Route from North Wales (Llandudno) to South Wales (Penarth)

Hi cjcp

Not sure if this is any help to ya but four of us rode from Caernarfon to Cardiff following the sustrans route 8 http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/national-cycle-network/route-numbering-system/route-8

210 miles and we done it over 3 days,struggled at times to follow the route as not marked as well as others we have done,we carried our own stuff also.

Ive only been riding road bike from march and struggled on some of the climbs as not use to 20% climbs :oops: ,although hard at times the views were well worth the pain

Let us know if you need to know anything else and hopefully can help ya

I would take Sustrans routes with a pinch of salt. I would get some OS 1:50,000 maps and look for yellow and unclassified roads to ride which are far better than some of the NCN directed ones.

I recently cycled Abergavenny up to Builth Wells via Hay on Wye then on up the Devil's staircase around Llyn Brianne to Llandovery then back east to Brecon and Abergavenny all on pretty much empty yellow or unclassified white roads. NCN directs cyclists along some busy B-roads. Also NCN route maps only show the route they give which IMHO is crap.

Anyway your route. I would cycle through Snowdonia NP heading toward Machynellth then across to Rayader over the mountains then around the Elan valley and then Llyn Brianne down to Llandovery then across to Brecon and Abergavenny. Not the most direct but you will see some stunning scenery and riding on quiet traffic free roads.

Have fun.

A470 Brecon to Storey Arms is scenic enough, and the climbing is pretty easy going, but it is the main 'A' road N to S so expect a fair amount of traffic. There are a couple of places either N or S of Merthyr where you can pick up the Taff Trail.