Author: Rob Ainsley

It was all very 1826 this morning. Partly this was because I cycled across the magnificent Menai Bridge (pic), one of the world’s first suspension jobs. And also because I’d had no wifi, internet, phone or postal access in my Premier Inn. To communicate with the outside world I’d have needed smoke signals. Once across,…

I’d planned a short day. I’d had vague aspirations of stopping off en route to walk up Snowdon, assisted by the rack’n’ruin railway. Unfortunately the train was only running part way up, so I wouldn’t have time for any summit-bagging today. It was a swoosh down from Ffestiniog to the valley floor (pic) and a…

An early start, into the sheepy fields. I climbed laboriously up the mountain road towards Machynlleth past Dylife Gorge (pic). I was heading towards the highest point on the Lôn Las Cymru after Gospel Pass – 510m above sea level, and usually 100m above bottom of the cloud level. Indeed, when I did this bit…

I had a quick morning spin around Llandrindod Wells’s lake (pic). Locals proudly told me about the new cycle path around its kilometre or so circumference. ‘Cycle path’ sounds grander than it is, which is a solid-line lane marked off from the perimeter road, but it’s wide and pleasant enough. LW is a Victorian spa…

I pedalled up from my bargain Premier Inn room to meet Jack – who was riding with me for the day – at his house on the edge of Abergavenny. We picked some apples from his orchard to take with us and scooted along the back lanes up to Gospel Pass, Wales’s highest road at…

I’ve done End to Ends of Britain, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, even the Isle of Man. Not Wales though – well, not exactly. I did Cardiff to Holyhead in 2000, and St David’s to Llandudno in 2013, both of them traverses of sorts. That first trip was along the Lôn Las…