greatrides

Cambrian mountain biking

The Trans- runs 100 miles from the Welsh border to the coast, mostly off-road. Route designer Jeremy Atkinson spent three days riding it again last year

efore trail centres took off, moorland, through one of the most Up on top, the track is the old ridge cross-country mountain sparsely populated parts of . road to Newtown. It’s hundreds, B biking meant exactly what it perhaps thousands, of years old. said: riding point to point on remote Ridge roads Ridge roads were the main routes tracks. Routes like the off-road Coast The Trans-Cambrian Way starts, as it to Coast and the ends, at a railway station. Knighton “Up on top, the track is the were what mountain bikers aspired station is in , unlike to. At that time, in the late 1990s, it the rest of the town and the route, old ridge road. It’s hundreds, occurred to me that I could define which is in Wales. I set off up the an off-road route across Wales. Teme Valley on a quiet back road to perhaps thousands, of years I’d been researching unsurfaced with ridding buddy Stuart. roads for Highways. A We winched our overweight bodies old. The view is stunning” rideable route across the Cambrian up past the gothic railway viaduct mountains from Knighton to Dovey of the mid-Wales line and through a once upon a time, being drier and Junction looked feasible, using gate onto an untarmacked road. safer from ambush. Once on the bridleways and other rights of way. Edging away from the remains ridges the going was easier than in The project stalled due to a lack of of Knucklas castle onto a stoned the valleys – at least until we could sponsorship. It finally got off the lane, we freewheeled down a steep build roads as well as the Romans. ground thanks to the volunteer descent losing much of our hard- The views on these ridge roads efforts of Colin Palmer and Martin earned height. The climb back up are stunning. We could see right up Johnson, both CTC and IMBA to Beacon Hill and the moors, up a It’s literally cross- past the Long Mynnd. We passed the country mountain members. We had a mapped route track littered with leaf mould, is so biking, with big skies remains of Beacon Lodge, popular running 100 miles over hills and steep that we didn’t mind walking. and bridleways with grouse shooters in years gone

28 cycle APRIL/MAY 2008 greatrides by. Larks sang. Meadow pipits flittered in and place names to the older maps. before the Elan visitor centre, the Trans- and out of the heather. Ravens kept their It was an Inclosure Award public road Cambrian veers off over the river. It’s soon distance. that we followed to Brondre-Fawr forest. anything but easy going. I climbed first on The track is easy to follow apart from There’s nothing on the map to signify that tarmac, and then followed a way-marked one junction at Stanky Hill. The route this is legal – and without a claim it won’t Powys mountain bike route (route E). More notes say ‘take the track less travelled’ to be in 20 years’ time, thanks to the Right climbing followed, up a hill that’s just the the left. We dropped a little to a narrow to Roam legislation. For the present we’re wrong gradient: not quite steep enough to road bisecting the moor, then across okay. I was on my own on this section, force you to dismount. I stopped anyway and on past a ragged line of European apart from the red kites in the sky above. to talk to another a mountain biker. A grey larch. Before long we were in Llanbadarn The route zigs and zags about in this hawk – male hen harrier – drifted past on Fynnyd, which was as far as Stuart and I high valley, ending up at y Sarnau. the breeze. were going that day. If you’re only ‘healthy Beyond that, a deep, rutted road took me I emerged from a high valley near Gro fit’ rather than lean-machine cycling fit, back up into the forestry. It was followed Hill. There were a few water splashes you can break the Trans-Cambrian into by a fast tarmac descent to . where the route crosses steams, and then five stages rather than three or fewer and Rhayader is a good place to refuel a grassy climb next to the forestry land. stop here too. There’s a shop, hotel and bar. – there are loads of tea shops. It’s also Every autumn there are ceps (mushrooms) home to the only bike shop en route. to be found up here, growing among the Red kites There’s accommodation both here and pine roots. Gates and a gravel track took From the moor road one would normally just beyond in the Elan Valley, and if you’re me past farms and towards a reservoir. go straight through the ford opposite on doing the Trans-Cambrian in three or five The old road that the Trans-Cambrian another of the ‘discovered’ untarmacked days it’s a good roads. If the is running high, break point. however, you need to loop down and back From Rhayader through the village. I took a cycle trail On to Davids Well, which doesn’t even out to the Elan qualify as a hamlet. It’s an odd area. There visitor centre just are few hedges and oddly regular fields. beyond the hotel. It suffered as Ireland did from the Potato The hard surface Famine and became barren. When it was is easy going and re-populated in the 19th century, the in the summer this Inclosure Award maps bore almost no section is full of resemblance in homesteads, field patterns family cyclists. Just

