Road-Tripping Through Wales’ LGBTQ+ Heritage

Discovering the queer history within the sweeping hills of Storybook Wales.

It seemed that any road would lead me through vast scenic parklands, networked so I could find myself in a diverse sundry of beautiful places. Cruising between swaths of sandy beaches, hidden Druid ruins, lush mountains, and countless castles near storybook towns, the treats of Celtic culture and its beautiful otherness welcomed me. The winding roads ahead revealed all kinds of historical wonders, including glimpses into the storied lives of kindred spirits who found sanctuary here in Wales, forging its LGBTQ+ Heritage.

It was a tailor-made journey through the country’s green fairy tale landscapes, North and South. About a fourth of the Welsh population live within the three national parks and five regions that the locals call “Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”

Entering upon its compact rural roads, about an hour out of Manchester, far from any highway or skyscraper, I saw it on the horizon: Croeso i Gymru and Welcome to Wales. Bilingual with Welsh first, its unique orthography was a blur as I whooshed by. In that instant, that buzzing sense of escapism awoke excited for what awaited ahead.

En Route to Pride Cymru

The main Pride celebration in Cymru or Wales is held in Cardiff, the compact capital city in South Wales with a thriving LGBTQ+ community. Pride Cymru is, in fact, the fastest-growing Pride celebration in the U.K., and while always a major event, this year’s 25th celebration was taking place right on the majestic grounds of Cardiff Castle. So, while we weren’t quite Priscilla Queen of the Desert, a few of us friends tricked up a four-wheel drive, turned up the playlist, and embarked on a road trip to some of the best of Wales along the way.

Cardiff’s diverse range of walkable activities would find me weaving in and out of the National Museum, sampling local bites at Cardiff Market, and exploring the Arcade shops, including the Queer Emporium. The Wales Millennium Centre, down by the Waterfront, is home to the Welsh National Opera, where Welsh gay icons like Shirley Bassey and Igor Novello, Tom Jones, and Bonnie Tyler have performed.

The lovely area is a popular filming location for many shows, including Dr. Who, revived by Welsh filmmaker Russell T. Davies. Davies also created the original Queer as Folk, It’s a Sin, and many more gay favorites. He was the keynote speaker at the Iris International LGBTQ+ Film Festival held annually in Cardiff.

Cardiff’s animated gay bar scene is focused around Charles Street, St Mary Street, and Churchill Way in the city center, with historic Golden Cross Pub and Mary’s among the popular. Not far from Cardiff is Onllwyn, the location of the locally beloved movie Pride, which depicts a historic moment in 1980s Welsh history featuring a bond between the coal mining union and the LGBTQ+ community. That event forged common ground and likely encouraged legislation of zero-tolerance laws for LGBTQ+ discrimination. A Stonewall outpost in Cardiff also provides support.

The Single Ladies

The little town of Llangollen lies in a fertile valley in mountainous northwest Wales along the River Dee. I heard its whooshing water while wandering the craft shops, inhaling the scent of freshly baked Welsh Cakes on Castle Street, and admiring the town’s romantic charm. I sampled local beer at the Corn Mill pub to properly soak up the atmosphere.

Llangollen has been a revered hub throughout recorded history, not least of all for those passing through the port of Holyhead on the nearby Isle of Anglesey across from Ireland. Two notable Irish trailblazers, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, once came through Llangollen, never to return home to the patriarchal and Puritan laws that ruled there.

The legend goes that teenage Miss Sarah began rejecting the obligatory fate of marriage that young girls endured in the mid-eighteenth century. Meanwhile, nearby friend Lady Eleanor had been making no secret of her preference for a nice pair of slacks and subverting social norms, including matrimony.

Upon a hill in Llangollen, I wandered inside Gothic Plas Newydd or New House with an audio guide to my ear. It was here, in 1780, that the two Irish ladies set up house for 50 years with their servant, Mary, and a dog named Sappho after finally freeing themselves from the binds back home. While never publicly defining their relationship as anything other than “eccentric,” the ambiguous pair became known as The Ladies of Llangollen.

