Bath Sightseeing

This being the day of arrival guests will come at different times so those arriving early can sightsee around Bath. Our hotel is centrally located making touring the city convenient.

The Cotswolds ~ 4 hours riding ~ 120 miles

There are so many pretty villages in the Cotswolds that it is challenging to pick a few that will offer a flavour of what the area has to offer. Castle Combe is a quintessentially English and many say it is "the prettiest village in England" a claim also made by many other villages but it is nice. Cirencester also makes an interesting stop, especially on Mondays when the market is on. They have a huge hedge that is one of the towns claim to fame.

Next stop will be the village of Bibury that nestles in a valley along the banks of the River Coln. In 1726 Alexander Pope wrote about Bibury's pleasing prospect and little over a century later William Morris said the village was surely the most beautiful in England. We stop here for lunch at the Swan Hotel.

Continuing our journey we reach Bourton-on-the-Water the premier tourist hot spot in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. You will no doubt have seen pictures or paintings of this village before because it is popular with artists and well photographed. A notable feature are the low bridges across the River Windrush that passes through the village.

Lower and Upper Slaugher are the next villages we pass through on our way to Broadway which has been referred to as the "Jewel in the Cotswolds". All three are charming villages with notable manor houses and churches and the tower at Broadway is another that you will undoubtedly recognise as it too is well pictured. Broadway has a collection of shops making it the best of the three for an afternoon tea break.

We then leave the Cotswolds to head west making our way through the Malvern Hills and into the Wye Valley area of Outstanding Natural Beauty stopping for the night at Ross-on-Wye.

Bercon Beacons ~ 5 hours riding ~ 170 miles

There and many nice spots along the Wye Valley but these are more for walking, so, we shall plot a route that caprures some of the more scenic spots then head into the Brecon Beacons.

We head south to Monnow Bridge a 700 year old river crossing that is the only fortified bridge in the UK. We then continue to the ruins of Tintern Abbey that sits on border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. From there we follow the Wye as it flows south and pass scenic spots including the Devils Pulpit and the Eagles Nest. At St Arvans we alter course to head north westerly stopping at Usk to see the Castle and visit the Rural Life Museum.

Now  we head north to Abergavenny and onwards through the Brecon Beacons National Park to Hay-on-Wye where we stop for lunch.

Departing Hay-on-Wye we head westerly to Builth Wells and onwards to Garth where we change direction to the south to Brecon and back into the National Park then cross the park to the Brecon Mountain Railway, a narrow gauge steam train. The 10 mile return trip passes a reservoir and takes you into the centre of the park.This makes a nice break from riding.

The final leg will head south towards Cardiff to reach Miskin Manor where we dine at 18:30.

Cardiff to Aberystwyth ~ 4 hours riding ~ 150 miles

We head west to Swansea passing the ruins of the castle and the Tudor style buildings nearby and onwards around Swansea Bay to Mumbles where the Victorian Pier has amusements and dining facilities. We shall stop here for morning coffee.

Our route continues west towards the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park where we find the Dylan Thomas association in and around Laugharne where there is another ruined castle. 

Departing Laugharne  we begin our route north to Cardigan and from there follow the coast road to Aberystwyth. This is a coastal road but note that if you want to see the sea please note that this coast road largely runs along a hilly area with farmland between the road and the sea so, the sea is not always visible. It makes a great ride though.

When we arrivre in Aberystwyth  you might want to take the Cliff Railway up to a great viewpoint with views over the town and out to sea.Our hotel is located on the sea front though we shall dine in town.

Aberystwyth to Portmeirion ~ 3 hours riding ~ 112 miles

The journey continues north to the Museum of Modern Art at Machynlleth then we cross the Dyfi bridge to enter the Eryr National Park (Snowdonia) the location of the highest mountain in Wales. There are only 15 mountains in Wales that are over 3000 ft high and they are all located within this national park.

We take the Pen Y Pass and onwards to two lakes; Llyn Padarm and Llyn Peris where there are a choice of attractions. Dolbadarn another ruined castle, The National Slate Museum, the Ceunant Mawr Waterfall to name a few then we continue to Caernarfon Castle constructed by Edward I in 1283 to control the newly conquered welsh population. It is now a UNESCO Wordl Heritage Site.

We now turn south where the Indigo Jones Slate Works another attraction we could stop at before continuing to Portmeirion which was designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in an Italian style. 

We deliberately made the travelling today shorter to allow ample time to explore Portmeirion where we will be staying overnight.

Portmeirion to Crew ~ 3 hours ~ 125 miles

We shall depart Portmeirion heading north easterly across Snowdonia to Conwy and along the north Welsh coast to cross the border back into England.

Some might want to join the motorway and begin their route home but we suggest two places worthy of a visit; Port Sunlight, a model village created for soap factory workers and Chester, an ancient Cathedral city.

We end the trip at crew where some will catch a train then others get back on the road to the home or orward travels.