Travellers’ tales: Go west – revisiting parts of Wales by bike
Where: Wales
Who: George Wormald
When: April 2025
We started out with daffodils in bloom and the trees looking bare. A week later, the hedgerows were a blaze of yellows – celandine, primroses, cowslips, dandelions and gorse – and the trees were in leaf.
The first week of April was sunny but the mornings were chilly. The wet weather gear stayed in the panniers, a first in 15 years. It was our annual week’s cycle touring. Dave sorts the route using Sustrans and CycleStreets, his brother Steve is the mechanic, and I sort the accommodation.
This year we revisited parts of west Wales we’d traversed 14 years ago. Then we managed 60 miles a day and had no coffee stops before 11am. Now we are all 70−plus so it’s 50 miles a day and any excuse for a cappuccino.
We started in Gloucester and ended in Llanelli, both accessible by train. On our 280−mile trip, we stayed in Abergavenny, Sennybridge, Carmarthen and Fishguard, returning via St Davids and Milford Haven.
The route was delightfully varied, featuring twisty minor roads through moorland, farmland and coasts, canal towpaths and former mining railways – along with lots of climbing. Sustrans NCN 4 and 47 pick out scenic routes and places of interest.
Apart from the sun, blue skies and playful lambs, the best bits were: contouring below the Bannau Brycheiniog with commanding views of the tops; the Preseli Hills; and the coastal views of Pembrokeshire’s blue sea, beaches, cliffs and rocks. Another memorable trip.
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