The Ladies entertained in their gardens, welcoming select visitors like Wordsworth and Lord Byron. Today, the gardens welcome an array of admirers. I wandered the intimate interiors, feeling compelled to take a beat and put myself in their 18th-century shoes. Legends, indeed.

Curious Isle of Anglesey  

I detoured to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, otherwise known as Llanfair PG, a small town of Anglesey, just outside of Eryri or Snowdonia National Park. It is one of Wales’ “Areas of Natural Beauty.” The name translates into “St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio by the red cave.” Clearly, the Welsh have a good sense of humor.

I arrived at the nearby Plas Newydd House and Garden, the other Plas Newydd, a classical architectural beauty with 40 acres of gardens. The mansion estate has a long history dating back to the fifteenth century. As part of the National Trust, it houses several artifacts on public display with great views of Snowdonia’s atmospheric landscape. This Plas Newydd is the former home of “The Dancing Marquess” of Anglesey, who some call the Elton John of Edwardian High Society. His name was Henry Cyril Paget, the 5th Marquess of Anglesey and ostentatious dancer born into an illustrious Victorian family.

At the Gaity

Peacock robes, pink poodles, and a car with perfumed exhaust are among the fabled indulgences favored by the young British aristocrat. Henry’s early childhood in the 1870s was spent in Paris, influenced by eccentric theatre people while being reared by the sister of a flamboyant French actor who scholars claim is Henry’s actual father. After being returned to his Anglesey Castle at age eight to live the proper life of a Marquess, effeminate Henry experienced isolation and depression, my guide explained.

By age 23, Henry inherited his father’s enormous fortune and went absolutely “wild spending on endless extravagances,” my guide continued.

Henry began staging theatrical performances, inviting the public to extravagant shows with elaborate costumes. His signature dance was something called The Butterfly. Some suggest Henry was merely a flamboyant eccentric, but his quickly dissolved unconsummated marriage suggests more than just being a little extra. Being sexually subversive in that era was a brutally punishable offense, after all, as seen in the case against Oscar Wilde.

We stood at the Chapel inside the mansion, once converted into a theatre by Henry for Henry. It emulated the Dresden Opera House. He called it The Gaity. Not one trace of it, nor his diaries, nor his possessions remain following his death at age 30. A film about Henry’s life titled Madfabulous has recently begun production in Wales.

The Gay-Friendly Coastal Way

Driving along the Coastal Way en route to St. David’s, storybook beach towns appeared like movie scenes. The views from the bustling marina in New Quay reminded me of San Francisco, only with the distinct sound of Welsh tongues in the air. The fish & chips fry wafted toward the pier as locals gathered by the harbor.

Along this route is Aberystwyth, which is reputed to be the West Coast’s most gay-friendly town. Thanks to the efforts of the school’s LGBTQ+ society, it topped the list of most gay-friendly universities. The society is instrumental in Mid Wales Pride, a weekend of Pride celebrations with entertainment of all kinds.

This region’s history includes many notables, including author Sarah Waters of Pembrokeshire, who wrote Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith. Painter Gwen John was also born in St. David’s and became known for her portraits of women and quiet, domestic scenes. Her works can be seen at the National Gallery in Cardiff.

St. David’s, the most western town of Wales, is also the UK’s smallest. That fact beckons a visit in and of itself. The atmosphere of the coast embodies remoteness. It was romantic escapism, like being at the edge of the world. After a bite of locally foraged shared plates at The Really Wild Emporium, it was time to take a beat for the night in this remote piece of heaven.

The tides were just returning on the beaches of Dinbych-y-Pisgod or Tenby, further south. Cobblestone alleys with colorful nooks fleshed out the lively, idyllic seaside town. Tenby is a favorite of the U.K.’s long-established Gay Outdoor Club, who I’d later meet up with weaving through Cardiff’s parade. From my perch at nearby St. Bride’s Spa Hotel, sweeping vistas of towering cliff-side beaches stretched out along the coastal trails, we’d hugged before on the Wales Coast Path.