-size working replicas of medieval siege-engines. Often threatened but, unsurprisingly, never taken, the castle's only sign of weakness is its famous leaning tower (which out-leans the tower at Pisa!)

The Brecon Beacons National Park

The Brecon Beacons National Park spans 519 square miles of beautiful mid-Wales countryside and contains some of the most spectacular and diverse landscapes in Europe. The landscape is scattered with prehistoric monuments, Roman remains and medieval castles, spectacular waterfalls, caves and wooded gorges, along with distinctive upland formations.

Blaen-y-Glyn Waterfall

We drive to the southern edge of the National Park, taking a scenic route towards the attractive village of Talybont-on-Usk, in the Usk Valley. We take in superb views of the heart of the Beacons- forests, reservoirs, waterfalls and wildlife abound.

A short walk towards Blaen-y-Glyn Waterfall, through wooded forest, offers you the opportunity to view this aspect of the Brecon Beacon National Park up close. (Weather Permitting)

Hay-on-Wye

We continue to Hay-on-Wye, the 'Town Of Books’, with its maze of narrow ancient streets, housing over 35 bookshops with over a million books for sale - a mecca for second-hand book and antiquarian book lovers!

Hay is located on the northernmost point of the Brecon Beacons National Park and lies on the Welsh border in the county of Powys. 

Next year's Guardian Hay Festival of Literature runs from the 27th May to 6th June 2010.

'Hay Festival, a gathering in the staggering beauty of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Writers, comedians and musicians that have the capacity to change our lives, to share new visions of the world, and to do that incredibly sexy thing – to renew our sense of wonder.' Hay Festival Homepage

The Black Mountains

The northeasternmost section of the Brecon Beacons National Park is known as the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains displays awesome remoteness, only partly tamed by human habitation. Tiny villages, isolated churches and delightful lanes are folded into the undulating green landscape.

We drive across one of the most awesome mountain roads in South Wales, to a howling, windy moor by Hay Bluff, which affords vast views over spongy hills, punctuated by bleak crags and the distant view of tiny villages. At this point we stand below King Offa of Mercia's 8th Century earth boundary which separates Anglo-Saxon England from Wales - Offa's Dyke. (Weather dependent)

Our final stop is at the National Park Visitor Centre at Libanus, which offers stunning views of the Beacons, including Pen-y-Fan, the highest mountain in South Wales, with its distinctive red table top summit standing at 886 metres.