A trip to Snowdonia, 1st to 3rd-July .
Snowdonia Day 1.
We meet at Aust services to leave at 10am. 4 bikes 5 peeps, Mike, Malcolm, Mark and Shirley and myself, (Pete)
We leave over the old bridge in to Chepstow, up Chepstow bypass, turn right on to b4293, turning off left to lansoy and up to Raglan, I had planned routes for the journey up, but straight away they were ditched, as if you planned a route in the satnav and your forced to alter the route the sat Nav won't allow you deviate and tries to put you back on route, so, we stop at raglan and just put in the end destination, continuing onto A40 to Abergavenny bypassing it, as there was a traffic jam going in back on to A40, on to A479 a great road if you don't have a car in front of you that lives on the brakes, on to A470 up to first pit stop, Builth wells. The first leg of the journey was stop and go thanks to the sat Nav issue, it made it more difficult that we couldn't tell Mike what was going on and why we were stopping.
Food and Drink over and trying to sort out mike's head set as it wouldn't work, we gave up at that point, we continue up the A470 until we hit llanidloes ,turning onto the B4518, a beautiful road following up the mountain valleys taking in the views, just over half way up, Malcolm remembered the route I took previously on another trip up here, an awesome route, he got me to turn towards Dylife it starts as a two lane Rd turning into a single lane but it's takes you over the mountains, twisting all over the place, at points you would look left or right and you're looking straight down into the valleys with nothing to stop us disappearing into it, stopping for a photo shoot at one point, the road was empty so I was flicking the bike around keeping eye on the mirrors to make sure I was not leaving everyone behind , it is has been mentioned a few times in our end of day chats, of how I'm not a slow rider, my approach to corners, and how I ride, or how Malcolm said it I make corners look all so easy, thanks Malcolm, reaching the end turning left on to A489, till we hit the A487 turning right following that up until we get to A470 continuing till we hit the nearest fuel station, the bikes that need fuel are filled and we are fuelled with drinks, we are now 20 miles from the hotel, it was decided instead of going to hotel and unloading and going back out, as we had arrived in good time it's only 2:50pm we go find an evening meal before going back, and ride a bit more so we head on back on down towards Harlech, another journey I planned for the evening just in case more was required, but now the weather change it had been dry for most of the day and reasonably warm ,less than 5 minutes in, it starting spitting and before long wind and rain lash down on us as we approach Harlech on our left ,you could see the storm sat above it, Mark suggested we head away from it in opposite direction so we headed for Betws y coed, but no, few minutes later we are pulling over for Mark to waterproof himself up as did Malcolm, off again we must of missed the turning as we found we had done a big circle, so we headed in to Harlech back to the first plan, but no one was serving food. some were full, some just not doing food, at this point the rain was starting take its toll on us, dampness and coldness was creeping in we need warmth and food after a final rejection in Harlech we head back towards hotel, knowing that there was a pub on the entrance to it, we hoped it was doing food,
We arrived at it, I ran in to check, the Oakeley arms hotel greeted us with open arms and they didn't care we were dripping wet, I could almost hear the tears of joy through the heads sets as the guys outside heard the answer from the staff, 5:47 nearly three hours later food was ordered but we did get to see a lot more of Snowdonia and travelled some lovely, but very wet roads.
Food consumed we head back to place of residence, after a warmup and we gather in the lounge for the evening, chit chatting as I write this, then attempting to sort out Mike head set, and then bed time
Pete
Day 2.
After doing 210 miles and 6.46 hrs in the saddle the day before
The hotel didn't let us down it is warm and clean, though it had no bar, rooms are basic, some have TV,s, some don't, mine didn't, but I didn't come to Snowdonia to watch TV, and I had to finish yesterday’s report and try fix mike's head set
Breakfast at 8am and it was excellent, all you could eat and cooked to perfection, staff were friendly, could not do enough for us and very helpful, they let us, plug Mike’s head set in to a computer to see if it would update, but to no avail computer wouldn't let us due to its anti-viral protection
We head out at 10, the storm had blown itself away overnight, I'm in lead, Sat Nav primed for action.
