Dragon Loop - Scenic Driving Road Circuit in Wales
Discussion
in a Quashqai who can't drive and you're stuck at their pace for miles.EVOTECH3BELL said:
Will Google maps do turn by turn navigation of the route?
Don't think so. If you open the map on your phone and keep gps on you get a blue dot showing your location so you could keep phone on dash maybe and follow it that way. You could split the route into sections i.e Welshpool - Betws Y coed / Betws Y coed to Porthmadog etc. with waypoints on google maps and then you can get turn by turn navigation. Google maps doesn't allow enough waypoints to log the whole route in one go unfortunately.Edited by tropicalpalmtree on Tuesday 11th July 01:43
cheeky_chops said:
Great thread thanks! - im flexible on time (work for myself from next week) so been thinking about a drive over from Brum to Cental Wales
a - am i better waiting til Sept and the great unwashed have gone back home?
b - im guessing the roads will be a mix of amazing/nightmare in an Ariel Atom! Any to especially avoid?
First if you are used to Brum traffic levels any of these routes on a weekday will feel deserted, even in peak summer. Weekend will be a different case and much busier. If you do get caught behind someone just stop and take in the view for 10 minutes then you won't see them again.a - am i better waiting til Sept and the great unwashed have gone back home?
b - im guessing the roads will be a mix of amazing/nightmare in an Ariel Atom! Any to especially avoid?
My choice would be a sunny day in mid winter, if its not icy. The roads are properly deserted.
Edited by ARHarh on Tuesday 11th July 07:31
ARHarh said:
First if you are used to Brum traffic levels any of these routes on a weekday will feel deserted, even in peak summer. Weekend will be a different case and much busier. If you do get caught behind someone just stop and take in the view for 10 minutes then you won't see them again.
My choice would be a sunny day in mid winter, if its not icy. The roads are properly deserted.
Where is that? Looks familiarMy choice would be a sunny day in mid winter, if its not icy. The roads are properly deserted.
Edited by ARHarh on Tuesday 11th July 07:31
tropicalpalmtree said:
ARHarh said:
First if you are used to Brum traffic levels any of these routes on a weekday will feel deserted, even in peak summer. Weekend will be a different case and much busier. If you do get caught behind someone just stop and take in the view for 10 minutes then you won't see them again.
My choice would be a sunny day in mid winter, if its not icy. The roads are properly deserted.
Where is that? Looks familiarMy choice would be a sunny day in mid winter, if its not icy. The roads are properly deserted.
Edited by ARHarh on Tuesday 11th July 07:31
tropicalpalmtree said:
Red Devil said:
Been up there yet?This was a one day Welsh excursion I did back in 2014 - https://goo.gl/maps/V4nW9dKM7KFDokzR9
It's not everyone's cup of tea though, as it involves a fair chunk of single track mountain roads.
tropicalpalmtree said:
Google maps doesn't allow enough waypoints to log the whole route in one go unfortunately.
The default limit is 10. Start/8 waypoints/finish. However there is a handy trick which gets round this.Simply split the route into however many sections you require and stitch them together.
This recent tutorial explains the process - https://winbuzzer.com/2021/02/12/how-to-plan-a-rou...
It's not new though. I've been using it for well over 10 years.
tropicalpalmtree said:
ARHarh said:
Bwlch-y-Groes on the road from lake vyrnwy just before the t junction at the top.
Yeah that's it. Someone else on here mentioned that road aswell.
Mr Roper said:
Inspired by ArHarh….Just back from a short loop, Lake V, Bala, Llanfyllin then Welshpool.
My sons Clio is perfect for these roads.
The southern side is much steeper and is also known as the Hellfire Pass.My sons Clio is perfect for these roads.
It was used extensively by Austin and Triumph before and after WW2 for testing prototypes and evaluating their hill climb performance.
The toughest climb in the Milk Race - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jps_snaps/7617361252
Just come back yesterday from doing a few hundred miles across northern Wales.
Not too much traffic about in the evenings, only encountered a few caravans and luckily when I did there was space to overtake.
Picture below taken at Cregennan Lakes which had a carpark so assumed it was ok to drive to, had to shoo cows out the way as they seemed to like napping on the tarmac plus had multiple livestock gates.
