Short break Ireland to Wales.

[wessie]

keep it coming - that layby is a PITA as people park on the road when it is full. Not great if going uphill around the hairpins as you can find yourself sitting at the tail of a queue on a blind crest. Otherwise a great road I travel often on the way to/from the coast.

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Morning all.
Day 2 continued.... lost count what stage this should be...

So after the plane spotters (they get some brilliant photos- Google mach loop I'm with stupid)
we continued on the A470 through Mallwyd and turned left at Glantwymyn. We then followed the river to Llanbrynmair and turned right onto the B4518 headed for Staylittle. On the way we stopped again for a break and to take in more scenery and fresh air.


Not sure exactly where this is but somewhere between Pennant and Staylittle. The only noise was from the sheep in the valley which was quite funny, at one point it was like they were trying to sing the Doh-Ray-Me.....

Anyway, another beautiful spot and drive.

 

[Harvey Mushman]

From there we continued on the same B4518 to Llyn Clywedog and a stop for more pics.






Thought this was lovely..

 

[Harvey Mushman]

After a while soaking this up we continued on to Llanidloes. While most places were shut by this time Mrs M fancied an ice cream break. We found an open Spar and had our magnums on the car park wall.
Have to say the town didn't inspire me the way any other points had done so far on the trip.
Not sure why.

 

[Harvey Mushman]

After Llanidloes we followed the A470 again to Llangurig and then the A44 - B4343 - A4120 to take us to our last point of the day. Devil's Bridge.

Possible Wales's first/oldest tourist attraction. I first heard of this when watching the excellent TV show Hinterland a few years back. This show was also the seed for this whole trip if I'm honest. Despite insinuating that Aberystwyth and surrounding areas was full of psychotic serial killers, it also showcased roads that even back then made me think "I'd love to take the bike up there.... "

Well, finally I did!

 

[matgriff]

We stayed at the same Airbnb in Tregaron last year, it was a great find. We're always doing weekend trips around Wales as we live not to far away just over the Cheshire border. Last week we did three days and stayed in the Hafod hotel right on Devils Bridge, it's the 2nd or 3rd time we've stayed there, I can highly recommend it. Great roads and countryside.

 

[Harvey Mushman]

We then took the B4343 back to base in Tregaron. Another lovely spin. (Aren't they all?)

Great weather. Great interaction with locals. Stunning scenery. Fabulous roads. Roughly 300kms over about 5-6 hours saddle time. Really we spent the full day at it though. And enjoyed every minute.

What a day.

Simply put..
Epic.

(Stay tuned for day 3. To be continued....)

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Wednesday, Day 3. Brecon Beacons.


First order of the day was to book 2 spaces on the Hygge lounge on board ship for the return crossing. Trust me when I say this is worth it.

We had again a hearty healthy breakfast courtesy of the brilliant little shop across the road from the digs. We then set of on the same route past the phone box and Llyn Brianne that we had taken on the first evening. We continued on this road to LLandovery, and then joined the A40 as far as Sennybridge.

The clag was starting to close in and by the time we were on the A4215 and the A470 heading to Merthyr we were in mist/drizzle and cloud.
We kept faith in the forecast that this was moving on and by the time we'd be north of Ebbw Vale we'd be clear. We then took the B4560 north west towards Brecon.
No photos on the way. Visibility was not worth it.

 

[2 wheel humvee]

Great report so far keep it coming, don't worry too much about pronunciation as long as you have a go and do your best most people will respect your attempt, leave the phlegm rolling for the locals and the gogs It's interesting seeing what we sometimes take for granted from a visitors perspective it makes me want to get the bike out and head for the hills.

 

[Tinytim]

I can feel your enjoyment of your trip, after a nervous start, just from reading your posts .

Me too

 

[Harvey Mushman]

By the time we were negotiating the roadworks along the A465 from Merthyr it was starting to brighten up.

We headed off up the B4560 towards Llangynidr but stopped on a layby on the first crest along about 1 mile or 2 clicks up the road. The weather was clearing, the rain had stopped and we could finally see stuff.