Mike is the only one without a headset, so he's directly behind me, Malcolm and Mark/Shirley following with Mark recording the journey on his sat Nav,
After driving to the road it's a very long drive way, we turn left out of entrance, this road was the one road I wanted to do B4410, it's a twister, but it only works if it's car free, but alas mister slow was in front of us so we follow it to the end at a snail pace, turning right on to A4085 right on to A498 following it up Beddgelert, back on to A4085 head now up towards Snowdonia on the south side ,up to Waunfwr, turning right on to Ffordd bryngwgn we are crossing at Snowdonia's top end, all was going well then on hitting the A4086 the sat Nav throws a wobbly and sends us in a big loop, and would not progress forward, ditching the planned route, I reset sat Nav with first stop point and we're off again, we continue down the A4086 turn left on to A4244 onto B4547 onto A487 following that to Menai Bridge, taking in the views as we cross it in to Anglesey and following the road to Beaumaris and our first pitstop.
1 HR later tea and cake eaten , weather dry, sunny but breezy, looking across to Snowdonia, with it dark moody cloud moving around it peaks, knowing it's chucking it down over there, a new strategy in place for sat Nav planned routes, now broke down to segments, we retrace our steps back to Menai Bridge crossing, retracing our route back down to A4086 turn right we are now on the north side of Snowdonia head down to llanberis Pass, we are riding directly towards the black cloud, we are all waterproofed up just in case and good job to as soon as we hit the mountain down it pours, heavy wasn't the word, it was so heavy it ran down both in and outsides of my visor, but it didn’t take away the enjoyment as we passed through, and as we got further through its stopped just like that, as if someone had drawn a line across the road. We were back in the sun following the A4086 until hitting A5 turning right on to it, and following that till our next stop Betws y Coed, turning left and parking in the station carpark bike bays, which is the centre hub for food and tourists and it's busy,
45 minutes later we moving again, turning left back on to the A5 heading east further away from Snowdonia, and this road is a cruising road, get up to your speed and just sit there and we did and we loved it, swaying the bikes from corner to corner, the whole day traffic was moving well, with the odd car that we would have to pass, because the owner was scared it would roll over if it went faster than five miles hour around a corner but they were few and far between, taking a left off the A5 on to A494, then right on to A5104 following that along watching our speed as there are average speed cameras all along it ,which Mark noticed the sat Nav knew and worked our average speed out, turn right off it on to A542 and our next stop the Ponderosa cafe, weather still sunny and we've made good time.
50 mins later, it's time to continue along the A542 and around Horseshoe pass ,keeping to the speed limits as this isn't all about speed it's about the views and there great, this is the first time I had done in this direction and you get such better views, it also meant the camera van didn't nab us either, this was going to be the return trip to hotel but we weren't ready so we extended the ride, towards the bottom of the A542 we got directed down b5103 tiny little road less than a minute on it, but so unique with its fancy bridge work, it was worth seeing, back onto A5 heading west passing the A494 that we went up, turning left into the lower half of it towards Bala, turning right on to A4212 another sweeping road, stopping at Afon Tryweryn lake, I put my goat climbing skill to use and got down to the water's edge, for the photo op, continuing afterwards till we hit the garage at the end and picked up drinks for the night, then jumping on to the A470 into the Oakeley arms pub for evening meal, earlier than booked but they accommodated us, then returned across the road to our hotel
But I wasn't finished I needed my fast buzz fix still, which I didn't get that morning, fast corners, pushing myself, I mentioned to the others, I'm going to redo the road we started on this morning , roads are empty, Marks said he'll join me so we tootled of to the entrance, Mark said do your thing, so I was gone, Mark on my tail the road we did barely, 20 miles per hour along that morning got thrashed, pushing hard into the corners flipping from one to another, hitting 50+ on the straight before dropping into a bend, back up dropping down again what a rush at speed, but we always abide village speed limits as I'm not out to anger the resident's, adrenaline pumping we turn around and do the return journey but it's not enough we both want more so we hop on to A487 down to Porthmadog back up to Pont Aberglaslyn via A498 dropping back down A4085 to A487 again and shot back to the hotel, I had a big smile on my face, adrenaline rush accomplished, and proving you don't need a sport bike to have fun
We return to hotel where the evening was spent Mark, Mike and Malcolm shared the whiskey, Shirley on the Smirnoff, Malcolm joined myself on the speckled hen too , and what a great evening it was.
