South Wales owners
Discussion
My teams just been drawn against Llanelli in the Europa Cup so going to head down for the game on July 9th, once I pass Birmingham are there any "interesting" roads I should consider taking cross country rather than just down the motorway and along the M4 past Cardiff? Anywhere worth stopping off for the night or calling in to take a look round on the way there/back? I'll have the mrs with me so she'll want to get as much out the trip as she can so any suggestions welcomed.
Come off the M50 at Monmouth and go cross country through the valleys to get to Caedyydd.... interesting ups and downs rather than straight motorway - regardless don't follow the M5 and cross the bridge...why pay to get INTO Wales when you can have a better drive for free?
If I was doing the trip as a tourist I would find somewhere around the Forest of Dean to stop over and have a blast round the rural roads. But if after pure empty roads, take the longest route and work your way down from N Wales.... I'm sure there's plenty of locals that can comment?
If I was doing the trip as a tourist I would find somewhere around the Forest of Dean to stop over and have a blast round the rural roads. But if after pure empty roads, take the longest route and work your way down from N Wales.... I'm sure there's plenty of locals that can comment?
tville is fantastic, or was it the one from breacon to the place in which my ex beloved once came fromthanks for the feedback so far. think I'm going to be pushed for time on the way down to stop off anywhere but like the idea of a trip back through Wales and out at the north coast on the way home so will probably stay down for the weekend and do a bit of tour round, test out a few of these Welsh roads while trying to avoid upsetting the BiB.
ok heading down to Wales tomorrow morning - 450 miles each way 
its further away than London for me. Plan is to stay down in Llanelli and use it as a base for touring round the south of Wales and then drive back up the road on Monday. Gather Pendine sands(?) is quite close by so got to try get some pics on there as it was the report from there on Top Gear that made me buy the Ro to start with. Hear the Aussies are in Cardiff this weekend thumping the English cricket team - anyone know if there's tickets still available?
its further away than London for me. Plan is to stay down in Llanelli and use it as a base for touring round the south of Wales and then drive back up the road on Monday. Gather Pendine sands(?) is quite close by so got to try get some pics on there as it was the report from there on Top Gear that made me buy the Ro to start with. Hear the Aussies are in Cardiff this weekend thumping the English cricket team - anyone know if there's tickets still available?SimonV8ster said:
450 miles each way - holy crap !! 
What team do you support then ? They must be good !!
Hope you have a good trip
What team do you support then ? They must be good !! Hope you have a good trip
good - no, wouldnt be any fun in it if we were actually any good most of the time. back in '91 I got a months salary in advance to pay for an overnight stay in a dump in Poland for our first ever trip to Europe. We got beaten and still had the best party ever - 100% woodgrain vodka for 3 quid a bottle in the hotel bar lol.
looking forward to the trip and spending a few days in Wales, done north Wales a couple of years back but not the south so a new part of the country for us to explore.
well_fans said:
...Hear the Aussies are in Cardiff this weekend thumping the English cricket team - anyone know if there's tickets still available?
No, all gone.
Thinking of going to Cardiff with the GTS this weekend to let the Aussie boys have a taste of home
Would have been a great idea for a meet, bet they'd of loved it.
Have a great time Well Fans, sorry I'm a bit late joining this thread, loadsa fab roads around the Black Mountains. Just moving further into the national park myself, closer to Builth/Breacon. Great fun without having to break speed limits.
not been able to do too much spirited driving as the weathers been pretty poor so far - saw air ambulance rescue today on other carriageway of the A48 near llanelli and it doesnt surprise me with the amounts of surface water on the roads.
going to pop in to see Ian (farm1) tomorrow morning so looking forward to that. Been down to Pendine Sands and got some photos of the car as close to the beach as I could get. Wont let you on the beach now because of "explosive" devices Word of caution - the museum of speed is a bit on the small side if you're making a trip down to visit it.
