Where in Wales.....

According to OH you could try Brecon or maybe Cardiff. The Gower Peninsula is lovely but possibly a step too far as is Haverford West but they are lovely parts. Popping into St Fagans could make a good day out too. Oh yes there is always Monmouth. In fact you would be spoilt for choice and I hope you have a fabulous visit.

Depends on what you are interested in - Cardiff is now a very varied place and has some attractions such as a castle, a museum, and just outside at St Fagan's there is a large open air museum of Welsh life - on a nice day a lovely place - free to see as well.
Then there is the Bay Area which is basically the old docks which now have all sorts of attractions including a big Dr Who exhibition at the BBC studio site. In the summer lots goes on in that area. Across the bay is Penarth.
There is an open topped tourist bus which goes around much of the central and Bay areas.
The Gower coast is beautiful too and Oxwich Bay and further West is Tenby and then you can go on to Pembroke. National Gardens of Wales are in West Wales.
Between the Severn Crossings and Newport are Caerleon which was a Roman settlement I think, and not far way Big Pit which is an old pit and you go down in the cage the miners used. Also in the area is the Blaenavon tin works. They filmed the BBC series when the families went back to live in the Victorian era etc there.
Others will no doubt tell you many more places. All sorts of different coastal parts too.
Lovely scenery everywhere.

My neighbours went to Brecon last year and saw all the red kites being fed. It's an amazing sight.
My brother and sister-in-law live in Chepstow. When the kids were little we used to go every year and stay with them. They would take us to all the castles, like Chepstow and Caerwent, the Red Castle, etc. I agree with LizG about St Fagans and Monmouth. In fact the whole of the Wye Valley is very picturesque.
If you want beach, you could go further West to St Davids. The Pembrokeshire Coast is a bit like North Devon. In fact my brother and sister in law have two holiday lets in North Devon, and can travel between the two areas quite easily.

Wales is wonderful. I used to tour it a lot back in my camper-van days.
Lots of places mentioned above are well worth visiting. From the Brecon Beacons, to Snowdonia, the Elan valley in mid-Wales, the lovely city of Cardiff, the beautiful coast. The choices are endless.
Gosh, I sound like an advert for the Welsh Tourist Board, don't I !
And I'm not even Welsh.....

We love Wales and have some relatives there near Tenby a small place called Saundersfoot, we stayed in a brilliant b & b that had horses,goats, ducks and just a short drive away overlooking the coast it was beautiful. There is so much to see in Wales you are never from a castle or museum of some kind..

Sorry I meant the b & b was just short drive from Saundersfoot, not the animals

I remember Saundersfoot from childhood holidays, I hope it's still the same, I haven't been back for years.
Cardigan Bay is also lovely, at Mwnt we used to see seals close up and I seem to remember a tiny old church on the clifftop.
I agree about Cardiff, now home to my children and GD.I'm headed there on Thursday, can't wait!
Enjoy your holiday, granyactivist, I hope the sun shines for you!

I've been watching Griff Reece Jones in A Great Welsh Adventure on ITV1. He has been to some lovely places. There may be some ideas on there.

Yes Cardiff for the city based break. Gower if you want natural beauty. Absolutely no need to go any further. I was born in Gower and always find Pembrokeshire so over-developed in comparison.
But if you go to Gower/Mumbles/Swansea the market is the ultimate non-pretentious foodie heaven.
Tenby is cute seaside place.
If you are heading in the direction of Swansea PM me and I can give you a few tips about where to stay or not.
Funny story about Swansea my sister told me - 1960s hotel in the centre of town has always been The Dragon (resisted all attempts to rebrand by serious of hotel chain owners)
Some Irish guys went over for the football and were puzzled to find that The Dragon did not service any Chinese food.

Pembrokeshire coast is beautiful, Skomer Island if she is coming April - Sept. Masses of bluebells and red campions plus Puffins from May to July.

The Gower or St Davids - the latter is brilliant whatever the weather. The cathedral and the tiny city are interesting, and the lovely coastline is there for a good day.

Thanks all, hopefully this will be useful in the future (I really want to explore Wales), but my friend has expressed a passion to visit Cornwall - so I've managed to get us a booking in a very nice (I hope) castle in St.Ives.