Cycle Touring in Wales

Guidebook to cycle touring in Wales. This packed guide describes a circuit of Wales - perfect for a 2-week trip - plus 6 cross routes, which range from 45 to 73 miles and can be completed as day or weekend rides, or used to create shorter versions of the main circuit. Includes all the information needed to plan and execute a successful tour.

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Overview

Guidebook to cycle touring in Wales. Catering to just about any itinerary, it describes a 657 mile circuit of Wales - perfect for a two-week adventure - plus 6 cross routes, which range from 45 to 73 miles and can be completed as day/weekend rides, or used to create shorter versions of the main circuit.

This guide includes all the information needed to plan and execute a successful tour. In addition to clear route description, 1:200K mapping and gradient profiles, there is advice on selecting a schedule, planning your trip, preparing your bike and organising logistics, such as accommodation, getting to and from the start, and ways to carry (or not carry) your kit. Also includes a handy cycle shop listing, a Welsh glossary and checklist of things to take.

Showcasing mile after mile of stunning coastal scenery, quaint seaside towns, rolling marcher country, as well as an impressive collection of castles, industrial archaeology, churches, chapels and prehistoric sites, Wales is a veritable delight for the cycling enthusiast. Discover verdant green valleys, skirt wild mountains, soak up Pembrokeshire's salty sea air and boast of your pedal up the highest road in Wales.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction
Why cycle around Wales?
How tough is it?
Which direction to ride
Selecting a schedule
Getting there
Travel
First and last nights in Cardiff
When to ride
Accommodation
What to take
Preparing your bike
Eating
Phones and Wi-Fi
Emergencies
Waymarking
Maps
Using this guide
A circuit of Wales
Stage 1 Cardiff to Mumbles
Stage 2 Mumbles to Tenby
Stage 3 Tenby to Fishguard
Stage 4 Fishguard to Aberaeron
Stage 5 Aberaeron to Machynlleth
Stage 6 Machynlleth to Porthmadog
Stage 7 Porthmadog to Conwy
Stage 8 Conwy to Wrexham
Stage 9 Wrexham to Montgomery
Stage 10 Montgomery to Hay-on-Wye
Stage 11 Hay-on-Wye to Chepstow
Stage 12 Chepstow to Cardiff
Cross routes
Cross route 1 Wrexham to Bangor
Cross route 2 Barmouth to Chirk
Cross route 3 Welshpool to Machynlleth
Cross route 4 Aberystwyth to Knighton
Cross route 5 Fishguard to Carmarthen
Cross route 6 Carmarthen to Abergavenny

Appendix A Cycle shops
Appendix B Accommodation
Appendix C Useful contacts
Appendix D What to take
Appendix E Welsh words and pronunciation
Appendix F Selected further reading

Updates

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September 2019

Corrections

Map page 144 - p.146 para 1:

...crossing over the M40 to meet a junction... should read: ...crossing over the A40 to meet a junction

June 2019

Page 60: Battle of Trafalgar was in 1805 not 1815.

Reviews

don't ride round Wales without this guidebook about your person

no matter whether you have in mind a fully-loaded touring trip, an excursion into the trendy world of backpacking, or simply a day out in the welsh countryside, this excellent cicerone guide has pretty much every base covered. and as we have come to expect, the opening pages of this compact and bijou introduction to cycling in wales are dedicated to making you more than just wise before the event, not least as to when would be the best time of year to ride.

however, though it may be a wholly constituted, individual country, wales is still a part of the british isles and thus susceptible to the meterology suffered by the rest of us. mr barrett therefore advises visiting between the months of april and october. unless, of course, you're from the west of scotland, in which case all twelve are probably fair game. bikepackers will probably be happy to bivvy at suitable points along the way, while tourers and day trippers might be happier with a few home comforts. rest assured the topic of accommodation is suitably addressed.

the whole purpose, however, of cycling across or round any particular location is surely the attractions that can be seen en-route. here's where cicerone guides earn their well-commended reputation. mr barrett's parcours commences in cardiff, heading south-west to the intriguingly named 'the mumbles', near swansea. aside from being remarkably well delineated on accompanying maps, there are frequent 'asides' to advise the pedalling traveller of the sights passing their handlebars. such as st. donat's castle, for example.

given the nature of the book, offering as it does, the chance to undertake single, or multiple day bike rides, there's the singular question of how to get to your chosen start point, without possibly having to ride there in the first place. thanks to the existence of more than just a few railway stations, it's possible to access the vast majority of barrett's guided rides by train. the introduction makes planning the latter somewhat of a doddle, by way of a clearly defined graphic illustrating the proximity of railway stations to multiple grand départs.

as ever, the size of cicerone's cycling guides is well judged, fitting easily into one of your jersey's three rear pockets, or under the clear plastic afforded by a touring bar bag. additionally, the book's format describes not only a circumnavigation of the country, but, alternatively, several shorter routes criss-crossing from west to east (or vice versa). though you'd be forgiven for thinking that the present-day emphasis is on more extensive cycle-touring in distant countries, far, far away, there's still a great deal to be gained and enjoyed by staying closer to home as you enjoy the touring milieu.

just don't ride round wales without this guide book about your person.

washingmachinepost

tuesday 25 june 2019

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