finally made it over to Wales for a couple of days, and yes the sun was out! :D
the omens were good, halfway up the Horseshoe Pass..
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P1010210 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977155414/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
and coffee n cake at the Ponderosa..
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P1010215 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977162728/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
followed some advice from locals and 'did' the B5105 followed by the B4501 ending up in Bala... quick lap of the lake and stop at the railway place..
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P1010219 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977167820/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
and then onwards to Dolgellau, and then the coastroad A493 towards Tywyn - another scenic ride.. :thumbup:
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P1010226 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977170852/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
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P1010233 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977175620/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
which took me to my B&B, via the B4405.. nice quiet village with a decent pub doing good food, and they had a nice pint of Thekstons on tap.. :thumbup:
Set off from the B&B next morning, this was just down the road..:thumbup:
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P1010235 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977178480/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
low cloud!
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P1010237 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4976568803/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
Plan for the day was to head up to Snowdon and ride up on the train to the summit... got there just after 10, expecting to get a seat about 12ish - the next available seat was 15.30! :cry: bugger! so Plan B was set in to motion, just wasnt sure what it was... Bimbled around LLanberis for a short while and decide to head off to the coast..
anyway, the run up to Lllanberis was very scenic, just have to save the train ride for another time..
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P1010239 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977180936/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
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P1010248 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977185748/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
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P1010250 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4976577745/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
ended up in Porthmadog, but got rained on, and there was no where to park at the railway, so had a spot of lunch and carried on.
Called in at Portmerion as I was passing and fancied a look - would've been better if wasnt in bike gear as was a bit sweaty walking about... this is where they filmed the original series of The Prisioner
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P1010261 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977195376/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
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P1010263 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977198186/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
onwards to Harlech - missed the turning for the town center, but saw the castle.. :smile:
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P1010292 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977226960/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
down to Llanbedr to see if anything happening at the airfield (nope!) and rode along the tidal road to Shell Island - didnt stop as they wanted parking money! apparently this is underwater at certain times of day, they just dont tell you which times - I decided to brave it anyway..!
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P1010297 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977230086/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
onwards down the coast and stopped at Tal Y Bont for a sit on the beach - it has a nudist section apparently, but no wobbly bits were spotted during my visit..!
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P1010298 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977232268/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
next stop Barmouth for Ice cream!
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P1010304 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4976627237/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
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P1010308 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977240360/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
and then back to the B&B via the rickety toll bridge..
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P1010313 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977243254/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
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P1010224 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4976557943/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
absolutely P'ing down this morning so a very slow/steady ride back, although the sun did come out once I got closer to Shrewsbury.. close on 600 miles, still a bit of tread left on the rear tyre..:smile:
but after the wet roads, it needs this facility! :D
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P1010207 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/4977153724/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr
Nice report Neil, great scenery
Another nice ride Neil. I was in the same area, riding the same roads earlier this year. I camped at Shell Island, cheap, and you can pitch in the sand dunes away from everyone else as long it isnt chocka as it was when I was there :( . There are some really stunning roads in the area and the scenery is beautiful at times. Did you stop at the little petrol station in Barmouth? The old boy on the pumps came out and filled the bike up for me and then cleaned the screen and gave me wet wipes for my visor. Proper old fashioned service :D
no I missed the petrol station, I always like to try and use places like that if I see them... I agree about the roads and scenery - wish I'd had a video cam on the bike as couldnt always stop to capture it... the B&B I stayed at is worth a try if you dont fancy camping another time - its £35 per night, with decent (large!) breakfast, has hardstanding out back to stash the bike, good pub 5 mins down the road and lots of banter/tales from the B&B owner (he's ex-Army motorcycle display team!)
http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/riverside3.html (http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/riverside3.html)
Hey NeilD !! looks like you had a blast !! good weather, good roads, good food and a grrreat bike !! what more could a man want :thumbsup
KK
Nice ride and well photographed. Thanks for sharing.
Nice report Neil, I did a few of those places in May this year including the trip up Snowdon on the train, well worth the money. You missed out on some stunning views from the top of Harlech castle, mind you the climb up all those stairs takes it out of you............well it nearly did me in. :shock:
Andy.
I'll go back and do the Snowdon thing, but book it in advance next time! yes I was a bit annoyed missing the turning into Harlech, I 'assumed' that there would be another way in, but had gone too far by the time I realised there wasnt.. :oops: nevermind, something else to add to the 'to-do' list..
Thanks for sharing. It looked like the biker's version of COAST. Very inspiring. Beautiful landscape. I only hope that riding on the left side isn't that difficult to learn.