Wonderful Wales

It's late September - my favourite time of year to set out on a trip to Europe.  And so it is that a plan we hatched last Christmas should now be well underway.  But with the Coronavirus Pandemic still in full swing across the globe we have to take whatever we can get; and so it is that the 15 days riding to and in the southern Alps of France has had to become a trip around the British Isles!  

We simply can't get to France at the moment, without unnecessary exposure to infection, or punitive quarantine requirements.  In fact, to accomplish the original trip we had planned, would require 6 weeks - 14 days quarantine in France, and another 14 days on our return.  And that's not a choice either of us can make.

So with about a fortnight to go, we conjure up a new objective, to ride to some more of the stunning areas in the mainland UK.  We start our plan with Wales, then the Lake District, up through the lowlands of Scotland to the Isle of Skye, a few days in the Western Highlands, followed by a relaxed run back through Northumberland, The Pennines, The Peak District and then home.  

I'm sorry to say it, but holiday accommodation costs in the UK are significantly higher than those on the continent, with a one night Airbnb stay running to £80-100.  Overnight stays in France or Spain with equivalent facilities were usually around £50-60 per night.  So in order to keep costs down, we elect to use the UK's network of Youth Hostels.  More on that later.

Day 1 - Taunton to Broad Haven

Monday morning is deliciously sunny and warm, and after saying our farewells to our lovely wives, Jez & I set off around 09:30.  We deliberately avoid the motorway until we get to Easton-in-Gordano, sticking as close to the coast as is practical, which is quite tricky around the North Somerset Levels at Woodspring Bay.  There is quite a bit of reclaimed polder land here, made up of low-lying fields with rhynes criss-crossing the area.  

We dash across the now toll-free Severn crossing, only spending 20 minutes on the combined M5/49/4, and leave the motorway network before Newport, to get to the foothills of the Black Mountains north of Abergavenny as quickly as we can.

Approaching the Vale of Ewyas on the Old Hereford Road

We locate the entrance to the Vale of Ewyas just before the village of Llanvihangel Crucorney, and start the slow steady climb up to the highest paved road in Wales.  Gospel Pass is only 12 miles from here, but it does take close to 40 minutes to get there, as the road to Llanthony is narrow, bendy and tightly hedged in, meaning it's difficult to get above 20mph for more than a few seconds at a time.  Once past Llanthony Priory, the single track road starts to open a little, and the straights last more than 10 seconds!

Open Moorland beckons once you cross the cattle grid, and the carpark on the southern side of the pass gives away it's location.  The pass affords fabulous views of the Wye Valley from the lofty height of 1801 feet above sea level.

The view over the Wye Valley from Gospel Pass

10 minutes descent brings you into the village of Hay-on-Wye, home of the world famous Hay Festival.  It's lunchtime, so we park up and walk into the centre of this pretty little town to find a place to eat.  We ended up having some freshly made - and generously filled - baguettes, and a large cup of tea each at Oscar's Bistro.  Baguettes were fair value, but at £2 each, the large paper "cup" of tea not so much.  

Back on the bikes, we ride all the way across the north of the Brecon Beacons, enjoying the sight of the summits of Fan y Big, Cribyn, Pen y Fan & Corn Du to our left as we traverse westward on the A40 towards Carmarthen, then follow signs for Haverfordwest, where we tank up with fuel before the final 10 miles into Broad Haven.  

The Youth Hostel is dead easy to find, as it is located alongside a large carpark.  We are a little early, so have to wait until 17:00 to gain access.  Obviously, there are significant Covid procedures in place to protect the staff and guests from unnecessary exposure to each other!  One way systems, lots of hand gel dispensers and Covid secure dining.  We get our room keys, and discover our room is sensibly sized with two bunk beds - ideal, so we can dump and sort gear on the top mattress, and sleep on the bottom one.  

We freshen up and put on clean clothes, and make a beeline for the YHA café.  It's Chinese themed takeaway tonight, and we both choose crispy chilli beef, which turns out to be a fantastic choice.  We eat outside, washing our meals down with a bottle of Brecon ale each, before ambling down to the beach. 

Badger & beer.  It's meant to be this way....

I think we are both surprised at how busy Broad Haven seafront appears; there are plenty of cars looking for somewhere to park, fish & chip wagon on the esplanade, gift shops, cafes and restaurants all open, and a good couple of hundred people still on the sandy beach.  A few older couples, but mostly small groups of teens through to early thirties, catching a break in the weather and enjoying all that this delightful section of coast has to offer.  After calling home to assure our wives we are intact and definitely not out clubbing, we take a walk along the coastal path to the south.  

