Week 13 - Bridges, beaches, boats and a lap of the breadbasket of Wales
Weekly distance – 313km
Distance since start of plan – 2811km
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With day one of my 7-in-7 challenge in mind, I picked Anglesey as county number 30 to be ridden hoping it provided a good test of what an early start, long drive and rolling terrain in blowy conditions would be like in Wigtownshire. It didn’t disappoint.
4:30am may not be the most sociable time to rise. Still, it delivered a traffic-free trip up the M6 and along the North Wales coast on the A55 past popular summer tourist towns, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno, splicing straight through my Grandma’s old village of Llanfairfechan. Unfortunately, the busy road means the village will never return to the quaint and peaceful place I fondly remember, with the mountain stream running down to the beach, flanked on the promenade with a boating lake and penny arcade. I spent many hours rock-pooling and skimming stones in the generally freezing surf during the annual family holiday to spend time with gran and her faithful spaniel Polly.
With a forecast of strong winds from the west accompanied by squally showers I reluctantly resisted the temptation to bring the light, aerodynamic, carbon fibre summer bike and instead kept faith with the Kinesis “green machine” the heavy but robust steed that has served me so well this winter.
Starting out from the county town Llangefni, at 8:15am the roads were deserted, I picked up the Lon Las Cefni cycle way which runs alongside the Afon Cefni. The well surfaced flat riverside trail proved to be the perfect way to start a ride after a long drive.
Disappointingly my enthusiasm to get going resulted in me riding straight through the village with the longest name in the UK and thus missing the photo opportunity I had planned at the railway station.
Separated from the Welsh mainland by the fast flowing Menai Strait, the Brittania bridge and Thomas Telford’s Menai Suspension bridge are as impressive as they are critical to the local and national economy by providing access to the predominant ferry link to Ireland at Holyhead.
Telford’s bridge was completed in 1826 and was the world’s first major suspension bridge. The original wrought iron chains, and the wooden deck, have been replaced with steel, but little about the grade 1 listed structure has changed otherwise.
Heading clock-wise with the wind at my back I was soon in Beaumaris, the small coastal town is home to one of the finest castles never built. Designed by the same architect that created the magnificent castles at nearby Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech Beaumaris should have been James of St George’s crowning glory but a lack of money and squabbles with troublesome jocks north of the border left the great towers stunted and walls and gates abandoned after barely being started.
Nevertheless the castle and more importantly the excellent slice of bara brith from the Happy Valley Pavillion cafe made for a welcoming early stop.
Bara brith, a traditional Welsh tea bread packed with dried fruit and spices was a staple home-baked offering from gran and never failed to fuel me for a few hours looning around at the beach so I left the cafe happy that the energy gels could stay packed away safely in my rear pocket for the next hour at least.
With rain jersey stuffed in my back pocket I looked warily across Conwy Bay as the teeniest little rain shower rattled along the waters edge but with the blessing of the weather gods I watched it cross my path a few meters in front and disappear up the coast as I turned inland.
I’m a big fan of the Komoot route planning app but it’s always worth checking the planned route for any trails or tracks not of the desired surface type. Unfortunately the time available for such a check was stolen from me the evening before the ride by the pressure of work coupled with the joy of discovering my cesspit pipes needed rodding out as I loaded the bike and gear into the car accompanied by a less than pleasant odour drifting up rom the manhole beneath my feet!
The trail leading along the beach towards Red Wharf Bay was definitely not rideable on slick tyres and would have given me second thoughts even if I was riding a full suspension MTB so a 500m hike-a-bike followed much to the amusement of the elderly couple who passed by fully kitted out in rambling gear far more appropriate for the terrain we were sharing.
With a steaming cappuccino in hand, I viewed the expansive sandy beach of Lligwy bay near Moelfre and was warned of the upcoming battle with the headwind by the striking windsock above me.
At the island’s northern tip, the narrow country lanes lined with blooming yellow gorse were the sort of calming and idyllic byways that force a broad grin from ear to ear and wash away negativity. The emergence of blue sky and weak springtime sunshine topped off the waves of feel-good vibes.
Perched atop low cliffs with the gravestones looking out over the bay Llanbadrig is Welsh for St Patrick’s Church and is possibly the oldest church in the whole of Wales dating back to 440AD shortly after Roman times. It is the only church in Wales dedicated to St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who legend has it came ashore at this spot having sailed from Ireland. These are facts I cannot authenticate on account of the fact that I am only aware of them due to my Stolen Goat Solihull CC jersey attracting the attention of two pilgrims from Warwick who having greeted me with “ooh it’s a small world” were intent on giving me the lowdown on every detail of the church’s history. As politely as I could I escaped their clutches and grabbed a quick look inside the church and carried on my way hoping my lack of interest in Welsh religious history had not been too obvious!
The northern stretch of coast from Amlwch until turning south towards Holyhead was as beautiful as it was tough, if you’ve got to plug away into a headwind for the best part of two hours a dramatic new view at the crest of every hill and turn of every corner never fails to lift the mood and distract the mind. My planned coffee stop at Llynnon Mill was thwarted sadly by the effects of the covid pandemic leaving the owners short of cash to carry out vital repairs to the only working mill on Anglesey and closing both the mill and cafe indefinitely.
Holyhead, on it’s own little island of Holy Island is a place I know well from many trips aboard the ferry to Dublin and back so I wasted no time portside and instead headed out past Holyhead mountain to the remote lighthouse at South Stack.
A short steep climb was rewarded with great views, disappointingly my photographic skills did not do the panoramic vista justice.
The return to Llangefni on a southerly bearing brought an end to the headwinds and rarely any traffic to disturb the continuing coastal and rural tranquility.
Trearddur Bay, RAF Valley and the little village of Aberffraw all inspired a quick photo stop as I neared the end of a fantastic ride that had delivered everything I wanted in preparation for my 7-in-7 challenge a few weeks away.
The final stretch into Llangefni once again picked up the slick, flat tarmac along Afon Cefni, cruising along the riverside trail in the spring sunshine was the perfect way to end a wonderful ride.
The ride in numbers
165.87km distance
2060m ascent
6 classified climbs
7 hours 52 minutes
21.1 km/h
3 coffee stops
4 bottles of water
4 energy gels (Torq Rhubarb and custard & apple crumble)
1 Veloforte energy bar (Zenzero)
1 pack of Veloforte citro energy chews
0 punctures
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