Water,
water everywhere (well, just about!), as 41-81 members joining the recent Triumph
Wight Rats Welsh Tour found. In early July, drought conditions had left reservoir
levels a little low, nevertheless, still impressive.
A
mix of seven bikes and eleven party members threaded their way
from Lymington through Devizes, Chepstow, Abergavenny, lunching in the Black Mountains,
Brecon National Park,
Brecon and on to the Elan
Hotel in Rhayader, our home for the next three nights.
After a sumptuous
dinner and a night's rest, the morning's brief was studied over a big breakfast.
The notorious Devil's Staircase, similar to Dorset's Zig Zag Hill, leading onto
the Lyn Brianne reservoir, Llandovery, Lampeter, Tregaron, Devil's Bridge, returning
to our hotel through the Elan Valley, was our planned route. Had the dams and
weirs been full, we would have "felt" the power of the water on its
way to supply Birmingham as it filtered its way through the massive structures.
After
dinner and a good night's rest, our next brief sent us to Llanwddyn and its charming
dam built in the 1880's, which supplies Liverpool some 75 miles away. From there
we took the narrow mountain road west to Bwlch-Y-Groes. Don't discount this desolate
area - on a good day the views are outstanding. We snaked our way back to Rhayader
on some of the best Welsh tarmac, encouraging you to experience full engagement
with your machine.
Our final dinner was not a disappointment. The group had gelled well during our short stay, and as the last evening drew in a tinge of sadness showed through, as our stay was over and it was back home for tomorrow.
We
headed home on the A44, all the way to the lovely Cotswolds, stopping for lunch
at the Broadway Tower in the Valeof
Evesham,
overlooking
some of the areas we had just visited. From here to Burford, Swindon, Marlborough,
The Wallops, Romsey and Lymington.
