Snowdonia

Conwy is the most intact medieval town in Wales, guarded by a quite stupendous castle built by Edward in 1283 and on the finest examples of medieval military architecture anywhere.

It looks as a medieval fortress should, despite the ravages of civil war, and beyond there's an exhibition of Edward and his "Iron Ring" of fortresses built to subjugate the Welsh. You can walk around the top of the walls of the remarkably complete set of 13th-century town walls, which has 21 of its original 22 towers; it gives views over the rooftops and narrow streets that follow the medieval layout.

Close by the castle, Conwy Suspension Bridge was built by Thomas Telford in 1826 and has been restored by the NT, which has opened the tollhouse with the rooms furnished as they might have been originally.

Two other period interiors are open to the public: Aberconwy House (Castle St, NT), built for a merchant in the 14th century, and the elaborate Tudor mansion of Plas Mawr (High St). The Smallest House, on the quay, is really just that: barely more than six feet wide and with its frontage only 10ft high it is Britain's smallest house, a simple one-up one-down arrangement which feels crowded as soon as more than three visitors walk in. There are boat trips close by in summer.

In Castle Street, Teapot World has a splendidly zany collection of unusually shaped teapots from the last 300 years, everything from wigwams to cauliflowers. Butterfly Jungle has tropical butterflies and exotic plants and birds in a re-created jungle environment with rainforest sound effects.

The Castle Hotel is a civilised spot for lunch.

Take the road bridge over the Conwy Estuary to Llandudno Junction, turn right and then right again on the A470 towards Llanrwst.

Along this road you pass Bodnant Garden (NT), one of the most highly acclaimed gardens in Britain. It was begun in 1875 and further improved in 1900: within the 80-acre grounds is a woodland garden in a sheltered valley laced with rhododendrons and azaleas. Below the private house are five Italianate terraces with a canal pool, reconstructed pin mill and an open-air stage on the lowest. After Bodnant Garden, turn right across the river to Ty'n-y-Groes, then left on the B5106.