It was strange not have Mike on the headsets throughout the day, and after inspection of the sat Nav there was nothing wrong with the map route, I planned so confused to why it sent us in circles possible lost satellite connection who knows
Total hrs riding 6hrs.49 min
160 miles
Pete
Day 3. Goodbye Snowdonia
Previous day milage 197 miles
6 hrs 45 riding
Breakfast at 8, farewells said to the staff, after loading the bikes back up, we are ready for the trip home. But! We are not going straight home, this maybe the last leg of the trip but not over until we are home,
A stop was mention at breakfast, so that was next stop, 9.47 we depart on to the A470 south following it down to mallwyd, turning onto the A458 which we followed to Welshpool it was a lovely road, apart from the slow campers and caravans we got stuck behind making it an arduous journey, what should been a simple hour trip doubled putting pressures on us and our bladders, dropping down onto the A483 out of Welshpool joining the A490 down to church Stoke outskirts, where we stop briefly for bladder relief, back on the move we take A489 and our first pit stop at Churchstoke shopping centre, the slow moving vehicles cost us a lot of time,1hr45 to do an hrs ride.
Half hour later we on the move again staying on the A489 heading East, a fast ride now as the route was clear eventually hitting the A49 turning right on to it, passing Ludlow and on to Leominster, turning left onto A44 dropping down one roundabout taking the first exit onto Worcester Road and our first port of call Don's Bike Stop
57 minutes travel time.
A beautiful place you’re sat in a woodland with tea, coffee and food all available, the smell of the timber filling the air, after drinking more tea, we discuss the route home, I didn't want to go through Hereford as Herefords single bridge across the river is a bottle neck at the best of time so planned a route around Hereford towards Hay on Wye.
An hour later we leave the carpark, a gravelly one that Mark wasn't that impressed with, but all safely out, fuel is the next stop so retracing our steps up the A44 one roundabout, a brief fuel stop, leaving on the A4112 towards Hay on Wye, but turning off left onto a small cut through taking us down through villages Ailey & Waterloo, at the end we cross A438 into Brobury lane, then joining the B4352 towards village of Tyberton, shortly turning down Shenmore, joining into B4348, at this point, I was running without the Sat Nav, as I was in my old home grounds, so follow names I knew the direction was right, I briefly stop, to stop the sat Nav which was arguing with me and was trying to take us further west, eventually joining the A465 by Locks garage, we needed to go straight across but so did the big lorry that was in front of us, so I took A465 for half a mile turning left into kilpeck which cut us across back to the road required B4348 turning right towards Wormlow Tump, turning right on to old Hereford Road, following it down through to Monmouth, turning left onto Dixton road out onto A40 around roundabout back towards Monmouth, taking left turn on to A466 the Tintern road, following it to Tintern, stopping at the Anchor Inn for the last stop.1hr 30
Another Pitstop over, we head out leaving Tintern back towards Chepstow, in that brief journey the plans we talk about around the table had changed, I needed to get the info off Marks sat Nav to write this report, he planned to go straight home, but instead followed me back to marina so I could down load info, but we couldn't tell Mike no headset ,so shouted it to him as we rode side by side, M4 Malcolm goes his own way ,the rest of us go around the ring road till Mike peels off, Mark, Shirley andmyself continue to the lock keeper pub where the story end over a meal.
I think we all could have carried on there was plenty of miles left in us.