It’s known as the follows predates the dams at Penygarreg Central Welsh Desert because of the lack and Claerwen reservoirs. Claerwen dam of roads, towns and people, not rain is massive. It was built only last century. Back in the 1970s, an RAF jet went in not far above the dam wall, its position now marked by a raft. I don’t know if it’s still down there but it doesn’t take much imagination to see how bad things could have been if it had hit the dam. In times of high alert it’s not unusual to see fit-looking civilians ‘wandering’ about this area…

Llamas and lead mines The track here is stony, with solid bedrock in lava-like flows across the surface and loose brick-sized rocks everywhere. It’s slow going and hard to ‘clear’. Arriving at the dam base, the barrier appeared even bigger, dwarfing the farmhouse and cutting out the light. Later I got to Claerwen farm having followed the dam-side track up and back on every inlet. There’s a timber bridge below the shepherd’s house. This is the A cyclo-cross bike or Central Welsh Desert – so called because of rough-stuff tourer will cope but it’s easier by the lack of roads, towns and people, rather mountain bike than a lack of rain (of which it has plenty).

APRIL/MAY 2008 cycle 29 greatrides

When I was a lad I always thought and the end of day two of three. road, then on a helter-skelter ride of it as brownish grey. It seemed There’s a B&B here. The owner down a slippery bedrock and pine- greener now, less harsh. Have I doesn’t have a car, going instead to needled track to the coast road. grown used to it or has the climate buy groceries on the weekly bus. In less than a mile I was cycling changed that much? The last day began with me on a rubble road to the saltmarsh of I carried on along the stone road following the Bidno River up its the Dovey estuary. There’s a junction to the Teifi Pools. More loose rock, narrow valley into the Hafren Forest. here, and a platform. There’s more bedrock, one ford that can run Over the watershed, the route nothing here save the view, but the high, then onto the western end of goes down towards the source of There are arrows trains still come though. And so, the Monks Trod. At this point you’re the Severn. There’s a brief tarmac showing which way to from time to time, do cross-country go, but you still need a on the high plateau, the roof of section to Staylittle. I didn’t stay map and directions mountain bikers. Wales, exposed and without shelter. at all, but turned up a Rocks break through the coarse ridge road. Below to my grass, pools glint in the harsh light. right was the Star Inn, The view gives little clue that it’s the which you can stay at 21st century. We could be drovers. on a longer schedule. I Later, past a herd of llamas, I pressed on over the wet reached the Lethr Valley. It used to grass, down a gulley and be the lead-mining stronghold of out onto Glaslyn and Wales. Now there’s ruin after ruin its surrounding moor. beside the track. Rio Tinto came Another hen harrier prospecting, but went down the went gliding across the wrong shaft and decided against foreground. The route reopening. Nobody told them. The turned hard left down a land’s still poor. I hit the road at scree and bedrock track. , where there’s a B&B. The valley sides are so steep that soil has no Coasting home purchase. I barrelled down It was starting to get late and I was into the valley, losing tired, gritting my teeth and counting height so quickly. my cadence. The forest to my left Dogs gathered in the had been cut bare and planted with yard below as I passed, but wind turbines. More climbing. At they didn’t bite and never the top I went right then left on have. I was in a patchwork of folded forest roads as yet unmarked on fields and wooded valleys. I dropped fact file: OS maps. I traversed forest slopes down, turned, climbed, and turned Trans-Cambrian Way above the Wye. Eventually I dropped onto a track that took me across a Distance: 100 miles (170km) out of the forest onto a back road ford on an ancient wooded lane. Time: 3-5 days for most people, although it Below through has been done in a day. the branches I Terrain: Largely off-road riding through could see rock hill country and moorland on stony and grass pools. The track tracks. It crosses the dropped down to and there’s at least 3,700m of climbing. join them. What to take: It’s possible to do this on a cyclo-cross bike or rough-stuff tourer but Soon I was it’s easier and more pleasant on a reliable climbing again, mountain bike. Carry decent waterproofs, getting up above a compass, sufficient food and water, and the forestry onto tools – you’ll be on your own for most of the another old ridge journey. road. It was one of Maps: Download Tracklogs maps and instructions for free or buy the hard copy the way-marked version – both from www.imba.org.uk. The Mach trails, route is covered by OS Explorers 201, 214, which loop out 213, 215, and 23 and by Landrangers 148, of 147, and 135. and back. I Start: Knighton railway station on the dropped down Shropshire border and finish at Aberdovey Junction railway station on the estuary salt to a forest road flats. then descended Amenities: There are pubs, B&B and further through shops on or close to the route at Knighton, surrounding , Rhayader, Cwmystwyth, pines, first on , Staylittle and Machynlleth. Bike shops at Rhayader (Elan Cyclery) and Machynlleth (The Holey Trail). More information: www.imba.org.uk, Most of the streams follow the ‘where to ride’ link for information are easily forded. on trains, taxi services, village shops, After heavy rain, some require diversions B&Bs etc.

30 cycle APRIL-MAY 2008