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    Americans Take British Trains Across Wales For The First Time



    Americans Take British Trains Across Wales For The First Time

    Join us on our first train journey across Wales as we travel from Paddington Station in London to Tenby, Wales on Great Western Railway trains.

    From navigating British trains to watching the beautiful countryside pass by, this turned out to be one of the most relaxing, scenic, and unexpectedly easy travel days we’ve had in the UK. We had some chatty neighbors and brought way too much food, but we always like to be prepared.

    The end of our train journey brought us to the beautiful coastal town of Tenby, Wales. This was also a brand new country for our vlog! We give you a room tour of our hotel/apartment, take you along for a very American-feeling BBQ dinner, and we even made a few friends on our first night!

    If you’ve ever wondered what British trains are really like, whether traveling from London to Wales by train is worth it, or what a first trip to Wales feels like as Americans, this vlog is for you.

    We have two more upcoming vlogs in Wales, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any more of our UK content!

    (Apologies for the minor audio issues while on some of the trains.)

    A huge thank you to Fitnexa for sponsoring this vlog!
    To get your own Somnipods 3, check out this link and use the discount code below for $10 off: https://go.fitnexa.com/DsAaFa
    Discount code: NATEANDK298

    And if you like train travel, check out our other epic train journeys across Europe:
    Bucharest to Chișinău: https://youtu.be/Pwjk-U9NYGk
    DIY Orient Express: https://youtu.be/vHfpQpzxKqg
    South to North of The Netherlands: https://youtu.be/O8M30cMbz88

    #worldtravel #wales #ukvlog #uktrains #englandtrains #tenby

    ✼ Would be cool to see you over here ✼
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    ✼ ABOUT US ✼
    We are Nate and Katrina, two Americans living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and traveling as much as we can to see what there is to see! Call us expats, immigrants, whatever… just call us already.

    We balance work life with travel… as best we can! We would love to visit every country in Europe while we live here, and definitely keep a list of our global “must visit” destinations.

    We try to give you a true view of us and how we travel and explore the world. Lots of food, definitely some jokes, and probably some swearing…. Hope you enjoy taking these trips with us!

    0:00 Intro
    0:30 Paddington Station, London train
    1:05 On Our First GWR Train
    2:53 Switching Trains
    3:34 On Our Second Train
    4:07 Train Bathroom Tour
    4:50 Snack Cart
    6:22 Arriving in Tenby, Wales
    7:35 Ad – Fitnexa Somnipods 3
    8:58 Tenby Accommodations
    10:05 Tenby Room Tour
    13:47 Dinner at Tap & Tân, Tenby
    16:20 Tenby Coast
    17:12 Wrap Up

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    44 Comments

    1. @susangershenson2354 on

      Hey N&K, always fun to follow you both on a train! Your place in Wales looks very comfy – can't wait to see more of Wales next time and explore its history/culture with you. And Katrina, you're a girl after my own heart: food always excites you – me too! Those brisket/mac n cheese fries looked so good! Glad to hear the folks in Wales are friendly and welcoming – enjoy. Looking forward to seeing more of this wonderful country. Cheers!

    3. @appstratum9747 on

      My mother's family is from that part of Pembrokeshire. My great, great, great grandfather erected the statue of Prince Albert in the castle grounds in the middle of the 19th century. As a young kid I spent the summers on the beaches there in the late 1960s and 1970s. You were staying about 100 yards down the street from where we used to stay when we were on holiday when I was a child. I learned to swim in the sea on North Beach – the one that you filmed towards to end of this video. That was in 1970 so this brought back fond memories!

      The people in Pembrokeshire are lovely. My mother and father moved back there before they died. It's a lovely part of the world with plenty of great beaches, castles and countryside. People there are very helpful and very kind.

      Tenby is relatively touristy for that part of the Wales ….as is Saundersfoot which is a bit spoiled these days by tourism in my humble opinion – at least compared with how it used to be 55 to 60 years ago. But that area is a lovely place to live: quiet, friendly, caring and safe. Tenby is a nice little town.

      I live in Portugal these days and have done so for almost 30 years. I rarely go back to Wales, the country where I'm from. I went to university in Cardiff, the city where you changed train. But I was very happy that my mother and father gave me a great excuse to spend a lot of time in West Wales before they passed on. I took the train from London to West Wales regularly rather than hire a car and drive. I loved the banter on the train traveling from Llanelli to Swansea with morning commuters on the way back to London. The train conductor was a helluva good laugh and full of fun. Although I think and speak in Portuguese rather than Welsh most of the time these days, the people on that train were very much "my people".

      I hope you have a good stay in the UK and in particular in Wales. I see you have visited my neck of the woods in Portugal just recently: Lisbon and Obidos … 🙂… both good choices… 🙂

    6. @GreggC_CC on

      16:35 – Challenge accepted. I THINK it's
      "Yeah, I did, you know, skiing like, do you know what i mean? That's unbelievable. I love… The only thing i can say about America, right? I do love America…"
      The only bit i'm not really sure on is the Skiing bit.

