Day of arrival

There will always be things to see and do in the towns and cities we chose to start and end our tours and often the hotels will often have leisure and spa facilities. This gives time to relax and recover from any travel or jetlag because guests arrive at various times with some arriving earlier than others, so, nothing can be formally planned.

If you are hiring a bike through us we shall arrange to either have it delivered to the hotel or take you to the collection point. There you can check over your machine and ensure all is to your satisfaction. You can take a brief ride to familiarise yourself with the machine.

Chester to Abergavenny 150 miles circa 4.5 hours riding

We shall be crossing back and forth across the Welsh/English border today as we depart Chester taking some minor back roads as we head South bypassing Wrexham to reach the ancient border town of Oswestry. To the west lies the Welsh Mountains that you shall ride through during this tour and to the East England. A little further south is the British Ironworks Centre, a mix of museum and metal artwork.

We continue southerly to Shrewsbury a large English market town and the county town of Shropshire and formerly capital of the Kingdom of Powys. Shrewsbury contains many Tudor and Georgian buildings and makes an interesting and convenient place to take our first refreshment break.

We continue south through the Shropshire hills to Ludlow, a Shropshire market town with medieval wall around the old town and castle that dates back to the Norman conquest. Ludlow makes a good spot to break for lunch with much to see for those who want to stretch their legs.

Continuing on the English side of the border we progress further south towards the Malvern Hills then into the Wye Valley where we take a brief stop at Ross-on-Wye before turning to the west, crossing back into Wales and ending the day in Abergavenny

Brecon Beacons circuit 210 miles about 6 hours riding

This circuit zigzags to the west across the Brecon Beacons National Park passing the site on the Green Man Festival as we make our way to the village of Bwich after which we deviate to the south passing Talybont Reservoir, the largest in the area. This brings us to the Brecon Mountain Railway, a 3 mile narrow gauge steam railway line.

From here we deviate north to Sennybridge where we take a refreshment break. The surrounding area is used by the British Army as a training ground. We change direction again this time heading to the south to the Black Mountain and then Upper Brynamman where we leave the Brecon Beacons. Our route continues to Laugharne where Dylan Thomas, the poet, had his writing shed and where we break for lunch.

The return route brings us through Llanelli and Neath where there is another ancient Castle then into the Afan Forrest Park before returning to the hotel

Abergavenny loops 170 miles circa 5 hours riding

Today we conduct a double loop with morning and afternoon sections passing by the hotel. This allows those who want to do their own thing to join one or the other and other to enjoy both.

The morning begins by heading north through the Brecon Beacons National Park we reach Hay-on-Wye which is right on the English/Welsh border and famed as the first book town in the UK so as you might expect there are an abundance of book shops. This is also a castle dating from the 12th century that is partly ruined. Of note was a declaration of independence about 50 years ago and reaffirmed in 2014. This of course has no recognition beyond the town but does help retain the towns notoriety and draws tourists. From Hay there we deviate towards the west to the market town of Builith Wells where we take a brief refreshment break.

Departing Builith Wells we turn south to Brecon another old market town with Benedictine Priory dating back to 1093 that became a Cathedral in 1923. Onwards from Brecon we reach the 18th century bridge at Crickhowell that crosses the River Usk. What is unusual about this 420ft bridge is that it has 12 arches on the upstream side and 13 on the down! As we pass Abergavenny those wanting to leave or join for the can do so. The route continues to another interesting old bridge, this time the Monnow bridge at Monmouth. This 700 year old crossing is the only fortified bridge in the UK and is where we break for lunch.

After our lunch break, we head south to Chepstow. Some have claimed that tourism began here in the late 1700’s when the term Wye Tour was first coined. Needless to say there are many interesting sights to see here. We next turn west and briefly join the M4 to circumnavigate Newport and we make our way to Caerphilly, a town of pre Roman origin. In Welsh the word caer means citadel or fort and when it comes to forts bote that the castle dating from 1270 is the largest in Wales. We end the day crossing the Cwmbran hills as we make our way back to the hotel.

Abergavenny to Portmeirion circa 200 miles with 6 hours riding

Departing Abergavenny heading in a westerly direction we skirt to southern end on the Brecon Beacons National Park we reach Merthyr Tydfil. We don’t plan to stop here though we will ride past some of the town landmarks including Cyfarthfa Park and Castle. Cyfarthfa Castle is relatively modern dating from 1824 and was built for a local ironmaster. We continue west to Carmarthen which claims to be the oldest town in Wales and is where we shall take our first refreshment break.

