BRITAIN’S 10 BEST RIDES
The joy of the British B-road is hard to beat – and this route heading north through Wales is utterly life-affirming
NEED TO KNOW
Route Set off from Llandovery in Carmarthenshire then head north past Llyn Brianne, Tregaron, the Elan Valley, Rhaayder, Lake Vyrnwy onto Bala, then Ffestiniog – almost all on minor or B-roads.
Length 155 miles
Roads B4343, B4574, unclassified, B4518, more unclassified, then B4395, B4393, B4396, B4391, bit of A4212, then B4391 again.
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Central Wales is a swathe of forested hills, rivers and reservoirs reaching from the Brecon Beacons, up through the Elan Valley, then into the lower reaches of Eryri (Snowdonia). It’s a magnificent belt of B-road brilliance, with a bit of everything from tight and twisty go-kart track to wide and flowing like a continental mountain road, and every kind of scenery; endless variety to suit all kinds of riders on any type of bike.
Our route starts in Llandovery, heading north towards Llyn Brianne on a capillary threading alongside the reservoir, then across desolate hillsides to Tregaron. If it’s raining, you know about it. Pick up the B4343 twisting across green fields; then, just after Ysbyty Ystwyth, the road funnels between rhododendron thickets as the landscape shifts gear, with deeper woods and higher hills. Suddenly the road is a broad grey ribbon, cutting into a hillside lined with tall conifers. Blink and you’re in the Ardennes in Belgium.
The road compresses, drops into Pontarfynach past the Hafod Hotel and takes the right fork just before Devil’s Bridge onto the B4574. The road opens out with big views across farmland valleys and gentle slopes to the left, then coils into tighter turns with black-and-white-painted Armco. Go past the old arch, down a tree-lined avenue into Cwmystwyth, then back into more hills – rushing alongside the river Ystwyth between slopes slathered in spoil from ancient