7.40 hrs 210 miles
Total for weekend 617 miles
Pete.
We meet at Aust services to leave at 10am. 4 bikes 5 peeps, Mike, Malcolm, Mark and Shirley and myself, (Pete)
We leave over the old bridge in to Chepstow, up Chepstow bypass, turn right on to b4293, turning off left to lansoy and up to Raglan, I had planned routes for the journey up, but straight away they were ditched, as if you planned a route in the satnav and your forced to alter the route the sat Nav won't allow you deviate and tries to put you back on route, so, we stop at raglan and just put in the end destination, continuing onto A40 to Abergavenny bypassing it, as there was a traffic jam going in back on to A40, on to A479 a great road if you don't have a car in front of you that lives on the brakes, on to A470 up to first pit stop, Builth wells. The first leg of the journey was stop and go thanks to the sat Nav issue, it made it more difficult that we couldn't tell Mike what was going on and why we were stopping.
Food and Drink over and trying to sort out mike's head set as it wouldn't work, we gave up at that point, we continue up the A470 until we hit llanidloes ,turning onto the B4518, a beautiful road following up the mountain valleys taking in the views, just over half way up, Malcolm remembered the route I took previously on another trip up here, an awesome route, he got me to turn towards Dylife it starts as a two lane Rd turning into a single lane but it's takes you over the mountains, twisting all over the place, at points you would look left or right and you're looking straight down into the valleys with nothing to stop us disappearing into it, stopping for a photo shoot at one point, the road was empty so I was flicking the bike around keeping eye on the mirrors to make sure I was not leaving everyone behind , it is has been mentioned a few times in our end of day chats, of how I'm not a slow rider, my approach to corners, and how I ride, or how Malcolm said it I make corners look all so easy, thanks Malcolm, reaching the end turning left on to A489, till we hit the A487 turning right following that up until we get to A470 continuing till we hit the nearest fuel station, the bikes that need fuel are filled and we are fuelled with drinks, we are now 20 miles from the hotel, it was decided instead of going to hotel and unloading and going back out, as we had arrived in good time it's only 2:50pm we go find an evening meal before going back, and ride a bit more so we head on back on down towards Harlech, another journey I planned for the evening just in case more was required, but now the weather change it had been dry for most of the day and reasonably warm ,less than 5 minutes in, it starting spitting and before long wind and rain lash down on us as we approach Harlech on our left ,you could see the storm sat above it, Mark suggested we head away from it in opposite direction so we headed for Betws y coed, but no, few minutes later we are pulling over for Mark to waterproof himself up as did Malcolm, off again we must of missed the turning as we found we had done a big circle, so we headed in to Harlech back to the first plan, but no one was serving food. some were full, some just not doing food, at this point the rain was starting take its toll on us, dampness and coldness was creeping in we need warmth and food after a final rejection in Harlech we head back towards hotel, knowing that there was a pub on the entrance to it, we hoped it was doing food,
We arrived at it, I ran in to check, the Oakeley arms hotel greeted us with open arms and they didn't care we were dripping wet, I could almost hear the tears of joy through the heads sets as the guys outside heard the answer from the staff, 5:47 nearly three hours later food was ordered but we did get to see a lot more of Snowdonia and travelled some lovely, but very wet roads.
Food consumed we head back to place of residence, after a warmup and we gather in the lounge for the evening, chit chatting as I write this, then attempting to sort out Mike head set, and then bed time
Pete
Day 2.
After doing 210 miles and 6.46 hrs in the saddle the day before
The hotel didn't let us down it is warm and clean, though it had no bar, rooms are basic, some have TV,s, some don't, mine didn't, but I didn't come to Snowdonia to watch TV, and I had to finish yesterday’s report and try fix mike's head set
Breakfast at 8am and it was excellent, all you could eat and cooked to perfection, staff were friendly, could not do enough for us and very helpful, they let us, plug Mike’s head set in to a computer to see if it would update, but to no avail computer wouldn't let us due to its anti-viral protection
We head out at 10, the storm had blown itself away overnight, I'm in lead, Sat Nav primed for action.