Our route west will continue until we reach the Irish Sea but first, we pass through the village of Cenarth. The triple arch bridge across the River Teifi and waterfall are among the most photographed features in the village though Cenarth is probably better known for cheese. We continue to the coast at Cardigan where the River Teifi meets the sea. The town features another Norman Castle and though only home to around 4k citizens these days it was historically an important port. From Cardigan we mainly follow the coast north for the rest of the day breaking for lunch at New Quay.

Our coastal route continues to the university town of Aberystwyth where you can find the second longest funicular railway in the British Isles. We could consider taking the train to the café at the top of the cliff for a light refreshment and to admire the view.

The final leg of this route passes through Coedy Brenin Forrest Park before ending the day at Portmeirion, a tourist village designed by architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in the style of the Italian Villages along the Cinque Terra which we visit on some of our Italian tours. Our accommodation will be in Castell Duedreath located on the outskirts of Portmeirion. The village has played host as many film and TV locations including the 60’s cult TV series The Prisoner was filmed here and the entire series is available on the hotel TV channel.

Anglesey circuit circa 185 miles about 6 hours riding

We shall probably have a late start today because you will no doubt want to take a visit to Portmeirion. A Minibus will take you to the village and back though it is not a long walk. Depending upon how much time is taken on that tour we may adjust the planned route around the Lleyn Peninsula and the Isle of Anglesey. The route is about 185 miles and would take 6 hours in the saddle though it can be significantly reduced so we have great flexibility.

About 45 minutes after leaving the hotel we shall reach the fishing port of Abersoch a small town with under 1k regular residents but this grows greatly during the summer because the town is a popular holiday destination with water sports largely featuring as tourist attractions. From hear we cross to the north coast of the peninsula and make our way to the Menai Strait to Anglesey taking a short refreshment break at Caernarfon another popular tourist resort with harbour and marina. The castle of medieval origin dominates and was used for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1911 and again the current prince in 1969.

We continue along the shores of the strait to the crossing. Here we can see the Britannia Bridge designed and built by Robert Stephenson as we cross the Menai Suspension Bridge as designed by Thomas Telford. Two feats of engineering in their day by world renown engineers. We head to the south of Anglesey passing many coastal villages and crossing onto Holy Island where we break for lunch at Trearddur Bay.

Next, we cross over to Holyhead, the UK’s second largest freight port before crossing back over to Anglesey and completing our circuit of the Island taking another short break at Moelfre, a village with small harbour and some evidence of Neolithic settlements nearby.

The return journey to the hotel at Portmeirion crosses the Menai Strait, passes several lakes and cuts through the Gwydid Forrest Park as we circle the east side of Snowdonia.

Snowdonia National Park Meander 195 miles about 6 hours riding

This route moves in and around the Snowdonia National park. As we depart Portmeirion we head south to the seaside town of Barmouth of which William Wordsworth stated "With a fine sea view in front, the mountains behind, the glorious estuary running eight miles inland, and Cadair Idris within compass of a day’s walk, Barmouth can always hold its own against any rival." From here there is a ferry crossing over the Afon Mawddach estuary but the road around is a nice ride so we head inland and cross at Penmaenpool before returning to the coast and progressing onwards to another Wessh seaside resort, Aberfdyfi, where we shall take a short break.

Heading east, back inland, we later turn to the north then move in a north easterly direction as we move through the Dovey Valley and Dyfi Forest as we make our way to Lake Vyrnwy and the Rhiwargor Waterfall which can be reached by a short walk from the car park for those so inclined to stretch their legs. We stop a little further on at the market town of Bala on the shores on the largest natural lake in Wales. One of the town features is an old moat hill.

As we head South Westerly, we almost touch the point where we crossed the Afon Mawddach before altering course to the North and East to reach Cerrigydrudion where we take another rest break at a garden centre just outside the village.

The final leg of this route brings us back into the Snowdonia National Park and through the Gwydir Forest as we make our way back to Portmeirion.

Day of departure

Homeward bound or onward travel. After breakfast you will checkout of the hotel and be transported to the airport or station for onward travel. Those who have come on their own bikes will ride off.