We were still wearing our wet gear. Both of us have bright yellow Scott Ergo jackets, and Mrs M has a white helmet which makes her look like Garda Mushman (or in this case Constable Mushman). While we were chatting and taking snaps I noted a few cars slowing on approach. Then we heard another bike on the way. Some enduro type, a KLR650 or similar came into view. As soon as he spotted us he stopped in the preceding layby, not looking at all suspicious or guilty, just to the right of where the white van is in the above photo!

He waited there for quite a while, not proceeding until after I put my Black/red/white-and-definitely-not-police-coloured helmet on. We gave him a big wave anyway when he passed, which was reciprocated......

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Heads of the Valleys....

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Arriving in Brecon Mrs M had an important appointment with a chocolate shop, we found a newsagent where I picked up a Bike and a Ride magazine, one of which had a Classic Bike mag attached. These were to pass the time on the return sailing, and I was interested in the F900GSA review. And then we went for lunch.

Brecon is another lovely town for strolling and people watching. Obviously very touristy orientated but still retains a charm that places like Killarney (and less so Kenmare) have lost imo.

After walking around for a while, we settled on Arabellas Artisan Eatery. Coffee was akin to rocket fuel (i.e. best yet) and we both had the summer toast. Photo's don't do it justice. Gorgeous....

 

[Tinytim]

Thank you so much for the photos. In particular the B4560 Llangynidr road from the Garnlydan estate and the viewpoint where you stopped, looking North towards Llangorse Lake and beyond and with the Beacons to the left and the Sugar Loaf and Black Mountains to the right is very very dear to me. I spent my childhood and youth walking and cycling all around here. It really is a beautiful area. Thanks again and the rest of your trip report is very good too.

 

[wessie]

I've stopped at that viewpoint near Upper Chapel many, many times looking back towards the Wye Valley and Radnor Hills beyond. Shame the clouds spoiled your view

 

[Aidan1150]

We then took the B4343 back to base in Tregaron. Another lovely spin. (Aren't they all?)

Great weather. Great interaction with locals. Stunning scenery. Fabulous roads. Roughly 300kms over about 5-6 hours saddle time. Really we spent the full day at it though. And enjoyed every minute.

What a day.

Simply put..
Epic.

(Stay tuned for day 3. To be continued....)

I'm enjoying your report immensely thank you HM.
Wales is a beautiful little country to visit on the bike. A few of us used to do the Welsh National Rally regularly which was a great way to see the lesser visited parts of the country.

 

[simondippenhall]

Great report but we need a picture of the motorcycle

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Thanks for the kind feedback. Not sure if anyone was finding this interesting, glad to know I'm not boring ye yet....

After Brecon we continued generally north-north-west on the B4520/4519 in the general direction of Beulah. Again blown away with the road surfaces, views, elevation/direction changes, adorable houses etc.... then I noticed the red flags and MOD signs warning of unexploded ordinance.

Feck, had I brought us into a live-fire exercise?
I could see the headlines now...
2 Irish tourists last seen eating posh toast have disappeared without trace.... /

2 Irish saboteurs, attempting to disrupt major NATO excercise, have been vapourised by Challenger tank rounds... /

2 paddies on a bike, lost in military training ground, had to be rescued by helicopter.....

I wasn't sure which of the 3 was worse to be honest.


Mrs M told me to speed up in order to make us a more difficult target....
all while singing old rebel songs just in case GCHQ were monitoring our transmissions from the cardo headsets....cos, y'know, why not?

I was a tad concerned when we saw 2 Landrovers by a pub, until I passed them and they looked derelict. Feck, are they targets?

 

[Harvey Mushman]

We eventually made it out alive and unscathed... met a crossroads that brought us on the A483 back to Beulah. The afternoon was moving towards evening, and this is where I had put contingency options into my route. When reaching waypoint 10 (Beulah) on the map posted above we could either continue north west, or head north east and take in the Elan Valley loop back around to reach Tregaron from the north on B4574. We both agreed that we had had another outstanding day on the bike, had been lucky with the weather, and decided to quit while we were ahead. We had already decided that we were going to come back here sooner rather than later, and the Elan Valley could wait.

We did spot this chap though...
Despite, or maybe because of- the wind that was starting to pick up in strength, he was hovering perfectly still directly in front of us.

 

[wessie]

Dancing with the Devil?