Mike is the only one without a headset, so he's directly behind me, Malcolm and Mark/Shirley following with Mark recording the journey on his sat Nav,
After driving to the road it's a very long drive way, we turn left out of entrance, this road was the one road I wanted to do B4410, it's a twister, but it only works if it's car free, but alas mister slow was in front of us so we follow it to the end at a snail pace, turning right on to A4085 right on to A498 following it up Beddgelert, back on to A4085 head now up towards Snowdonia on the south side ,up to Waunfwr, turning right on to Ffordd bryngwgn we are crossing at Snowdonia's top end, all was going well then on hitting the A4086 the sat Nav throws a wobbly and sends us in a big loop, and would not progress forward, ditching the planned route, I reset sat Nav with first stop point and we're off again, we continue down the A4086 turn left on to A4244 onto B4547 onto A487 following that to Menai Bridge, taking in the views as we cross it in to Anglesey and following the road to Beaumaris and our first pitstop.
1 HR later tea and cake eaten , weather dry, sunny but breezy, looking across to Snowdonia, with it dark moody cloud moving around it peaks, knowing it's chucking it down over there, a new strategy in place for sat Nav planned routes, now broke down to segments, we retrace our steps back to Menai Bridge crossing, retracing our route back down to A4086 turn right we are now on the north side of Snowdonia head down to llanberis Pass, we are riding directly towards the black cloud, we are all waterproofed up just in case and good job to as soon as we hit the mountain down it pours, heavy wasn't the word, it was so heavy it ran down both in and outsides of my visor, but it didn’t take away the enjoyment as we passed through, and as we got further through its stopped just like that, as if someone had drawn a line across the road. We were back in the sun following the A4086 until hitting A5 turning right on to it, and following that till our next stop Betws y Coed, turning left and parking in the station carpark bike bays, which is the centre hub for food and tourists and it's busy,
45 minutes later we moving again, turning left back on to the A5 heading east further away from Snowdonia, and this road is a cruising road, get up to your speed and just sit there and we did and we loved it, swaying the bikes from corner to corner, the whole day traffic was moving well, with the odd car that we would have to pass, because the owner was scared it would roll over if it went faster than five miles hour around a corner but they were few and far between, taking a left off the A5 on to A494, then right on to A5104 following that along watching our speed as there are average speed cameras all along it ,which Mark noticed the sat Nav knew and worked our average speed out, turn right off it on to A542 and our next stop the Ponderosa cafe, weather still sunny and we've made good time.
50 mins later, it's time to continue along the A542 and around Horseshoe pass ,keeping to the speed limits as this isn't all about speed it's about the views and there great, this is the first time I had done in this direction and you get such better views, it also meant the camera van didn't nab us either, this was going to be the return trip to hotel but we weren't ready so we extended the ride, towards the bottom of the A542 we got directed down b5103 tiny little road less than a minute on it, but so unique with its fancy bridge work, it was worth seeing, back onto A5 heading west passing the A494 that we went up, turning left into the lower half of it towards Bala, turning right on to A4212 another sweeping road, stopping at Afon Tryweryn lake, I put my goat climbing skill to use and got down to the water's edge, for the photo op, continuing afterwards till we hit the garage at the end and picked up drinks for the night, then jumping on to the A470 into the Oakeley arms pub for evening meal, earlier than booked but they accommodated us, then returned across the road to our hotel
But I wasn't finished I needed my fast buzz fix still, which I didn't get that morning, fast corners, pushing myself, I mentioned to the others, I'm going to redo the road we started on this morning , roads are empty, Marks said he'll join me so we tootled of to the entrance, Mark said do your thing, so I was gone, Mark on my tail the road we did barely, 20 miles per hour along that morning got thrashed, pushing hard into the corners flipping from one to another, hitting 50+ on the straight before dropping into a bend, back up dropping down again what a rush at speed, but we always abide village speed limits as I'm not out to anger the resident's, adrenaline pumping we turn around and do the return journey but it's not enough we both want more so we hop on to A487 down to Porthmadog back up to Pont Aberglaslyn via A498 dropping back down A4085 to A487 again and shot back to the hotel, I had a big smile on my face, adrenaline rush accomplished, and proving you don't need a sport bike to have fun
We return to hotel where the evening was spent Mark, Mike and Malcolm shared the whiskey, Shirley on the Smirnoff, Malcolm joined myself on the speckled hen too , and what a great evening it was.
