BowlandBeyondBiketouring

Round the back of Mount Snowden (left) Day five: Aberdaron to Betws Garmon The first rays of morning light crept through the east-facing gap in my tarp pitch, signalling an early start to the day. I was packed and off by mid-morning, although I had one false start after I realized I was leaving without the key to my (brothers!) bike lock. It was still in the shower from the night before (phew!). Before leaving I had tried calling my lost phone and this time it rang, but there was no answer...it had been found. I was out on the hilly road to Pwhelli; quite steep in places, mostly gently rolling but bustling with traffic that Saturday morning. I made good progress before stopping at a roadside cafe near Sarn Mellteyrn. After tucking into a delicious ham salad bap I tried ringing my lost phone again.  Someone answered it. A woman's voice said "Hello". She and my phone were in Llandudno. It had been found by her daughter in Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay, presumably in the nature

The coastline of Wales in all its summer glory Day four: Pen Is'Arlon to Aberdaron It was a glorious morning and I was up soon after first light, taking  a stroll on the Wales Coast Path along the cliffs. I could make out  a rickety track that I was sure would lead down to the beach but it was steep and rugged and I thought it would take up too much  time getting down and back up again. I took my time packing up and around 10.30am  headed off to explore the Lleyn Peninsular coastline by bicycle. I was looking forward to this day. For me this day was what the trip was all about.  In Morfa Nefyn there was quite a crowd building at the cafe and down towards the beach. Retracing my wheels brought me out into free spirited country lanes and connected me up to NCN43 which was one of those surprises that the ride kept springing on me, the pay-off for not doing too much research! I passed a young mum pushing her little one in a pram. As I passed I could hear the Welsh language being spoken

Pastoral scenes above the A55 near Bangor in North Wales   Day 2: Colwyn Bay to Bangor At first light the next morning I had already been aware of one or two very early dog walkers crossing the park from the all-weather sports pitch towards the "hotel". I got up to inspect some of the shrubbery and decided to start packing up at the same time, taking my two phones and money out to the bike, putting them inside but leaving the zip undone so I could add other items later. I put some water on to boil and cleared up the tarp tent and got most things packed. Breakfast consisted of completing the bag of corn chips and  tuna pasta salad from the night before. Yummy! The park was starting to get almost busy even, though it was only 6.30 am when I was setting off, taking a detour further into Eirias Park where there were some bins next to the actual lake. I headed back up to the junction past Conwy Police HQ. Dropping down the hill on the main road towards the coast I noticed my top t

Sunset over The Lleyn Peninsular at Pen Is'Arlon near Morfa Nefyn Day three: Bangor to Pen Is'Arlo n Dew, dew and thrice dew. It was a damp morning as the sun rose gradually over Snowdonia. The washing I had strung out on the guy lines and fencing overnight had not progressed with drying much. Before long one of my neighbours from the other end of the field appeared, she was brandishing a washing line and half a dozen clothes pegs. The kindness of strangers strikes again! That I wasn't in any particular hurry was a good job. By mid-day I was all but dried out and ready to go. I had tried calling my lost phone but there was no response. After returning the washing line  I set off in the sunshine along NCN8 towards Caernarfon at 12.30pm.  It had been a long and lazy twenty two hour stay at Treborth Farm. There were some roadworks to contend with but eventually I got onto the rail trail that took me most of the way to Caernarfon. The main square in front of the castle was heav

Dreamy country lanes approaching Pwllheli. Spectacular coastline on the Lleyn Peninsular Day 1: Chester to Colwyn Bay Following the A-road out of Chester towards Connah's Quay I found what I was looking for: a local cycle route (NCN 568) through a small park that connected me to the main NCN5 cycle trail heading westward into North Wales. It was around 1pm and I had caught a train to Chester that morning then cycled south on  a clockwise-loop around the city before stopping on the bridge next to the racecourse where I plotted an alternate escape route, after finding the road next to the river (Nuns Road) closed to all traffic. After many years of thinking about this tour I was thrilled to be setting off at last. With the weather set fair for the last week in August it was going to be a fantastic "Tour of North Wales: Coast and Countryside by Bicycle (2021)". Crossing the bridge on the other side of the park brought me to the tarmac cycle track, surprisingly to me, on the