Fazer foray into Wales

[Dave48]

Having finally got the Red Reviver back in one piece last Tuesday with carbs nicely balanced, i had a short ride in the searing heat that was Wednesday-covered about 60 miles before heading for home & cold drinks,ice cream etc.
Saturday I met friend on his S****i GS 500 on A5/A41 junction near M54(Cosford). He came cross country from Burton on Trent & I went up from S. Bham.
We rode to Shrewsbury,stopped for coffee & fuel,chat to fellow bikers on way to Llangollen BikeFest. Arrived @ said venue & had good look round-lots to see both old & new. Lunchtime came & we rode up the Horseshoe Pass to the Ponderosa Cafe for sustenance, chatted to fellow OAP FZS600S owner who said he loved his bike (same age as mine) except for the vibration period @ 6000rpm-I said "I take it you mean in the lower gears as 6000 in 6th would equate to some speed on your twisty roads!
Asked mate if he wanted to see anything/ride anywhere else so we completed the Pass called into Ruthin & then spotted the sign for A494 to Lake Bala (Llyn Tegid).
Bala was pleasant with fresh breeze from water. Rode down side of lake to Llanuwychlynn & picked up the single track road known as the Path of the Cross (Bwlch y Groes). first photo taken half way up looking down onto Cwm Cynelwyd. This mountain pass is the highest in N. Wales & formed part of the Pilgrims Way from NE Wales to St Davids cathedral in Pembrokeshire-travelled since Mediaeval times.
2nd photo @ top with amazing views. The descent was steep to put it mildly (average gradient 1 in 4). this hill was used by Midland car & bike testers back in the 30s to evaluate cars & bikes. Also used as part of the ISDT course & by masochistic cyclists of whom we saw several!!
Down to Dinas Mawddy then blast down to Caersws & Newtown before heading on to Shrewsbury where we went our separate ways,my pal rode down to Telford for A5 to Cannock whilst I took the A458 to Much Wenlock,Bridgnorth & Stourbridge. 250 miles and the Fazer performed like a goodun

[Dave48]

Cant get the hang of this new fangled picture technology!

[fatbloke62]

its a great sunday run out I do that route at least a couple of times a year starting and finishing in Cannock

[slimwilly]

Hell, that is steep

[darrsi]

This is what happens when you don't turn your phone sideways in landscape mode for a photo. 


Worse still, you've got a bloody landscape in the background. 

[Dave48]

Thanks for explaining it! Some of us were born when men walked in front of vehicles with a red flag
Technology!-Now if my 5 yr old granddaughter had been there it would have been "sorted"

[Arfa]

Also did a Welsh jaunt this weekend, visiting family up in Welshpool. Wanted to check out the Llangollen Bikefest on the Sunday, but weather looked rubbish and ended up catching up with family and old college mates instead.

Route wise, I usually cut across from London, via Aylesbury, Buckingham, Brackly, Banbury, Stratford, skirt Worcester, and Droitwich, Kiddie, Bridgenorth and Shrewsbury. 

This time I tried going round Worcester over to Leominster, then up via Ludlow and Church Stoke to Welshpool. The A49 from Leominster to Ludlow was a bit slow moving, but nice once I peeled off towards Church Stoke. Coming back I went down to Newtown and near Llandrindod Wells, then across to Leominster. The A483 Newtown to Llandrindod Wells is wicked. All in around a 500 mile round trip from East London.

Also bumped into an older chap on cherry red FZS600 and his mate on a Triumph Speedmaster (I think) in Crossgates.

Hopefully be repeating the journey later in August.

[Dave48]

Glad you rode the A483 Newtown to Crossgates, Arfa. Its an incredible road(not without its potential hazards) but its great to pull in to the car park & sit in the sunshine? & chat to fellow riders, drink, eat, whatever.
I imagine its even better when you are leaving the congestion of "The Smoke" behind? Isnt the FZS 600 great on the Welsh roads?!

[dazza]

Oooh, the Newtown to Crossgates road    I can feel another LOFO camping trip coming on 

[Hedgetrimmer]

Oooh, the Newtown to Crossgates road    I can feel another LOFO camping trip coming on 

Don't know why, but I think I prefer doing it from south to north, Crossgates to Newtown - just seems to flow better somehow. I might be doing a trip down to the Brecons at the start of next month. If so, you can bet I'll do that road! For pure riding fun, I really don't think there is another in Britain to beat it. Only thing I've now done that equals it was the southern half of the Route Napoleon in France.

[noggythenog]

Hey Dave, just reading your comment about the pilgrims way......being in pembs I know of it much I don't know a great deal about it except for of course they were off to St Davids......anyway I think I've walked a part of it from my wifes work...I dropped her off once at the vets she works at and I knew there was a path down the side & I ended up on what I think is a part of the pilgrims way from Haverfordwest to St.Davids....it was impromptu and I soon got dehydrated with no supplies so I turned back after an hour or so....there was I big marker stone on the path that looked pretty ancient, maybe about 1.5 metres out of the ground........will have to look into it more as I didn't quite realise how far and wide people would come from.............anyway that's about it from me.....haven't done any bloody riding.....all those nice roads and the bike is stuck in the shed.....facebook even reminds me now of memories and pics of rides gone by as if to just rub it in...........just had no time.

[Dave48]

Hey Noggy-good to see you back on forum!
It was a tv prog with Griff Rhys-Jones that got me thinking about these ancient routes.
There is a wooden cross on the western descent side of Bwylch Y Groes that stands on the junction with the road to Lake Vrynwy a short distance down from the summit.
Timing of pilgrimage was important to avoid being caught @ 540 metres in winter blizzards etc although lower down the route works alongside the Dyfi estuary which would be more sheltered. Bands of brigands & outlaws inhabited the slopes of Hirnant & Bwylch passes although the penalty for attacking pilgrims was instant excommunication from the church which would have been quite a deterrent in those times!
I am now looking at the drovers tracks that cross west to east towards the markets in England. Do you have any info on these?
Off to visit sister in Painscastle tomorrow, unfortunately in cage, but its still Wales however you arrive!

[noggythenog]

Sorry mate i dont know anything about those drovers tracks but i just find ancient trails a little bit fascinating. There is a lost Roman road in Pembs, brother in law was showing me roughly where it dissapears from site on its way from Carmarthen direction and then i spent ages trawling through google Earth........trouble is after a long time staring at google earth youll start to see what you want to see rather than what is actually there.......sure you know that very dry periods tend to show these old routes up more.


Ill have to look up that programme with Gryff you mention.

[taylor]

the pilgrims way is just up the road from where i live just over the english border,   i am sure it runs along the brecon mountains and comes back down in carmarthen,  then on to pembroke.       as for the drovers road it must have gone to chepstow,     because of the narrow crossing point of the severn,   unless they where going north,.?

[slimwilly]

Hey Dazza, Hedgetrimmer, I ride the Crossgate road every few weeks to blow the cobwebs off, just for fun, steady mind lol.

[Oldgit]

don't go to Wales, its full of dragons and that's just the wimmen.

[slimwilly]

A group of us are meeting Leominster tomorrow,8am, then Brecon,Llandovery,,coffee, then all the way to Newtown,,woow,,cant wait

[Dave48]

Ride safe lads!

[slimwilly]

All good, great ride. chilly at 8 this morning, the Welsh roads did not disappoint