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1000 Things to do in Wales ...?

Rob Howard / 20.03.2007

Can you think of 1000 things to do in the great outdoors in Wales?

A strange question to ask perhaps, but this is the theme of a new website about outdoor sports and activities in Wales, it’s called www.wales1000things.com.

The good news is you don’t have to think of 1000 things yourself, but if you have one or two photos of your own memorable trips to the Welsh countryside you could put those up onto the site. Then you’ll be adding to the 1000 or more postings, which others can browse through.

Inspired by the success of youtube and flickr, the new site aims to give all those who’ve had a good time on a trip to Wales, or found a great place to visit, the chance to put up their photos, videos and comments.

Visitors to the site can browse through them and might perhaps be inspired to give the activity a go themselves … though the cliff jumping looked a bit too high and scary to have many takers! It’s also probably best to view the mountain biking headcam video that ends up in a wipe-out by a barbed wire fence (complete with views of the dirt and the sound of moaning), as entertainment rather than inspiration!

Post For Prizes

There are prizes on offer from outdoor retailers Blacks if you do get involved. All those who put something on the site go into a draw for one of a thousand £10 Blacks online vouchers (enter code ACW172 when posting). And there are a further twenty £250 vouchers to be won if you choose to download (or to have sent) a range of the activity guides.

The site is run by ‘Visit Wales’ and while its main aim is to get people to share their experiences of Wales, it also shows just how much information ‘Visit Wales’ have now made available. There are lots of guides (on adventure activities, watersports, cycling, walking and covering different regions of Wales), but it was the Wales Mountain Biking Guide that caught my eye.

Once downloaded it listed all the specialist trails in Wales (there are quite a few), their routes and facilities, how to get there etc. There was an events calendar as well, and an operators’ listing to use if you wanted to hire bikes or get some instruction. It was well worth downloading and keeping.

If you’ve raced in Wales the chances are you’ve ridden short sections of some of the routes (Coed-y-Brenin trails have featured in several past races), and the guide would be invaluable if you wanted to go back to ride more of them.

Blogs and More Websites

Alongside all the photos and videos there are some good links too. One was to www.mbwales.com – a whole website devoted to riding in Wales if you wanted more detailed information. A little more browsing led to more links to specialist Welsh activity sites like www.adventure.visitwales.com.

There were links to blogs as well, one by European Kayaking champion Lowri Davies, and another about the work to put a new summit building on Snowdon.

It’s early days for the site (it was only launched on March 13th and is now being promoted), but it looks like it’s going to be a success. The way it brings together real experiences and all the good information Visit Wales have been putting online is really innovative.

So, why not rummage through your photos of previous trips to Wales, and add to the site. You might win a prize, but even if you don’t, it’s a site that’s worth supporting and one to bookmark and check before heading off on a Welsh weekend.