South Wales Route Help

crossed

I'm planning a ride in a few weeks time that will take me from the Llanelli area to Bristol but I'm not familiar at all with Wales.

I tried the Strava route planner thing and it had me looping up through the bottom edge of the Brecon Beacons on a route which would probably kill me!
When I looked at the NCN 4 route on the Sustrans website it was a bit of a convoluted route that seemed to be about 50% longer than it needed to be.
Another route planner I tried had me riding huge sections of the A48 which didn't look too appealing to me.

Could anyone give me some pointers to good routes and which areas/roads to avoid?

courtmed

Do you have any pictures of those routes?

If you want a route that's fairly flat you're probably better off sticking as close to the coast as you can. Could get to Swansea then go Neath - Bridgend - Vale of Glamorgan. Then, as long as you don't mind riding through a city you could cross Cardiff and go that way. I'm not familiar with any roads on the Newport side of Cardiff (by bike at least) but I'm pretty sure there are some good roads around that way.

Also, I'm not sure if it's Strava or RideWithGPS but I'm sure one of them provides a "min elevation" option that could make a ride like this easier on your legs

cgfw201

I'd strongly advise against all the roads in between km50 - km80 in this ride. Was trying to get from The Tumble to Rhigos, Strava sent us this way. Grim dual carriageways with minimal cycling infrastructure along them.

We also did some of the National Cycle Network from km20 - km36. Was quite fun, but nearly all off road on grass/rocks/gravel.

https://www.strava.com/activities/658742818

craker

The easiest route (flattest) IMO is along the coast but that means negotiating Cardiff and Newport. Newport's not too bad really, would try and avoid rush hour. Less sure about Cardiff, I'm sure the same holds true of most urban areas.

The wetlands between Cardiff and Newport (St Brides) and Newport to Magor (Gold cliff) are flat and a bit uninspiring, nicer cycling than the A48 and flatter than the valleys.

apreading

Try Ride With GPS for planning, eg: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20570438

Select OSM Cycle Maps if it doesnt show that map by default.

I would be wary of NCN4 between Newport and Caldicot if you are on a Road bike. I did it (the other direction) with my son last year - there are lots of gravel & rutted/potholed paths there, really meant for a mountain bike or 'gravel bike'.

Route 88 is great if you are happy for the extra distance to loop down through the Vale of Glamorgan - cross Cardiff Bay, avoiding most of Cardiff and a nice run from there up to Newport.

crossed

Thanks for the responses guys.
The Ride With GPS route appears pretty good from my brief look at it.

The plan of attack is to ride back from Llanelli to as close to London as my legs will get me. Once me or my legs give up, my good lady will pick me up and take me the rest of the way home as she'll be following behind a few hours after me.
I'm not necessarily looking for the flattest route available but I'd like to avoid having 7000 ft+ of climbing before I've even left Wales!

whoof

Try this for planning a route.

http://cycle.travel/map

If you are following the NCN 4 and are riding a raid bike you might want to avoid the off road section between Undy and Caldicot by riding the B4245 instead.

If you are getting the train to Llanelli and want to fuel up before you go try the Coffee Pot café opposite the station for a breakfast, it's quite large!

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserR ... Wales.html

apreading

If you want a pretty direct route to London from there, I can recommend following the old Action Medical Research route here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/3634096 They dont do that ride any more but I did it for a few years. Uses alot of the A4 but most of it is not too bad and it is pretty straight and flat.

Are you going from Llanelli to London in the day, or splitting overnight in Bristol? I can recommend the Premier Inn just down the road from Evans Cycles - very accomodating for bikes, comfortable, cheap and cancellable up to lunchtime on the day. If you are stopping in Bristol, I can recommend going along the coast to Severn Beach and approaching Bristol up the Avon Gorge - not the most direct but definately best way to come into Bristol by far!

whoof

apreading wrote:

If you are stopping in Bristol, I can recommend going along the coast to Severn Beach and approaching Bristol up the Avon Gorge - not the most direct but definitely best way to come into Bristol by far!

Each to their own. But that takes you through Avonmouth industrial estate and then up the A4 Portway either on the very busy road itself or on a shared pavement path on the right hand side.

