Hi Folks, Was due to be going on the ferry to spain next week, but c-word means I've postponed to next year. I would quite like to head up to Scotland again - last year I did about half of the NC500, plus some great other riding up there - but being down in the South West I'm just not sure I can face the long slog up the M6 again. So I'm thinking of heading to Wales. Weirdly, it's only a couple of hours from me to get into the Brecon Beacons, but I've only been a couple of times. I know almost nothing about riding in Wales; where to go, where to avoid, etc. So if anyone has tips, advice, recommendations, I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks in advance!
Great riding around central wales, look around Crossgates, Newtown, Dolgellau, Bala, Machynlleth, Welshpool . These offer very fast ,flowing A roads with very few bikes midweek. Snowdonia is stunning, but the roads are tight, twisty, poorly surfaced, however the views make you forget the road quality. Depends what you’re into. You can also go down many single track lanes that go right over the hill tops etc too. If the weather is decent then wales is ace.
"If the weather is decent" Thank you, that's appreciated. I tend to ride quite a lot of little back roads, because they're quiet. But you can't beat the fast stuff too - just so long as I'm not at risk of having my collar felt!
The Brecon Beacons are good. My memory of the road surfaces is OK (but I haven't been for two years!).
There is a decent coffee stop here. They should be open as you can have your coffee outside as they have outside seating and a massive car park!
Thank you, that's appreciated. Does anyone know if campsites are open? Ideally I'd like to find camping pods, as I find it a bit of a hassle having to build my bedroom each night!
Abergavenny Brecon beacons Builth Wells Rhayader Elan Valley Devils bridge Machynlleth Mach loop Bala loop Ffestiniog Betws-y-coed Llanberis pass nefyn Abersoch a lap around Anglesey Coast road and then followed the coast all the way back down south
I would base yourself in Rhayader as the best place to starburst out from. Elan Valley over to Aberystwyth for an ice cream or head north for a days riding in Snowdonia. South for the Brecon Beacons. Will try and put some route suggestions together for you later.
If you send me a DM with your phone number I have a couple of routes in gpx that both start from a pub with a campsite behind. Otherwise, Rhyader is an excellent place to base yourself. There isn't a bad road in or out of it.
This is very much my style of touring - high-speed reconnaissance, fit as much into the day as I can, with stops only for petrol and the odd sandwich. Mach loop is a must, as I'm a bit of a plane geek. Thank you - that's really appreciated! Would like to see the Elan Dam. I tend to mostly use Google Maps on my phone, with waypoints added, so I'm not sure I could drag gpx files into that? Thanks guys, all really appreciated!
Good luck with Mach loop. MOD website will state flying every day,But it is subject to local weather . It is fab but don’t get your hopes up. I used to stay in Dolgellau quite a bit and the planes flew over the town a lot too.
Try Radnor Revivals they have cheap basic cabins and are very bike friendly - Tesco’s deliver there to . We stay at least once a year https://radnorrevivals.com/pricing/https://radnorrevivals.com/pricing/
Thanks! Bookmarked! Has that nice little cafe that used to be on the main square in Dolgellau closed now? It looked it when I went through there the other week.
Route suggestions: https://goo.gl/maps/bTu4kKM41ouxM6Bt8 https://goo.gl/maps/hR1hGc8BvkGFJKw28 https://goo.gl/maps/Ph6Np73dFobcDY9Y9 https://goo.gl/maps/jqBUgYjYA5uVnroR8 https://goo.gl/maps/m2y7XVWnSEBmqcx56 These are just a few out of my Basecamp repository over the years. Not all starting in the same place and some covering the same ground. However all are good routes and can be mixed and matched to suit your needs.
Thank you! That's enormously appreciated, and I really am grateful for you spending the time to post those.
No worries, have a great time. Looks like the weather is going to be good over the next couple of weeks too. If I only had a couple of days I'd probably do the first one and the third. However, as said above by @Its_just_a_ride, from Rhyader you can't really choose a bad road.
