It'a a rare thing, to dedicate a whole page to one road - and not a major one at that. But this road, or to be more precise, several consecutive roads, hgolds a special place in my heart.
It's narrow, wild and very technical to ride, but it is oh so beautiful, and condenses everything that's good in Welsh landscapes in one experience.
This amazing road starts just above the Elan Valley and winds its way through the mountains, through Devil's Bridge and on to the outskirts of Aberystwyth on the west coast. It's almost impossibly narrow in places. I had to take refuge in someone's front garden at one point when I met a huge milk tanker coming the other way.
That was at Cwmystwyth - just after you travel through the eerie, otherworldly landscape of the disused lead mine workings. The Romans mined lead here, but in the 17th. and 18th. centuries, the mining really came into its' own, when silver was also found.
The route continues up and down, left and right through the mountains and a beautiful forest. In the middle of the forest, miles from anywhere, they have built a stone arch which recreates the original archway entrance to the Hafod Estate. They have included a short stretch of tarmac to represent the original road passing under the arch, although the actual road now bypasses it, to the left of the picture below.
Well, this year it has been finished, and the area around it cleared and partially tarmacced to provide a small carpark and picnic area in one of the most delightful and quiet areas I've yet to come across.
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