Peak District or North Wales?

[Zed 44]

Conscript said:

Thanks for the replies all. North Wales looks to be a favourite choice at the moment. And I have always wanted to visit that area, so I'm leaning toward doing that. I know the Evo Triangle is said to be a bit overrated, but it is still sure to be better than anywhere in the southeast, so I think I would probably at least do a lap of it then explore some of the suggested areas further south

I did the Triangle a couple of times a few years back and my recollection is its' long sweeping bends and straights aren't much of a challenge unless you're really prepared to put the foot down and because of its' reputation with petrolheads, it also has an attraction for the boys in blue.

[Riley Blue]

entropy said:

I go midweek and never had a problem apart from the A6 north Buxton at about 3pm onwards; traffic on Snake Pass depends on how you time it/luck - not to mention its a mobile camera hotspot east of the Snake Inn pub.

The best roads with NSL are the roads that pass through Longnor; Longnor-Bakewell

North Wales you're going to need the whole afternoon - at least - to enjoy the area. Not so much Peak District.

Have a good 'un

No, no, no.... All the Peak roads are plagued with cameras and clogged with doddering OAPs looking for a toilet. Don't tell those Southern jessies different or they'll all be migrating northwards like lemmings off a cliff...

[Red Devil]

entropy said:

I go midweek and never had a problem apart from the A6 north Buxton at about 3pm onwards; traffic on Snake Pass depends on how you time it/luck - not to mention its a mobile camera hotspot east of the Snake Inn pub.

The best roads with NSL are the roads that pass through Longnor; Longnor-Bakewell

See the map link I posted earlier.

entropy said:

North Wales you're going to need the whole afternoon - at least - to enjoy the area. Not so much Peak District.

Indeed. I guess it depends on how late in the day he wants to get back to Kent...

[Conscript]

Red Devil said:

Indeed. I guess it depends on how late in the day he wants to get back to Kent...

I've Just booked myself a place not far from the Evo Triangle. My aim is to get up early, explore some of the suggestions on here - the triangle, Horsehsoe Pass, Bala, etc - then plot a basic route heading south before turning back toward England. I've got the whole day really - doesn't matter if I don't get home until the evening

Taking my camera with me, so I'll update the thread with some poorly taken photographs afterwards if anyone's interested.

[towser44]

I live in Macclesfield, so right at the bottom of the Cat N Fiddle and whenever I was heading out on my bike I would invariably head the opposite way to Wales rather than the Peaks. Occasionally I'd head to Matlock for a brew, but it was hardly ever a spirited ride and the 50 limits/traffic have increased since then :-(

[popeyewhite]

towser44 said:

but it was hardly ever a spirited ride and the 50 limits/traffic have increased since then :-(

Sad face is ironic - as you know the main cause for the siting of cameras on the A537 Cat and Fiddle and roads south of Buxton was the high accident and mortality rate of visiting bikers.

[Tickle]

Conscript said:

I've Just booked myself a place not far from the Evo Triangle. My aim is to get up early, explore some of the suggestions on here - the triangle, Horsehsoe Pass, Bala, etc - then plot a basic route heading south before turning back toward England. I've got the whole day really - doesn't matter if I don't get home until the evening

Taking my camera with me, so I'll update the thread with some poorly taken photographs afterwards if anyone's interested.

I am going the other way this weekend and heading over to the Peaks, not sure why but it is a change from Wales.

Here are a few bits I can add from a reply I put up a while back:


This loop is my default route and gets some good roads in (some duplicated roads on the run back, but they are good!:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/53.2573788,-2.82...


Plenty of other roads off the above route, not sure on your time constraints though.

A few cafes too along the above route that will feed and water you:
Llyn Brenig on the East leg of the EVO
Riverside Chocolate House,
National White Water Centre,
Conway Falls, and
Pont Yr Afon Gam on the fantastic B4391 (Opens at 10:00, March to October only)

Will be busy in the mornings (post 08:00) come Easter holidays, drive safe, plenty will be out doing what you are doing

[towser44]

popeyewhite said:

towser44 said:

but it was hardly ever a spirited ride and the 50 limits/traffic have increased since then :-(

Sad face is ironic - as you know the main cause for the siting of cameras on the A537 Cat and Fiddle and roads south of Buxton was the high accident and mortality rate of visiting bikers.

I don't disagree, have been up there plenty of times in car, on motorbike and push bike and seen lots of idiotic riding. On the other hand, over the years I've witnessed a lot of poor driving from those in cars too, crossing the white lines on blind bends being a regular sight. Luckily I've either been following or coming in the opposite direction but thankfully arriving at the corner either late enough or far enough kerbside to not be collected by them.

[Riley Blue]

towser44 said:

I don't disagree, have been up there plenty of times in car, on motorbike and push bike and seen lots of idiotic riding. On the other hand, over the years I've witnessed a lot of poor driving from those in cars too, crossing the white lines on blind bends being a regular sight. Luckily I've either been following or coming in the opposite direction but thankfully arriving at the corner either late enough or far enough kerbside to not be collected by them.

Likewise 'The Snake', I've driven both spritedly on occasions but some of the driving I've seen makes me shudder, overtaking on blind bends being a frequent habit - not mine, the other idiots...

