Elan Valley

No, not a lost valley full of abandoned Lotuses but a great scenic drive, even if you're not in an Elan.


A route (the Devil's Bridge to Rhayader one):
https://www.touristwales.co.uk/Drives/Drives.html


Short videos:
https://www.focusbiz.co.uk/elanvalley/

Photos:
https://www.rhayader.com/elan.html


If you were visiting, from London get out of town on the M4 to Wales.

I'd then suggest diverting up the A4042 to Abergavenny, the A40 to the A479 (then a stop off up the A438/B4350 to Hay on Wye for the "Booktown" with dozens of bookshops, and back again to the A479) to Bulith Wells and the A470 to Rhayader and thence join the suggested route, but backwards to Aberysthwyth and the seaside....

Been there......James is right, this is absolutely gorgeous, and a real driver's road!

"Abergavenny" - The name sounds familar. Is it on one of the midlands rail lines? I seem to recall hearing it constantly in anouncements in the small stations between Birmingham and Shrewsbury (along with "Man'chstrpiccadilly" at the other end).

Also been to Hay on Wye - I've never seen anything like it. I ended up shipping a hundred pounds of books home because we couldn't carry them all.

We spent 2 weekends in Wales in that area and it was heaven. It was great fun finding a friendly pub in the middle of nowhere and stopping a while. A friend's son works in one of the border towns at a Pubmaster's competitor - I forget the name - and it was interesting to hear about his job. We also spent a few hours at a friend's brother's vacation caravan park. I don't remember what towns we were in (there was a two-foot gauge railroad in one) or if we were in "Elan Valley" but I agree it's a beautiful area.

For years, my job took me to many European countries and I got to see places like Paris, Milan, Venice, Stuttgart, London and so on on many occasions. If I could only return to one, it'd be the area around the "Marches" - Ludlow, Shrewsbury, and the Welsh border area. No idea why - it just seems magic, somehow.

Abergavenny is one of the larger "market towns" in the area. You'd go through or near it whe travelling from the Birmingham area to South Wales.

I doubt you'd have gotten there when travelling between Birmingham and Shrewsbury unless the train driver took a very wrong turn somewhere.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

My wife's from just south of there- a village that's no more than a wide spot in the road, a "valley girl" as I tease her....

But I get feed up a little listening to the in-laws and their stories about the good (or otherwise) old days and have found that a day out driving through the Brecon Beacons, or west, or even into England for the Mendip Hills, or the Cotswolds, or... make for a very pleasant alternative....

There was a series televised on "Great Welsh Roads"- I've been on some, and I'll certainly plan on seeing some of the others too:

https://www.cwmnicymraeg.com/gwroads/?page_id=23

the only problem is my mangling of Welsh place names, it amuses the locals... I hope.

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...I doubt you'd have gotten there when travelling between Birmingham and Shrewsbury unless the train driver took a very wrong turn somewhere.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif...

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The announcements I referred to seemed to place it at the "end of the line", since it was always the first or last named stop. I didn't mean to imply that the train went through it.

(You're a lot braver than I am - I wouldn't even try to pronounce any of the Welsh names.)

I used to work in Ludlow.....commuted every day from Dudley in the West Midlands in a Citroen Dyane (a fancier version of the 2CV). I knew those roads so well that I was able to drive 'em flat out and the look of surprise of drivers' faces when this little Citroen came flying past them was a constant source of pleasure. Mind you, on any long straights, I was toast! Weren't any on that road though.

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... I knew those roads so well that I was able to drive 'em flat out ...

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Wait a minute! Weren't you a "copper" then?

I know the Welsh borders pretty well too. I was born on Severnside, went to school at Monmouth, and lived in Cheshire for 13 years, from where North Wales was easily and often visited.

James, which little village near Abergavenny? We used to ride our bikes there from Monmouth, along the A40 through Raglan, past the castle, and from Abergavenny, if feeling fit, over the back road back to Rockfield.

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... I knew those roads so well that I was able to drive 'em flat out ...

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Wait a minute! Weren't you a "copper" then?

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No, that was the year before I joined the force....I joined up at age twenty.

My wife's from Griffithstown, between Pontypool and Cwmbran about 10 miles south of Abergavenney. We travel through Monmouth virtually every time we go there and have visited the town several times.

Its very nice country for a drive (or cycle, if you're fit and have the time) and I've always found the people very friendly... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif ...even my wife, most of the time.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif