Lon Las Cymru it is

[vernon]

I've taken the plunge and booked an early train on Friday morning from Leeds to Holyhead a bargain at £15

I am going to travel lighter than before and use my one man tent, mini Trangia and only take what I can pack into my rear panniers.

I can't decide whether to aim for Cardiff or Chepstow though that decision will keep until I get to the fork in the route.

S'pose I'd better look at the bottom half of the route sometime

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I'd go to Chepstow, much more scenic. If you find yourself passing through Monmouth, feel free to drop in for a cup of tea and a biscuit.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I recently had cause to work in Holyhead for a while, and walthough the town is nothing to rave about, the roads and scenery of Anglesey are well worth exploring. I was hoping to go back for a further stint a couple of weeks back, but another less scenic place took precedence.

Enjoy yourself.

 

[vernon]

I'd go to Chepstow, much more scenic. If you find yourself passing through Monmouth, feel free to drop in for a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Mmmmm...I like Monmouth and the tea shop at Tintern Station and the tea shop at Tintern Abbey and the serenity at Tintern Abbey and the lovely climb to Chepstow along the Wye Valley..

Just might take you up on the offer

 

[Kirstie]

I did it from Cardiff as I like industrial decay...

 

[vernon]

I did it from Cardiff as I like industrial decay...

As tempting as the Wye Valley and Monmouth is, it looks like I will be ending the ride in Carfiff as I have some acquaintances who run the cafe/restaurant at Llangorse and free food might be on offer and the Taff Valley trail looks tempting and will be new territory.

How grim is the industrial/post industrial landscape? - there's some pretty grim bits in County Durham on the W2W ride - they ranged from post apocolyptic Beirut i.e. crumbling buildings and burnt out vehicles combined with a Romany encampment looking like a refugee camp to barren post mining reclamations/landscapings of slag heaps. I couldn't believe that they existed less than 20 miles from where I used to live as a kid. It was depravation at its worst.

 

[Kirstie]

As tempting as the Wye Valley and Monmouth is, it looks like I will be ending the ride in Carfiff as I have some acquaintances who run the cafe/restaurant at Llangorse and free food might be on offer and the Taff Valley trail looks tempting and will be new territory.

How grim is the industrial/post industrial landscape? - there's some pretty grim bits in County Durham on the W2W ride - they ranged from post apocolyptic Beirut i.e. crumbling buildings and burnt out vehicles combined with a Romany encampment looking like a refugee camp to barren post mining reclamations/landscapings of slag heaps. I couldn't believe that they existed less than 20 miles from where I used to live as a kid. It was depravation at its worst.

Two words:
Merthyr Tydfil

Seriously, the run to/from Cardiff is by canal and further up is a disused railway. So it's OK if a little bland. We were going S - N, and the signage got a little confusing around Pontypridd. We managed to get lost for a while, and ended up on a dual carriageway before finding the disused railway part of it. The disused railway emerges at Merthyr and it's just really deprived there, but after that it's quite rural.

It's on a par with Co Durham but less bleak and windswept.

 

[vernon]

I called in at Leeds station to collect my tickets in advance. I've never been issued with so many pieces of card before:

5 cycle reservations (three for the outward leg, two for the return leg)
5 seat reservations (three for the outward leg, two for the return leg)
5 cycle tickets (three for the outward leg, two for the return leg)
2 journey tickets (one for each leg)
2 receipts (one for each leg)
3 tickets marked void ???

They make a 6mm thick wedge.

Can't wait for the off in the morning.

 

[Kirstie]

I called in at Leeds station to collect my tickets in advance. I've never been issued with so many pieces of card before:

5 cycle reservations (three for the outward leg, two for the return leg)
5 seat reservations (three for the outward leg, two for the return leg)
5 cycle tickets (three for the outward leg, two for the return leg)
2 journey tickets (one for each leg)
2 receipts (one for each leg)
3 tickets marked void ???

They make a 6mm thick wedge.

Can't wait for the off in the morning.

I'm going to Oban and back from Leicester in three weeks. You should see what I've got. Eight seperate journeys for two people, two seperate cycle reservations per journey (attach to cycle, passenger copy, plus receipts). They had to send it in two envelopes and the little ticket pockets on the letter are both crammed full

 

[vernon]

I'm going to Oban and back from Leicester in three weeks. You should see what I've got. Eight seperate journeys for two people, two seperate cycle reservations per journey (attach to cycle, passenger copy, plus receipts). They had to send it in two envelopes and the little ticket pockets on the letter are both crammed full

I'll raise you two meal vouchers

 

[Kirstie]

I'll raise you two meal vouchers