The coastal path and road overlooking Broad Haven beach

As the sun sinks into the Irish sea providing a glorious sunset, we stomp back to the Hostel, for a hot chocolate and then a good nights sleep.  

(217 miles ridden today)

Day 2 - Broad Haven to Conwy

We awake to grey overcast skies, a dry but cool morning.  Washed and dressed, we grab a coffee instead of breakfast.  We are not hungry yet, and hope to find somewhere on the road that will tick all the boxes when the time comes.

Morning beverage stop at Broad Haven YHA

We have decided to track the coast road as far as possible, so we set off up the coast towards the city of St. Davids, on the other side of St. Brides Bay.  These are very rural roads, and progress is pretty relaxed (read slooowww dear reader).  St. Davids is busier than expected.  We skirt around the Cathedral, and find the A487 heading towards Fishguard.  

An hour later, we stop in the pretty coastal village of Aberaeron.  It has a fairly large harbour area, and a number of Regency style houses built in the immediate vicinity of the waterfront, it also had a couple of good looking cafes suitable for brunch, and we launched ourselves at "The Hive" which was reassuringly busy.  Some very tasty pulled pork sandwiches and a couple of mugs of tea later, we were ready to roll once again.

The harbour at Aberaeron

Back on the A487 - which we will now stay close to or on, until we reach it's northern end at Cross Foxes - we head north, for Aberystwyth.  Here we take a short detour towards Borth, a village where mutual friends have a cottage, and we are feeling nosey, despite the fact I know they are not at home.  I'll be returning to Borth to stay with my wife later in the year, but in the meantime, it's nice to have ones curiosity assuaged.  

As we leave Borth, and clip the bottom end of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve, we catch a glimpse of the weather that is closing in on Snowdonia ahead of us, and take the opportunity to get layered up and put a lightweight raincoat on top.  

We enter the National Park at it's bottom end, just past Machynlleth and start climbing the southern approach to the famous "Mach Loop".  As we gained altitude, we gained rain water, and fog, so this particular day, we were unlikely to get the best from this famous valley.  At moments like this, you just have to remind yourself, that these magnificent landscapes are going nowhere fast, and we will be able to visit them again sometime in the future.

We passed Dolgellau, and rode past Llyn Trawsfynydd, turning off early to cut across towards Blaenau Ffestiniog.  In the rain, and with low cloud crowding the surrounding slag heaps, the former "slate capital of the world" looked a somewhat dark and sinister place to be.  With visibility so poor, we focussed on staying on the road as we descended the 10 miles or so to Betws-y-Coed.  The rain stopped as we continued on the A470 through the Conwy Valley, heading towards Llandudno.  We stopped for much needed coffees and a generous lump of delicious Bara cake at Cafe Contessa, in the middle of Llanrwst.  

We both felt a powerful pull to get away from the main road, so crossed the river, and found our way down the western bank of the River Conwy.  What a difference it makes, when there is next to no traffic, and the views are wonderful.

Overlooking the River Conwy near Tal-y-cafn

With less than 10 miles to go to our next overnight stop, the YHA at Conwy, we slowed to a dawdle and enjoyed the views as they unfolded.  We were particularly surprised by the scale and appearance of Conwy Castle.  Before this trip, it was an unknown to me, I'm not even certain if I knew of it's existence.  After a quick recce on the riverbank, we head tout de suite to the Hostel to drop off our luggage.   

The Hostel is a fairly modern building at the top of the town, giving the appearance of having been built into the hill.  There are already three other motorbikes parked up outside, so we have to assume this is a fairly regular bunkhouse for visiting bikers.  The staff are lovely, and we get a room with views towards the mountains.  Once we are washed and changed, we set out to explore the medieval town walls, which at over 1200 m long are some of the largest intact original fortifications I have ever visited.  

Conwy Castle seen from the Town Walls

There are around 20 towers and the views over the town, the connected Conwy Castle, and the Estuary are spectacular.  Not to mention that all of this is set against the backdrop of Snowdonia.  Wherever you look, the view are delightful.

Across the estuary towards Llandudno Junction

It turns out that the quayside at Conwy is a bit of a magnet for the local motorcycling community, and we were  pleasantly surprised to see a wide range of bikes parked up opposite the pub.  Turns out that Conwy is also home to the smallest house in Great Britain.  At just 1.8m wide, this 1 up 1 down house is smaller than some caravans you get stuck behind in summer!  I've shrunk down to 1.83m tall - look how small it is!

I'm pretty big - but this house is tiny!