    7. @GreggC_CC on

      Tenby is genuinely one of my happy places.
      I was actually there this time last year, and had gorgeous weather as well.
      There are so many lovely little escapes in amongst how busy the town itself can be.

    8. @reggriffiths5769 on

      Yep, you can always tell an American tourist – or in this case, tourists. Apart from the giveaway accent, thee first thing they do is find the faults; on a train there are always faults which no-one likes, but considering that there are a thousand and more trains every day across the country, we in the UK are quite used to the occasional fault. However, we tend to take little notice of other passengers, what they're eating or drinking, or much else, but Americans..well they love poking into other people's privacy.
      Of course the place you stay is only one of thousands of optional alternatives, but air-conditioning – oddly invented by the British (not the Americans as wideyy thought by Americans)- is not a necessary component in British establishments on account of the mild weather.Our couple didn't quite complain about the a/c or the shower, so all was good. Until it came to dinner, and that's where Americans really show their culture, for thet eat like pigs at a trough! Apparently a British-style burger is called a MAC – when they could have gone to a McDonalds if they wanted a Mac – not that it would ahve made any difference to their use – or should I say abuse of knife and fork, for those are implements that Most British people use as part of our unique culture. As for the number of side dishes, we Brits tend to eat with enough food that fits a single plate! Also in the UK we don't normally have French Fries because Chips are waht we are used to, but which the French stole from us after the First World War and put their own brand on them – and there is a huge difference! So there you are; that's how you can tell an American visitor.
      Nice couple, and surprisingly made no complaint about our "skinny" roads, nasty "curves" and "tiny" cars – but then they weren't driving! Tenby isn't the most exciting place on the Best Food Guide, but it's OK for most – one just has to be a little choosy whichever town you visit.
      Having said that, I would place the nearest pub grub above anything in the US, having been there never to return! Canada is hardly any better as it seems to follow the American eateries. Anyway, glad to know you enjoyed your two-day trip. Y'all come back now, yhear!

    12. @RobG001 on

      If you wanted air con you could have stayed in the Premier Inn, it was about maybe 300 yards from where you were staying. It is a new build, relatively speaking, so has air con in every room apparently.

      Glad you enjoyed your stay, I live about 15 miles away from Tenby, I was there a few days ago when I took my dog for a check up at the vets there. 🙂 Best wishes.

    14. @Russell__Smith on

      By way of expectation management, less than 1% of domestic premises/dwellings in the UK have comfort cooling air-conditioning and only about 20% of commercial properties (including hotels) have it. The weather/climate and building regulations which focus of building fabric performance and natural ventilation rather than mechanical intervention, severely reduce the need for A/C, along with the high price of electricity.

    31. @Barbara-l2x on

      Air Conditioning ? Its only ever hot enough to use if a max 2 days a year in the UK. We have these things valled "windows" which you can open and get in cool fresh air (without large US Insects or Drive By Shooting noises all night).

    34. @chrisaris8756 on

      Nice place Tenby, don’t understand why no cell service! What cell provider do you use. And by the way you don’t NEED aircon in Britain – ever!

    37. @mixodorians12 on

      Big issue is the american military want to build a massive radar station on the coastline (which is one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world) not far from Tenby, just up the coast…and the locals are extremely miffed that
      A) Tenby will be one of the first targets for the Russians.
      B) it will completely destroy the views and tourist industry.

      Not your fault, just be aware of this.

    41. @Shytot-1 on

      Here is an interesting little snippet. Born around 1510, Robert Recorde was the second and last son of Thomas and Rose Recorde of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, in Wales.

      Recorde entered the University of Oxford about 1525, and was elected a Fellow of All Souls College there in 1531. Having adopted medicine as a profession, he went to the University of Cambridge to take the degree of M.D. in 1545. He afterwards returned to Oxford, where he publicly taught mathematics, as he had done prior to going to Cambridge. He invented the "equals" sign, which consists of two horizontal parallel lines, stating that "noe 2 thynges can be moare equalle" in 1557, he introduced this symbol, alongside the plus (+) and minus (-) signs to English speakers, earning him recognition as the founder of the English School of Mathematics. It appears that he afterwards went to London, and acted as physician to King Edward VI and to Queen Mary, to whom some of his books are dedicated. He was also controller of the Royal Mint and served as Comptroller of Mines and Monies in Ireland. After being sued for defamation by a political enemy, he was arrested for debt and died in the King's Bench Prison, Southwark, by the middle of June 1558.

    43. @jaywu4551 on

      Hadn’t assumed London wouldn’t be anywhere else except England, if its elsewhere then it has been stolen from the original