North Wales?

[straas]

Anyone here from North Wales?

I'm looking for a scenic road bike route from Conwy over to Anglesey (LlanfairPg). Her mum's just outside conwy walls and her sisters on anglesey, so a good excuse for a ride over. I tried the A55 bike path but found it very stop / start with sharp angles, too much shared path etc.

I was considering something into snowdonia then back toward caernarfon or bangor, attempting to avoid anything too aggro along the way if anyone has any ideas?

Cheers

 

[gavroche]

From Conwy, take the B5106 all the way to Betws y Coed then the A5 all the way to Bethesda and then Bangor. From Bangor , over the old Bridge to Anglesey.
That would be a very scenic route of about 30 to 40 miles with lots of up and downs. Enjoy.

 

[straas]

Cheers! Is the A5 ok enough? Only ever driven on it.

It might be a while before I get to try the route out, just want one planned for next time I'm over.

 

[Globalti]

Yes, the A5 is okay for cycling as most traffic goes along the coast. Just don't stop in Bethesda because they hate outsiders there. I did a circular ride around there last summer and found it surprisingly un-hilly; I guess the roads go though valley bottoms and don't climb as high as you'd think.

 

[Crackle]

A5 from Betwsy to Capel can be quite busy and not pleasant. It's all uphill too, so slow going but it is rideable. There is a path at Capel Curig called the Slate Trail, which runs next to the A5 but you'll need a larger tyred bike for it. At Llyn Ogwen you can pick up one of the NCN routes which is more pleasant than the A5. Getting onto the old Menai bridge can be tricky if you're trying to follow the NCN routes as there are a few one way streets to look out for, otherwise using the road is straightforward but again busy and a dual carriageway in places.

 

[raleighnut]

Just don't stop in Bethesda because they hate outsiders there

View: https://youtu.be/99oSHwqF8Lc


Don't worry It Isn't a song just a story.

EDIT It's NSFW though

 

[Globalti]

Gosh that rings true. I remember standing in a line in the chippy while an elderly local man swayed drunkenly along the line, prodding each customer in the chest and saying: "You're a local.... you're okay.... you're not, you're a foreigner.... you're a local...... " The atmosphere was bristling as everybody was drunk and in fighting spirit with fit strong climbers and thickset locals eyeing each other.

Years after decimalisation I went into the Douglas Arms with a girlfriend and she ordered drinks. The round came to "Nineteen shillings and ninepence please!" My GF was confused and said: "Gosh is that more or less than a pound? I can't even remember!" It was exactly the cue the barmaid had been waiting for and she jeered: "Oh I can see you're English! You've no educa-shun!"

Inside the Douggie Arms we used to sit around a table in the window while local lads played pool. A couple of my climbing club pals were from Northern Ireland and looked a bit wild, I remember one of the locals lining up his shot so that the thick end of the cue was in my Irish pal's ear then prodding it to try to provoke him while my pal just laughed at the effort. I've never been so consistently insulted or made unwelcome as in Bethesda. I once read a defence of the locals by somebody who said English visitors tended to stop off on their way through and patronise the locals but the town was so dire that I bet most just pressed on to their caravans on Anglesey.

 

[fossyant]

We stayed at a mates caravan not far from Llanberis, but we didnt half get some funny looks in the local pub in the village. This was about 30 years ago like, but we were even more weird ordering rounds of halves. Eee those were the days when we were overly serious about biking (was an MTB weekend). Its now biking with hangovers... only 4 weeks until the CC Wales MTB weekend...

 

[raleighnut]

We stayed at a mates caravan not far from Llanberis, but we didnt half get some funny looks in the local pub in the village. This was about 30 years ago like, but we were even more weird ordering rounds of halves. Eee those were the days when we were overly serious about biking (was an MTB weekend). Its now biking with hangovers... only 4 weeks until the CC Wales MTB weekend...

I had a great time in Llanberis, there's 2 pubs (at least there was) and one was a 'touristy place' the other a bit rough with a bar full of Welsh Bikers and rock music, I got on great with em but being a long haired 'scruffy git' with jeans and a T-shirt I fitted right in.

 

[Globalti]

Was that The Heights?

 

[gavroche]

Don't be put off with using the A5. Yes, it does up hill from Betws y Coed all the way to Capel Gurig but it isn't that steep and the road is wide enough for cars to pass you safely. The view is well worth it especially between Capel and Bethesda. If you go outside the summer season, traffic is not that bad but the weather maybe very unpredictable so be prepared.

 

[raleighnut]

Was that The Heights?

I can't remember the name of the pub, TBH it was 30+yrs ago but talking to a couple of 'posh' walkers (Berghaus kit) a couple of days later up on Snowden I was told it was a bit 'dodgy' but I had a similar thing in Ireland when I was there, pubs that we got on well with the people in them could be quite unpleasant to rich English tourists but were fine with us working class scruffs in 'Hi-Tec' walking boots, jeans and a waxed jacket that had seen better days.

 

[Globalti]

It's not a bad place to cycle, easy roads and spectacular scenery.

 

[spiderman2]

It's not a bad place to cycle, easy roads and spectacular scenery.

Spent a week in july cycling around snowdonia.good roads and lovely scenery.

 

[Skibird]

Gosh that rings true. I remember standing in a line in the chippy while an elderly local man swayed drunkenly along the line, prodding each customer in the chest and saying: "You're a local.... you're okay.... you're not, you're a foreigner.... you're a local...... " The atmosphere was bristling as everybody was drunk and in fighting spirit with fit strong climbers and thickset locals eyeing each other.

Years after decimalisation I went into the Douglas Arms with a girlfriend and she ordered drinks. The round came to "Nineteen shillings and ninepence please!" My GF was confused and said: "Gosh is that more or less than a pound? I can't even remember!" It was exactly the cue the barmaid had been waiting for and she jeered: "Oh I can see you're English! You've no educa-shun!"

Inside the Douggie Arms we used to sit around a table in the window while local lads played pool. A couple of my climbing club pals were from Northern Ireland and looked a bit wild, I remember one of the locals lining up his shot so that the thick end of the cue was in my Irish pal's ear then prodding it to try to provoke him while my pal just laughed at the effort. I've never been so consistently insulted or made unwelcome as in Bethesda. I once read a defence of the locals by somebody who said English visitors tended to stop off on their way through and patronise the locals but the town was so dire that I bet most just pressed on to their caravans on Anglesey.

Years ago you could get that sort of response from ANY little local pub in a small village, not just a pub in Bethesda, and it usually happened to men as the locals (wherever you were), were worried you were going to steal the local girls...………………….which the local girls loved. Yes, I grew up in Bangor and had many friends in Bethesda lol