[August 3rd, 2020] Anglesey Circuit (£159) and Welsh Road Trip Over Weekend

[Spendyrx]

Fucking epic roy! What time are you starting at the Castle Inn brecon? I'll meet you there and drive up

 

[cib24]

Fucking epic roy! What time are you starting at the Castle Inn brecon? I'll meet you there and drive up

It would be relatively early in the morning man given the drive to lunch is over 3 hours assuming we don't stop for pics, fuel etc.. So, we would probably start around 8:00-8:30am from the Castle Inn. Maybe?

 

[Spendyrx]

Oof that is early but I'm prettyping certain I can make it there for half 8! Just short of an hour up to there from mine!

 

[Spendyrx]

Prettyping wtaf is going on with my phone!

 

[MightyCondor]

It would be relatively early in the morning man given the drive to lunch is over 3 hours assuming we don't stop for pics, fuel etc.. So, we would probably start around 8:00-8:30am from the Castle Inn. Maybe?

Yeah an early start is definitely sensible. It's an ambitious itinerary for the day, but should be doable. The afternoon especially has a lot of driving, so an early lunch around 12ish would be good. Assuming everyone starts the day with a full tank of fuel and we can get away cleanly, there will still undoubtedly holdups throughout the day for refuelling, regrouping and other potential stops. I expect we'll all be knackered by the end of it, but will be worth it.

 

[JoeLanger]

Sunday looks ambitious, driving north to south Wales is notoriously bad. Not that I've ever done it mind

And like Matt I'd join for the northern section only

 

[Mpls24]

The drive up through from Brecon should be ok but really, what I will say though is that more often than not the good roads on the way up will be busy and the Evo triangle could arguably be renamed the artic/bus/Sunday driver triangle .

But I'm only 20mins from Brecon and it looks a good trip so although my car will be too loud for the track day I may join up with you all for the rest of it

 

[cib24]

Oof that is early but I'm prettyping certain I can make it there for half 8! Just short of an hour up to there from mine!

Ok ,well that's not bad. I thought you were 4 hours away?

 

[cib24]

The drive up through from Brecon should be ok but really, what I will say though is that more often than not the good roads on the way up will be busy and the Evo triangle could arguably be renamed the artic/bus/Sunday driver triangle .

But I'm only 20mins from Brecon and it looks a good trip so although my car will be too loud for the track day I may join up with you all for the rest of it

Hmm...maybe Brecon Beacons is too much, but that particular road I chose from Brecon Beacons to Built Wells is meant to be a great B road journey. From there it's a blast up the A483.

I know the Evo Triangle is busy but of course everyone will want to see it and say they did it. It's full of cameras and police anyway so it's an area where you can't really floor it, you have better luck doing that on the drive from Brecon Beacons. Also, a good chunk of the route in and around Snowdonia is relatively safe to put your foot in it up to say 100 mph briefly which is enough on these kinds of roads.

I did a similar trip in 2016 and I hardly remember there being any real traffic except for Betws-y-Coed and Caernarfon. I mean, the population of all of Wales is only 3.139m. The population of the sheep is 10m.

 

[cib24]

@Mpls24

If you have advice on the roads or a route I'd greatly appreciate it. Trying to do all of this planning myself when I'm not from the area is difficult.

 

[Mpls24]

@Mpls24

If you have advice on the roads or a route I'd greatly appreciate it. Trying to do all of this planning myself when I'm not from the area is difficult.

Yeah sure mate, happy to help where I can

I'm from South Wales so can cover that bit around there and have made the drive up to trac Mon a few times. The main issue with any spirited driving will be negotiating the convoy past the traffic on those roads but for just a pleasant drive up they're nice, if quite long.

I've found that the less popular roads around the Snowdonia area are just as good as the "official" Evo triangle but tend to be alot quieter and like you say less police interest.

 

[Spendyrx]

Ok ,well that's not bad. I thought you were 4 hours away?

4 hours from North Wales lol. Brecon is mid and I am south

 

[Sturneyrx7]

Looks an Epic Trip - well done roy for the effort into planning this.

Doesn't look like i can make the track day due to work commitments but will hopefully make the drive up from south wales as the start point is just under 2 hours from me.

 

[cib24]

@Mpls24
@Spendyrx
@Sturneyrx7
@Matt

So, if starting just south of Brecon Beacons is a bit much. Where better to start? Is there a sequence of roads along the coast in mid-north Wales that leads into Snowdonia and onwards to the Evo Triangle?

Or maybe a start in Shropshire?

I sorta want to stay at a hotel in a scenic place on Saturday so that right away we get into some nice flowing roads with stunning scenery. I don't intend to stay in a Travelodge in Bangor and then make my way into Snowdownia. It's not as appealing.

 

[cib24]

Maybe we start here. It looks nice and is not far from the coast. Similar money to the Castle Inn per head. A small pub but there will be more nearby if it doesn't have the right ales.

From there, it's only about 2 hours to our lunch destination up near the Evo Triangle. We can alter the route to avoid the 50mph and less scenic limits of certain parts of the A494 or A495.

The George Borrow Hotel, Ponterwyd, SY23 3AD

 

[Sturneyrx7]

@Mpls24
@Spendyrx
@Sturneyrx7
@Matt

So, if starting just south of Brecon Beacons is a bit much. Where better to start? Is there a sequence of roads along the coast in mid-north Wales that leads into Snowdonia and onwards to the Evo Triangle?

Or maybe a start in Shropshire?

I sorta want to stay at a hotel in a scenic place on Saturday so that right away we get into some nice flowing roads with stunning scenery. I don't intend to stay in a Travelodge in Bangor and then make my way into Snowdownia. It's not as appealing.

Starting point is fine for me, its the Monday off work that's problematic. Hence up for the drive but probably not the track day.

 

[Matt]

@Matt

I can't believe this is where you live. I am very jealous! Such amazing roads all around, great hiking, food, etc. Besides tourism what is the industry out there nowadays anyway?

As for the pub suggestion, I like yours better than the Ponderosa Cafe so thanks for the tip!

As a North Welshman, do you think the driving from just South of Brecon Beacons on Saturday morning all over north wales and through Snowdonia is achievable in a single day if we stop for lunch?

I suppose the good thing is that once we are up and around Snowdonia those that tire of driving can always b-line it straight to the Anglesey Arms while the rest of us continue the tour.

Roy

Unfortunately I've moved away (not forever) but my parents still live there and that's where my rex is kept. There's no industry in Llangollen. Chester is probably the place to live as its less than an hour away from Llangollen, Manchester & Liverpool so its the best of both worlds.

I've never been that far south in Wales so i'm not familiar with the roads there. You could easily spend a day driving around the north though so I'd go with what ever google maps is saying.

If you stick to the twistys then google times should be near enough. Main roads in the summer are full of caravan w*#kers on the weekends, you wont get a clear run up to the Ponderosa on a Sunday but the views are still great.

 

[JE96]

Didn't think about the noise limit... may just be joining for the driving instead!

Routes look good

 

[cib24]

Didn't think about the noise limit... may just be joining for the driving instead!

Routes look good

It's 105dB static. Hard to trip something that high.

Do you just have a straight pipe and no muffler?

 

[JE96]

It's 105dB static. Hard to trip something that high.

Do you just have a straight pipe and no muffler?

Yep...

I bought a db meter and it came out at 110