If I was going to Avonmouth I would follow the NCN4 to Pilning and then the 4/410 through Easter Compton, Hallen, Lawrence Weston. If you really wanted to ride up the Avon Gorge it's nicer to cross the Avon on the M5 and to Pill and then follow the NCN 41 up the south/west side of the river. This path is not tarmacked and I would recommend it on a road bike especially if it's been raining.

kingstongraham

If it's any help, these both OK routes Cardiff - Newport - Bridge:

Cardiff to Newport (to the steel works) https://www.strava.com/activities/130306436

Then the way I came back from the Bridge on this one is pretty kind: https://www.strava.com/activities/130306436

(The NCN 4 past Newport goes on paths that are more like Welsh Strade Bianchi - I'd avoid on a road bike.)

redvee

We rode from Cardiff to Bristol and took pretty much the same route as KingstonGraham did apart from getting lost in Newport but crossed the river on the Transporter Bridge. The route was sort of familiar as a group of us had rode from Bath to Cardiff overnight a few years previously and turned the lights off around 5am but this was in July so longer days. There is a section of the route that is poor which is just before the Magor toll booths, the long straight line. This is where I had my only puncture of the Ride from Bath to Cardiff. This route is 98% flat apart from after Calicott when you have to climb up to the roundabout at Chepstow, a sting in the tail.

https://www.strava.com/activities/531858523

The A403 coast road doe now have a SUP alongside it on the pavement which is rarely used by pedestrians, there is a section which deviates into the lanes alongside the main road. When you get to the Fire Brigade College in Avonmouth you can avoid the main part of Avonmouth and head into Lawrence Weston then Shirehampton and pick up the A4 Portway which has a SUP on the riverside of the road. I use this on the way to work and the road on the way home as at 22:20 when I'm on the way home there is much less traffic on it and a 20 foot wide 2 mile cycle lane that is used during the day by buses.

whoof

whoof wrote:

apreading wrote:

If you really wanted to ride up the Avon Gorge it's nicer to cross the Avon on the M5 and to Pill and then follow the NCN 41 up the south/west side of the river. This path is not tarmacked and I would recommend it on a road bike especially if it's been raining.

Above should 'read wouldn't recommend on a road bike'

crossed

Thanks for all of the pointers guys, there's loads of good suggestions there to be using.

Now I just need to try and figure out a route that avoids all the bits you've told me to and tries to take in the decent bits mentioned. Should keep me busy at work tomorrow

crossed

I've been trying to figure out a route and having taken into account some of the suggestions above I've came up with this route. How does it look to you guys who know the area?

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20992864

apreading

I will leave others to comment on the Welsh part - although I grew up there, that was a long time ago... You obviously realise that there is a significant climb on your route!

The route you pick up East of Bristol looks fine - follows alot of the A4, which can be busy but is a good road and pretty flat - you can make good time on this section, hence why alot of charity rides use it.

Not so sure about your route from Newbury - that is a busy dual carriageway initially and then a very busy road down to Basingstoke and would not be my choice. I would actually take a more direct route - you could either stay on the A4 until just before Reading or there are some really nice, quiet lanes just south of it. The route skirting south of Reading and on to Virginia Water is also well tread and used by alot of rides. This would make it shorter and cut a bunch of ascent and I think probably be nicer, although your route is fine once you get out past Hook. See this: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/21284472 for possible change.

crossed

Thanks for that.

I thought I'd planned a route similar to that as I'm fairly familiar with the area from Newbury to the end but for some reason I've saved the same route twice rather than the two different versions!

I was hoping to try and avoid the busier roads but I don't think it's going to be possible without adding considerable time or distance to the route. It also makes it a bit easier as my wife will be leaving a few hours after me and following the route in the car to some extent to restock me if needed and as a broom wagon if it all goes wrong!

kingstongraham

The Welsh bit looks nice - you have Cimla and Bwlch in there, two pretty decent climbs.

crossed

As tempting as it was to avoid any proper climbs, it just wouldn't be Wales without some lumpy bits!

craker

It's a small detail but you can skip the climb into Pwllmeric on you way into Chepstow. Turn right at the garage, towards Mathern (fecked if I can get my dropbox image to work, it's mile 86 on your route)



I rode Chepstow to Newbury at Easter
https://www.strava.com/activities/946636170

it's not far off what your trying to do, I try to avoid the A4 whenever possible. I stuck fairly close to the M4 before heading into Wiltshire. Popped into a car boot sale in Calne. Afternoon tea in Marlborough. Savernake forest is nice, Grrrt Beddun , Shalborne, the Inkpen wilderness.... then you get the opportunity to cross Newbury to the south (Bury's Bank Road or Thornford Road keep you away from the A4 and the Kennet valley).