One thing is to be wary when it rains is that roads can be pretty sketchy, had to take a couple of run ups to get up certain sections of road that google maps sent me up due to the steepness and slipperiness of the road surface which imo were more suitable for 4x4's then cars with low ground clearance.
Not too much traffic about in the evenings, only encountered a few caravans and luckily when I did there was space to overtake.
Picture below taken at Cregennan Lakes which had a carpark so assumed it was ok to drive to, had to shoo cows out the way as they seemed to like napping on the tarmac plus had multiple livestock gates.
One thing is to be wary when it rains is that roads can be pretty sketchy, had to take a couple of run ups to get up certain sections of road that google maps sent me up due to the steepness and slipperiness of the road surface which imo were more suitable for 4x4's then cars with low ground clearance.
untakenname said:
One thing is to be wary when it rains is that roads can be pretty sketchy, had to take a couple of run ups to get up certain sections of road that google maps sent me up due to the steepness and slipperiness of the road surface which imo were more suitable for 4x4's then cars with low ground clearance.
Welsh 'A' Roads: SheepWelsh 'B' Roads: Sheep, grass growing in the middle
Welsh unclassified Roads: Sheep, grass growing in the middle, frequent gates
Tried to get Bwlch-y-Groes on the road from lake vyrnwy, this morning only to find a car stuck in the collapsed road. The road has given way somewhere near the top. The poor couple were well and truly stuck. Bloke had started walking towards the lake when we found him. Took him back to his car just as a bunch of motor cyclists had come across the car, We managed to get them out of the hole. But the road is now only about 3 feet wide with 8 inch deep holes on either side. Luckily I was in the Lexus RX, so could manage to tug their little hatchback out. I didn't bother to try and get past the broken bit of road, just turned round, after reversing for what seemed ages back down the pass.
So don't go up there from the lake for a while.
So don't go up there from the lake for a while.
Pica-Pica said:
Catch that view of Fairbourne while you can, it will eventually be subsumed by the sea.
The Council have knocked the idea on the head and said they 'didn't know of any plans' to flood fairbourne out. House prices have gone up again and people can get morgages. Apparently there is going to be some major flood defence work in the future out in the bay. Edited by tropicalpalmtree on Sunday 23 July 18:04
untakenname said:
Just come back yesterday from doing a few hundred miles across northern Wales.
Not too much traffic about in the evenings, only encountered a few caravans and luckily when I did there was space to overtake.
Picture below taken at Cregennan Lakes which had a carpark so assumed it was ok to drive to, had to shoo cows out the way as they seemed to like napping on the tarmac plus had multiple livestock gates.
One thing is to be wary when it rains is that roads can be pretty sketchy, had to take a couple of run ups to get up certain sections of road that google maps sent me up due to the steepness and slipperiness of the road surface which imo were more suitable for 4x4's then cars with low ground clearance.
I think i passed you coming out of dolgellau onto the bala road. Did you see me? I swear i passed an RX8 that looked just like yours.Not too much traffic about in the evenings, only encountered a few caravans and luckily when I did there was space to overtake.
Picture below taken at Cregennan Lakes which had a carpark so assumed it was ok to drive to, had to shoo cows out the way as they seemed to like napping on the tarmac plus had multiple livestock gates.
One thing is to be wary when it rains is that roads can be pretty sketchy, had to take a couple of run ups to get up certain sections of road that google maps sent me up due to the steepness and slipperiness of the road surface which imo were more suitable for 4x4's then cars with low ground clearance.
Edited by tropicalpalmtree on Sunday 23 July 17:56
ARHarh said:
Tried to get Bwlch-y-Groes on the road from lake vyrnwy, this morning only to find a car stuck in the collapsed road. The road has given way somewhere near the top. The poor couple were well and truly stuck. Bloke had started walking towards the lake when we found him. Took him back to his car just as a bunch of motor cyclists had come across the car, We managed to get them out of the hole. But the road is now only about 3 feet wide with 8 inch deep holes on either side. Luckily I was in the Lexus RX, so could manage to tug their little hatchback out. I didn't bother to try and get past the broken bit of road, just turned round, after reversing for what seemed ages back down the pass.
So don't go up there from the lake for a while.
This is why i didn't include that road man. It isn't fit for driving unless its really quiet like in the winter because its single track, and in the summer you're too likely to encounter problems with other cars and cyclists.So don't go up there from the lake for a while.
Edited by tropicalpalmtree on Sunday 23 July 18:06
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