It was strange not have Mike on the headsets throughout the day, and after inspection of the sat Nav there was nothing wrong with the map route, I planned so confused to why it sent us in circles possible lost satellite connection who knows
Total hrs riding 6hrs.49 min
160 miles
Pete
Day 3. Goodbye Snowdonia
Previous day milage 197 miles
6 hrs 45 riding
Breakfast at 8, farewells said to the staff, after loading the bikes back up, we are ready for the trip home. But! We are not going straight home, this maybe the last leg of the trip but not over until we are home,
A stop was mention at breakfast, so that was next stop, 9.47 we depart on to the A470 south following it down to mallwyd, turning onto the A458 which we followed to Welshpool it was a lovely road, apart from the slow campers and caravans we got stuck behind making it an arduous journey, what should been a simple hour trip doubled putting pressures on us and our bladders, dropping down onto the A483 out of Welshpool joining the A490 down to church Stoke outskirts, where we stop briefly for bladder relief, back on the move we take A489 and our first pit stop at Churchstoke shopping centre, the slow moving vehicles cost us a lot of time,1hr45 to do an hrs ride.
Half hour later we on the move again staying on the A489 heading East, a fast ride now as the route was clear eventually hitting the A49 turning right on to it, passing Ludlow and on to Leominster, turning left onto A44 dropping down one roundabout taking the first exit onto Worcester Road and our first port of call Don's Bike Stop
57 minutes travel time.
A beautiful place you’re sat in a woodland with tea, coffee and food all available, the smell of the timber filling the air, after drinking more tea, we discuss the route home, I didn't want to go through Hereford as Herefords single bridge across the river is a bottle neck at the best of time so planned a route around Hereford towards Hay on Wye.
An hour later we leave the carpark, a gravelly one that Mark wasn't that impressed with, but all safely out, fuel is the next stop so retracing our steps up the A44 one roundabout, a brief fuel stop, leaving on the A4112 towards Hay on Wye, but turning off left onto a small cut through taking us down through villages Ailey & Waterloo, at the end we cross A438 into Brobury lane, then joining the B4352 towards village of Tyberton, shortly turning down Shenmore, joining into B4348, at this point, I was running without the Sat Nav, as I was in my old home grounds, so follow names I knew the direction was right, I briefly stop, to stop the sat Nav which was arguing with me and was trying to take us further west, eventually joining the A465 by Locks garage, we needed to go straight across but so did the big lorry that was in front of us, so I took A465 for half a mile turning left into kilpeck which cut us across back to the road required B4348 turning right towards Wormlow Tump, turning right on to old Hereford Road, following it down through to Monmouth, turning left onto Dixton road out onto A40 around roundabout back towards Monmouth, taking left turn on to A466 the Tintern road, following it to Tintern, stopping at the Anchor Inn for the last stop.1hr 30
Another Pitstop over, we head out leaving Tintern back towards Chepstow, in that brief journey the plans we talk about around the table had changed, I needed to get the info off Marks sat Nav to write this report, he planned to go straight home, but instead followed me back to marina so I could down load info, but we couldn't tell Mike no headset ,so shouted it to him as we rode side by side, M4 Malcolm goes his own way ,the rest of us go around the ring road till Mike peels off, Mark, Shirley andmyself continue to the lock keeper pub where the story end over a meal.
I think we all could have carried on there was plenty of miles left in us.
7.40 hrs 210 miles
Total for weekend 617 miles
Pete.