This 5 star route is the last in a series of 5 that has travelled through Wales on 'roads less traveled' and this route continues the same theme. The route starts (campsite) in the Ogwen Valley and after a few miles you'll turn off the A5 and ride through the remotest part of the this wide glacial valley surrounded by soaring mountains in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape.
I have suggested a coffee stop after just 25 minutes for two reasons: You may have just spent the last hour packing away your camping equipment and might be in need of a cuppa, or, you may want to stop at the delightful cottage that's called (rather inappropriately) The Ugly House! This cottage is full of history, legend and mystery. Nobody knows who built it or when, but there is some knowledge about some of the people who have lived here in the past…
The first person who we know lived here was local shepherd, John Roberts, in 1900. Within the thick dry stone walls his accommodation would have been basic: a single living room with the large fireplace for heat and cooking and a ladder up to a sleeping loft under the roof. The Ugly House, or Ty Hyll in Welsh is owned by the Snowdonia Society and the grounds, beehives and honeybee room are lovingly maintained by volunteers. An alternative coffee stop is just a little further at Betws y Coed.
After Betws y Coed you'll join another stunningly beautiful valley, this one is called the Machno Valley. You can stop and view the Conwy Falls at RP 9 where the River Mancho and Conwy meet and a little further on at RP 10 is an old Roman bridge viewed from the bridge that you're on. The pretty, hideaway village of Penmanch is next with it's robust, stone built cottages and ringed by hills and forests.
Follow the valley and then head up high onto open moorland with 360° views on roads perfectly suited for motorcycles. You can see the road as it twists and turns for miles ahead of you - motorcycle heaven!
You will leave Snowdonia National Park not long after you pass lake Bala, the landscape changes from rugged mountains to more rounded hills. This doesn't mean that the route becomes less dramatic, far from it. You'll enter the Y Berwyn National Nature Reserve, the largest area of heather moorland in Wales. The road is again nice and twisty and with tremendous views all the way to the scheduled lunch stop at New Town. There are a few places to stop for fast food, McDs, KFC and fish and chips are all nearby.
After lunch the route hops over the English border to take in some of the scenery of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This distinctive area of the Anglo-Welsh borders is where remote upland merges into pastoral lowland. The Shropshire Hills is a varied and special landscape which is rich in geology and wildlife with heritage in rolling farmland, woods and river valleys and great to ride through.
Back into Wales and follow close to the border to the market town of Hay on Wye. Nestled on the banks of the River Wye and surrounded by the undulating countryside of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Hay on Wye is a small Welsh town with its identity firmly established in books. I've scheduled a coffee stop here so you can have a quick look around this pretty town.
Leaving Hay on a small road, you will gradually climb to the highest paved road in Wales, the Gospel Pass. This 18-mile lane snakes its way all the way up to the 1,801 feet-high (549m). folklore has it that St Paul came this way taking the bible to Wales. The pass is flanked by the peaks of Hay Bluff (677m) to the east which is also the English border and Waun Fach (811m) to the west. Livestock roam freely so beware. Because of the altitude, the pass is often snow covered in the winter months.
As you come down off the pass you'll see the 900 year old ruins of Llanthony Priory and then the 900 year old Skirrid Inn that's still standing proud serving great ale and hearty meals - a comparison worthy of some thought!
The route ends a short distance from the Inn at a campsite. There is also a campsite at the priory and accomodation at the inn.
I hope you have enjoyed this route and the tour of Wales on 'roads less traveled' that this route belongs to. Enjoy.