National Trust shares best winter walks in Wales

Ella Groves

The festive season is the ideal time to wrap up warm and get out and enjoy the wonders of the Welsh countryside.

So the National Trust have shared their three top spots for a brisk stroll to encourage everyone to head outside this winter.

Dinefwr Park and Castle

A place of power and influence in Wales for more than 2,000 years, Dinefwr is a key location in Welsh history.

Home to some of the oldest trees in Britain within its 800 acres of rolling parkland and woodland, it is the perfect spot to get outside and explore this winter.

The 18th-century landscape, designed by George and Cecil Rice, is now protected as a parkland National Nature Reserve home to both flowery meadows and ancient woodland.

Nestled in the middle of the landscape is the Welsh country house, Newton House, built in 1660 by Edward Rice.

Although you’ll have to remember to check opening times, the house is usually open to visitors and offers a perfect spot to take a break if the winter chill outside gets too much.

Stackpole Estate

If a walk that’s rich in wildlife is more to your tastes you can head to the Stackpole Estate on the Pembrokeshire Coast.

Both a listed designed landscape and an internationally important nature reserve, Stackpole has something for everyone to enjoy.

It was once the site of Stackpole Court but it was destroyed before the estate came to be owned by the National Trust.

Instead, footpaths now stem out into the landscape from the spot where the grand mansion once stood.

The Bosherston Lakes, created 200 years ago as a backdrop for Stackpole Court, have evolved into an important wildlife habitat, home to otters, water birds, and dragonflies.

Tredegar House

One of the most significant late 17th century houses in the whole of Britain, Tredegar House is described by the National Trust as “one of the architectural wonders of Wales.”

Located in the heart of Newport, Tredegar House offers peaceful parkland, an ornamental lake, and an Italianate sunken garden for you to enjoy this winter.

With three gardens to choose from visitors at Tredegar House will be spoiled for choice on where to stroll.

The Orchard Garden is the largest of the three, complete with an orchard full of apple trees and exotic, ornamental features added in the 19th and 20th century.

The Cedar Garden, dominated by a 250-year-old Cedar of Lebanon tree, has wide open lawns making it the perfect place for picnicking and for children to play.

The smallest of the three, The Orangery Garden, gives visitors a sense of how the garden would have looked when the Morgan family lived at Tredegar more than 200 years ago. The Orangery itself houses a variety of fruit trees and herbaceous plants known to have been grown during the 18th century.

More inspiration for winter walks can be found on the National Trust website.