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,…
Category: Britain
Wales 5: Ffestiniog to Bangor
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…
Wales 4: Hafren Forest to Ffestiniog
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…
Wales 3: Llandrindod Wells to Hafren Forest
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…
Wales 2: Abergavenny to Llandrindod Wells
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…
Wales 1: Chepstow to Abergavenny
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…
Britain 21: Melvich to John o’Groats
From Melvich I passed Dounreay, site of the famous fast breeder (picture). Obviously, I wore a radiation suit for cycling. After all, can’t do any harm, and cycling is DANGEROUS, and the fact that the suit split after I passed the reactor PROVES IT SAVED MY LIFE. I think radiation suits for cyclists should be…
Britain 20: Lairg to Melvich
A wonderful day of cycling experiences, stories, and pleasant encounters – plus a panic with a happy ending. The A836 north from Lairg (picture) is a great cycling experience: narrow tarmac, gentle gradients if any, little traffic, and going 20 miles across scenic uninhabited landscape. It’s more like a Sustrans railtrail than an A road….
Britain 19: Drumnadrochit to Lairg
After the scenic overload of the previous two days, today was consolidation: drizzly and grey progress, over brooding moorlands and along plains. There were two spectacular sights to thrill the heart though. The first was the semi-panorama over Dornoch Firth before the final descent to Bonar Bridge (picture); the second, the line-up of marked-down sandwiches…
Britain 18: Glencoe to Drumnadrochit
A day of perfect weather and endlessly wonderful scenery along the Great Glen, starting with Loch Linnhe (picture). It was like cycling through a Highland Views Calendar stuck on early summer. All very well, but stopping every five minutes to take another photo plays havoc with your schedule. After a stop in Fort William Wetherspoons…