Lon Las Cymru day 4: a delightful day!

Once again it’s sunny! We’ve been very lucky with the weather so far. After breakfast, John checked our bikes and oiled the chains, then we were ready to leave.

We’ve mainly followed quiet lanes today, starting off along the Wye valley, through woods and past meadows of bluebells and buttercups, to Llangurig. We had planned to stop at a cafe there but, just our luck, it was closed! Thankfully, the shop was open so we picked up cake and ice creams there.

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After this we said goodbye to the River Wye, which we’d followed since yesterday morning, and climbed steeply out of Llangurig. Next, the lane dropped to Llanidloes, before gradually rising to the Hafren Forest, where we stopped for a break and something to eat. During this section, there was a traffic jam as we waited for a flock of sheep to pass!

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Then we descended again, out of the forest, past a reservoir, and through more beautiful countryside before the final long climb to a col, 512 metres high. This was luckily not as steep as we had expected and our motors helped.

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The views on the way up, and from the top were spectacular, with the hills of mid Wales stretching far into the distance. We also saw quite a few red kites today.

From this col, we knew we had an 8 mile stretch of downhill to our destination, Machynlleth, and what a downhill! I don’t think I’ve ever gone so fast on my bike! Very quickly we arrived on the edge of the town and stopped to eat the rest of our food by the golf course. That reminds me… I’ve never seen sheep on a golf course before. I hope they don’t get hit by the balls!

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Once in Machynlleth, we were too early for our B&B so we had a drink in the pub and more food in a cafe. Now we’ve stored the bikes, checked into the B&B, and showered, and we’re looking forward to yet more food at Number 21 Bistro. The menu looks delicious! Despite all the cycling, I’m sure I’ll arrive home heavier than when I left!

So far Lon Las Cymru has been beautiful and we both agree today has been the best day of the trip so far. It’s good to know we’re past half way and back in North Wales, but we also know we have a tough day with two long climbs tomorrow.

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