Sadly, the pub nearby with benches outside didn't appear to be doing food, so we had to wonder back into the town centre to find a restaurant.  We plumped for "Johnny Dough's" a woodfired pizza specialist.  This turned out to be a terrific choice, as they had a really good selection of traditional as well as modern pizza varieties.  Jez ate a Meat Special, with Mozzarella, tomato base, BBQ chicken, ham and pepperoni, and I plumped for the Mussel Marinière, a very distinctly modern pizza, with gruyere, rich creamy velouté base, and fresh sea mussels.  I would happily return and order the same pizza again, it was that nice!

We wombled back to the Hostel as it got dark, and discovered another pair of bikes had turned up, including a brand new R1250GSA.  It looked lovely.  I just wouldn't want the repayments and  depreciation!  

(170 miles ridden today)

Day 3 - Snowdonia

We start the day with the Hostel's hot sausage rolls for breakfast, a welcome and filling start to the day.  The rain is once again receding as we set out to get fuel across the bridge in Llandudno, then we head back running alongside the Menai Strait to re-enter Snowdonia via the A5, through Bethesda and the Ogwen Valley, passing by The Glyder's and right by the foot of mighty Tryfan.  We ride almost all of the way to Capel Curig, before turning to ride back down the valley, just to enjoy the views!  

On the way up, we spotted a farmer's track on the other side of the valley, and decided to try and find a way onto it.  We went back down the valley as far as Bethesda, trying left turn after left turn, until we hit gold.  Riding this single track road past the old farmhouses, whilst being able to see the A5 climbing the other side of the valley was fabulous.

Single track for the win!

The track follows a gentle line except for the last half a mile, where it simultaneously climbs, dips and twists before coming out alongside the National Trust - Carneddau and Glyderau carpark, at the base of a lovely walking track to Llyn Idwal and the Idwal Slabs.  I've walked this track with one of my son's some 18 or 19 years ago.  I can heartily recommend it if you love mountain scenery, and a gentle cardio workout.

We found a café by the carpark, and scoffed some lamb & mint slices and a mug of tea, before riding past Tryfan again, onto Capel Curig, and then turned towards Pen-y-Pass and the base of Mount Snowden.  We had no intention to stop here, as the carparks are expensive and crowded.  So we rode on down the valley towards the town of Llanberis, on the winding and relatively busy A4086, stopping briefly on the banks of Llyn Padarn to enjoy the view up towards Snowden.  

Once again, we wanted to get off the busier roads, and enjoy the quieter byways.  We cut south-west through to Waunfawr, to pick up the A4085 to pass to the south of Snowden, and see a side of Snowdonia that we had not previously visited.  This proved to be a good decision, as there was only about 10% of the traffic, and the views were much more open to the south.  The road runs alongside a river, and The Welsh Highland Railway, a narrow gauge steam service between Caernarfon on the Menai Straits, and Porthmadog.  Sadly, the railway wasn't running because of coronavirus, so we didn't get to see any trains.  

At Beddgelert - which was rammed with visitors - we turned back towards the North, to try and see the East side of Snowden (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh).  This stretch of road is tree lined for several miles, before revealing a couple of lovely lakes, and is lovely to ride.  We found a lovely viewpoint to stop and enjoy the views.  Sadly, we couldn't see the top of the big snowy one....

Yr Wyddfa is up there somewhere...

Time for a stretch, and a snack break.  We find it really easy to "waste" half an hour just enjoying the scenery.  The urge to ride on takes us, and we set off again.  

Llyn Gwynant in the background - looking south down the Nant Gwynant valley.

This is a road that opens out, inviting you to pick up the pace and enjoy it's simultaneous curves and dips, descending the A5 into Betws-y-Coed.  We turn left slightly early, picking up the B5106 and stay on the west side of the Conwy valley, staying well away from traffic, taking the road less travelled once again.  

We return to the hostel around four in the afternoon - quite early really - but today that suits us.  Cleaned up, we head into town to find some scran.  We settle on a bar called "Bank of Conwy", which we believe used to be - you guessed it - a bank!  It's a CAMRA real ale bar, so there is a good selection of local and some more exotic beers.  I'm a firm believer "when in Rome", so we try a pint of Palomino Pale Ale from Wild Horse Brewing Co, from nearby Llandudno.  It's good, and washes down the distinctly average burger which I selected from the hot food menu.  Oh well, you can't win 'em all.  Still, at least we are warm and full.

Back to the Hostel, to get a good night's sleep.  It's been a good couple of day's based in Conwy, and  this area has passed my acid test of "Yes, I would bring my wife here to visit"  'Nuff said.  

Tomorrow we push out of Wales, and head towards the Lake District.  

(102 miles ridden today)