Castle Tour of Wales 2022

All up bright and early on Friday, a hearty breakfast and we left the Royal in Ross on wye.thoroughly recommended as a place to stay.

A fuel stop and a couple of warm up laps while James sat nav got a grip of the task in hand and off we went, four Ducati, two Triumph, myself and Duncan keeping the monster flag flying.

3D2334E5-D3E8-444A-AB48-CDF2A99F376A by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

Duncan securing luggage at the Royal

We soon arrived at our first castle of the day,Skenfirth, whilst this was a milestone in the trip the adjacent church,dating from 1300,s was special due to the wooden roof construction on the bell tower…..oh and it was offering tea and cake!!

CA20E204-4FB0-414A-BBC0-D1EC16C3AF83 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

9A93F674-D3B7-4969-B6A3-8767578E1A95 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

That was on top of the full English !

By now the sun was up and we were keen to get miles in, roads were almost to ourselves at this point as we ticked of a couple more at Grosmont and Abergavenny.


6B5D13DD-7055-440D-9478-9CED9E99C728 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

454CD02C-743F-488F-B133-8D49C126C4AC by Mike OConnor, on Flickr


138551BA-9552-4A5D-B6FB-CA3ABCE22D7C by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

Leaving Abergavenny the traffic was building as the World woke up to a bank holiday and eventually the inevitable happened and the group got split at a busy round about. The two groups met up once more at Bridgend where we took a look at Newcastle.

C640B4DA-769B-4E7A-A193-AF38E718FEAC by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

We were lucky enough to meet two members of the Village People too!

18B99A7C-1A4F-4124-9378-6CE3C8ADC8AA by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

Heading West , I made a fuel stop and sadly never caught up with the group again until we met at the Boars Head in Carmarthen. The guys ticked off three more castles before arriving.

The day was topped off by a great Italian meal in town , Saturday sees us heading North on the west coast to our overnight stay in Bangor.

A4BC499C-8E2B-4E4D-9642-50393A369CB1 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

[Grumpy]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/155110...2/52121263405/

I'm male pouting!

We woke up Saturday to rain in Carmarthen, waterproofs on and off we went, what a change. Temperatures had dropped from low twenties to eleven degrees,and we had a stretch to do.

Traffic was typical for a bank holiday weekend but we got into Carmarthen, quick photo of the castle walls and headed north.


D6AE5CD3-82E3-40FD-B8E3-BA4900DA62A3 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

1EC34A9D-B2BC-44A0-BEEA-BE147747AD3F by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

We made it up to Aberystwyth, could get to the castle because the road was shut due to the crowds so made do with tea and cake! Good choice.
3D2A3959-2BAD-45A1-A986-FC45D591F555 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

From there we had a good trip to Harlech castle,the rain briefly catching up with us .
9F6BEEE2-1C10-4C08-85F0-3BA384764CF7 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

73966F16-A461-402D-BAC0-69CC0E7B34BF by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

876DB259-9CE1-4749-8BE5-63A287F9A2AD by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

Time to head up to Bangor which was a blast using some routes that we travelled on the weekender….seems like a long time ago.

4B193CC6-4154-4969-9B8B-B9A3387D57AA by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

A good night was had at the local Indian, remember folks…..just be yourself.

1F6F86CF-9235-44ED-A2B1-E11147CB72B2 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

Jeez, that’s blown it! Weather has let us down big time. Breakfast conference resulted in the group calling it a day,no pleasure in tip toeing around in this weather getting progressively wetter taking rain speckled photos of castles

It’s been a pleasure to this point, company great as usual we have had a damn good ride,eat,drank,we’re entertained by live music oh and are about to get very very wet……..until next time guys, have a safe journey.

CE0E5424-7004-49CB-B9B1-FFE127D59085 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

CFC9E56A-71E4-4C7E-ADB3-2A5F2ABB0D46 by Mike OConnor, on Flickr

[Grumpy]

Thanks gentleman for cracking few days.
Castles, cake, roads and Italian food, what more could you ask for on a road trip.

Many of the roads in Wales were new to me.... Great fun in the multi, which now requires a new set of chain and sprockets.

240 miles home today, with a slight detour ( read as got lost!)
Entertaining traffic on the A55/M6 North of Birmingham. Rain plus more rain for about 2/3rds of the journey home.

So where next?

The lowlands of Scotland? Skerries for the racing? Or the Scottish cloverleaf?

Let's start planning

Hmmm, Galway , southern west coastal 300 or cloverleaf,which appeals because you stay in the one accommodation for the whole trip….

[Doggy]

Looks a good trip, away with friends on bikes that's what matters .

Well said Colin, it was great craic and we were on our bikes for four days

[alan s4]

Enjoyed that. Great write up and pics!

Hi Alan, well the cloverleaf and the south coast 300 are calling our name, maybe you can join us when we take the plunge

[the lodger]

My lad and me stayed in Dumfries last year. Couple of the best days riding I have ever done. Deserted roads and fab scenery. I can supply details of a very good biker friendly hotel, places to eat and routes if needed.

Cheers

[crawsue]

Can 2nd the Birmingham weather report, it was a scary ride and end to our Italian adventure, especially the “smart” motorway ,4 lane Stoke / Stafford section.....
Moffat is a very good base for the Borders and South West Scotland....and fairly accessible for Southern Softies......!!! I’ve enjoyed the Welsh Castles read , with petrol and peage prices what they are and no Hull / Zeebrugge option , I think a staycation might be the option next year......I’ve never done Wales , so might be the answer.

Originally Posted by the lodger

My lad and me stayed in Dumfries last year. Couple of the best days riding I have ever done. Deserted roads and fab scenery. I can supply details of a very good biker friendly hotel, places to eat and routes if needed.

Cheers

Hi Nige, good to know you have the routes and hotel sorted for us,did you do glen trool and castle douglas( keeping the castle theme going ).

I seem to remember you saying you were going to lead us on a ride up your neck of the woods, give us the nod mate and let’s get it done

Some great routes through Wales Crawford,you won’t be disappointed.booking good weather is more of a lottery but hey ho you must be no stranger to the wet stuff.

M6/toll and stoke section best done late at night or early doors, not pleasant but glad you enjoyed your trip

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by crawsue

Can 2nd the Birmingham weather report, it was a scary ride and end to our Italian adventure, especially the “smart” motorway ,4 lane Stoke / Stafford section.....
Moffat is a very good base for the Borders and South West Scotland....and fairly accessible for Southern Softies......!!! I’ve enjoyed the Welsh Castles read , with petrol and peage prices what they are and no Hull / Zeebrugge option , I think a staycation might be the option next year......I’ve never done Wales , so might be the answer.

I travelled home from Wales via the A55/M6/A14.
The smart area of the M6 was entertaining to say the least!
Stop start on several sections, tailgating at high speed when the traffic was moving. Poor driving discipline...etc.
Took the M6 till around Birmingham, far better ride. As for the A14, usual poor observations, lane hogging, lorries travelling side by side on the inclines.
What a difference to the previous two days. Great roads, beautiful scenery, the traffic was well behaved.

Try Wales, Snowdonia is stunningly, around the Ross on Wye area the roads are fun. Overall a great ride.