[popeyewhite]

Riley Blue said:

towser44 said:

I don't disagree, have been up there plenty of times in car, on motorbike and push bike and seen lots of idiotic riding. On the other hand, over the years I've witnessed a lot of poor driving from those in cars too, crossing the white lines on blind bends being a regular sight. Luckily I've either been following or coming in the opposite direction but thankfully arriving at the corner either late enough or far enough kerbside to not be collected by them.

Likewise 'The Snake', I've driven both spritedly on occasions but some of the driving I've seen makes me shudder, overtaking on blind bends being a frequent habit - not mine, the other idiots...

For sure. Plenty of idiots about. Problem with the Cat during the nineties was bikes came from far and wide to use it as a racetrack. Sometimes the sheer number of bikes up there on a summer night was astonishing. Pity some of them had no idea. Got it wrong a few times myself, though not badly.

[SmilerFTM]

Conscript said:

I've Just booked myself a place not far from the Evo Triangle. My aim is to get up early, explore some of the suggestions on here - the triangle, Horsehsoe Pass, Bala, etc - then plot a basic route heading south before turning back toward England. I've got the whole day really - doesn't matter if I don't get home until the evening

Taking my camera with me, so I'll update the thread with some poorly taken photographs afterwards if anyone's interested.

You need to get up really early to enjoy the Horseshoe Pass as it's been rammed full of cars every time I've gone near it. Put your foot down for a few seconds and you're behind a trail of cars in no time.

[RB5Steve]

I live in the Staffordshire moorlands not far from the peak district, although nice scenery and places to visit can get crowded on the roads, especially Easter weekend and Matlock Bath is definitely a no no. There are some interesting country roads to explore, but if you seek to explore the the finer arts of your cars performance, some roads are quite rough and there's the eye in the sky as well to catch the unaware speeder. I like the roads in Wales to drive on, nice and smooth and some lovely country roads to explore. I live near Stoke on trent and I've invented a new game when driving in the potteries. Its called dodge the pothole.

[Conscript]

Well, that was a cracking day
Up and out at 6AM. The weather was, unfortunately, typically Welsh - grey, overcast and raining lightly for most of the drive. But the roads were still massively enjoyable - one of the best drives I've ever had, definitely.

Here's the route I ended up taking, up to where I joined the M40 for the motorway slog back to Kent: https://goo.gl/maps/18iQnmEQMss

I didn't bother with the Horseshoe Pass, as it would mean going back on myself for a while, and I wasn't sure I'd have the time, so I just headed to the Evo Triangle and on from there. As it happens, I was home by 2.30PM, so I should really have gone there, and done a bit more driving in general, but I don't feel like I've missed out - pretty much every road was fantastic.

Highlights for me? Well, I see what people mean about the Evo Triangle. I had great fun, but I felt it was a bit too open and wide in places for the speeds I'm most comfortable with. It was still fantastic, but I actually had more fun on some of the later roads - perhaps because the scenery is a bit better and more dramatic elsewhere. Although I can see why this is a popular spot for supercar tests and bikers - lots of variety of road conditions, and fantastic visibility meaning you can really open the car up.

One of my favourite sections was probably Capel Curig to Porthmadog (A4086/A498). Scenery was stunning and the road much more technical than the triangle, and more suited to my car. From there, back toward Bala and a quick stop for a bacon sandwich at Caffi Frongoch before heading south again.

One nice surprise was the A470/A458, which I took by mistake when I made a wrong turn at the Cross Foxes Inn, but it turned out to be one of those epic mountain pass style roads you see in the magazines. Cracking road. From there, the B4568/A489 also turned out to be tremendous fun all the way back through the Shropshire Hills - as much fun as the roads in Wales, I must say

Traffic was light. I barely saw another car for the first hour or so, and those I did encounter were easy to pass - it's such a nice feeling to overtake a car then have the road to yourself again. Almost pointless back home, as you're behind another car within minutes. Wales really seems like a driver's paradise - such an abundance of fantastic roads, with very little traffic. Perhaps I was just lucky in my timings, but I had been dreading running into miles of queuing caravans and SUVs adorned with bike racks and roofboxes crawling everywhere. Glad to see it wasn't the case.

Drab weather meant I wasn't keen to stop and do much in the way of photography, and mean't the photos I did take weren't particularly astounding. However, I did take a few shots, so what the hell. Enjoy.

Evo Triangle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/DIB27/GT86/...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/DIB27/GT86/...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/DIB27/GT86/...

Nant Gwynant Valley
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/DIB27/GT86/...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/DIB27/GT86/...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/DIB27/GT86/...

(IMG tags don't seem to be working, so just links for now).

Edited by Conscript on Friday 14th April 18:25

[Tickle]

Glad you had a good run out. The Easter weather could of been better for you though.

[Conscript]

Indeed, a shame, a bit of sunshine wouldn't have gone amiss - then again, perhaps the poor weather encouraged more people to stay at home

[ARHarh]

For a bank holiday the roads were quite today. I can see the road to Bala from my garden so I get a feel for the traffic. Glad you enjoyed your day out. The roads are superb round here. They are even quieter when it is not a holiday.

[Pulse]

Red Devil said:

Until that point, stay off the A roads - https://goo.gl/maps/j4eQgHbPm3w

A slightly modified version of this would seem to suit me while I'm up in the Peak District in a couple of weeks' time. The only issue being it's a bank holiday weekend! Will that ruin it for me?

I'll be staying right in the South of the Peak District, but I don't mind getting out very early for a run out (or perhaps the evening). I'll mostly be doing some walking/biking/sightseeing in the daytime anyway.

Thoughts?