For those worried about fuel consumption - I managed over 400 miles on a single tank on the way down on Thursday by sticking to limits on the motorway give or take
and getting a fairly clear run down with minimal traffic hold ups.
going to pop in to see Ian (farm1) tomorrow morning so looking forward to that. Been down to Pendine Sands and got some photos of the car as close to the beach as I could get. Wont let you on the beach now because of "explosive" devices
Word of caution - the museum of speed is a bit on the small side if you're making a trip down to visit it. For those worried about fuel consumption - I managed over 400 miles on a single tank on the way down on Thursday by sticking to limits on the motorway give or take
and getting a fairly clear run down with minimal traffic hold ups.Got back late last night from my trip round south Wales and have to give it a big thumbs up. Some excellent roads and a remarkable number of them with nice new tar on them, at least road tax money is being spent correctly in one part of the country. Good to catch up with Ian (farm1) and even though he pleaded not to I promised his son I'd bully him into finishing the car ready for the next BTCC/RR type event by putting some pictures up along with a couple from driving around.
First up was Pembrey Circuit where I stopped in to watch a bike track day for an hour or so. Great wee venue and unlike so many others I've been to its free to spectate. Also relatively cheap to take part in track days and popular with race teams for testing so worth popping in if you're ever in the area.
Moving on round the coast I thought I should try take in the spiritual home of the Monaro in the UK - Pendine Sands. Any thoughts of a blast along the beach quickly evaporated when I read this sign
So needless to say this was as close as I got to the sand. Word of warning - theres a road in and a road out of Pendine as you travel east to west - take the eastern road in and back out as the western road is incredibly narrow with no passing places, I was very fortunate to not meet anything coming the other way or one of us would have been doing a lot of reversing. Roads basically cut into the hill with no verges and for long sections its single carriageway.
Then I popped in a couple of days later to visit Ian (farm1) at his farm between Llanelli and Swansea - heartily recommend it if you're looking for fresh produce as he runs a shop there. For a number of reasons his car's been off the road now for around 15 months whilst he's been working on it but as you can see he's getting on with the rust protection
Unfortunately this ones a little blurry but as you can see while he's been busy with the rust protection the dust protection has been a little lacking
Finally a nice shot of the car on top of the Black Mountain - not a road for the feint hearted or those who suffer from vertigo. I made the mistake of not following Ian's advice and did it in the reverse order he'd suggested meaning I spent most of the trip back down the mountain about 6 inches away from certain death instead of being snuggly tucked in against the side of the hill.
No more photos but another recommendation - decided to take the slow road home and drove right through the middle of Wales from south to north up the A483. Some fabulous sections of road through the hills and round the side of a couple of them with stunning views down the valleys. Then as you get further north lots of fast sweeping turns with enough straight sections to overtake the lorries and caravans. Well worth the time and fuel if you get a chance.
First up was Pembrey Circuit where I stopped in to watch a bike track day for an hour or so. Great wee venue and unlike so many others I've been to its free to spectate. Also relatively cheap to take part in track days and popular with race teams for testing so worth popping in if you're ever in the area.
Moving on round the coast I thought I should try take in the spiritual home of the Monaro in the UK - Pendine Sands. Any thoughts of a blast along the beach quickly evaporated when I read this sign
So needless to say this was as close as I got to the sand. Word of warning - theres a road in and a road out of Pendine as you travel east to west - take the eastern road in and back out as the western road is incredibly narrow with no passing places, I was very fortunate to not meet anything coming the other way or one of us would have been doing a lot of reversing. Roads basically cut into the hill with no verges and for long sections its single carriageway.
Then I popped in a couple of days later to visit Ian (farm1) at his farm between Llanelli and Swansea - heartily recommend it if you're looking for fresh produce as he runs a shop there. For a number of reasons his car's been off the road now for around 15 months whilst he's been working on it but as you can see he's getting on with the rust protection
Unfortunately this ones a little blurry but as you can see while he's been busy with the rust protection the dust protection has been a little lacking
Finally a nice shot of the car on top of the Black Mountain - not a road for the feint hearted or those who suffer from vertigo. I made the mistake of not following Ian's advice and did it in the reverse order he'd suggested meaning I spent most of the trip back down the mountain about 6 inches away from certain death instead of being snuggly tucked in against the side of the hill.
No more photos but another recommendation - decided to take the slow road home and drove right through the middle of Wales from south to north up the A483. Some fabulous sections of road through the hills and round the side of a couple of them with stunning views down the valleys. Then as you get further north lots of fast sweeping turns with enough straight sections to overtake the lorries and caravans. Well worth the time and fuel if you get a chance.
Still glad you had a good time. Think i'll stay away from the sandGassing Station | HSV & Monaro | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff