Touring: North Wales and Lancashire

[st4]

Well folks, this was my annual holiday tour as I am off for two weeks. My and two mates decided to visit North Wales for three days. This was a fabulous holiday.

We started out in Mold to purchase supplies which are edible and then to head to our campsite near Rhydldyan on the way to Betws-Y-Coed. This is on the Evo Triangle of which I will discuss later.

First though to cover off is the Horsehoe pass. My new suspension set up devoured this road as I clipped apex to apex and kept up with my mates Golf MkV GTi. At the top there is some stunning views and I had to let my tyres cool down, the smell of burnt rubber is nice.

The views are amazing....



The next stop was along the A5 to our Campsite where the other chap joined us



Sheds and long grass don't mix. The lack of ground clearance relative to other cars is comical, but the drive is so good who cares right?



We all decided to pile into my car, and do some touring. We aimed the shed for Betws-y-Coed along the A5, cruised below the NSL and enjoyed the warm weather, the stunning views and when we got nr to Tyn-y-Coed jumped out the car and spied these Waterfals.



From here we took the A4086 which is an awesome road, and then stopped at Llyn Gwynant for the obligitory photograph

Further up the Hill

The Lake


From here we did a loop round the Llamberis and took this in the evening.



I then burnt some rubber up the Llamberis pass and put the anchors on when I saw a camera van, again a hazard of driving in Wales. The Llamberis pass is amazing fun and the sheds direct steering, supportive side bolsters and manual overrides meant going between 3rd and 4th meant swift safe progress and lots of drive out the corners. Big diesels make fast road driving intensely involving.

The last photostop of the day was at Capel Culrig. The stillness of the lake will stay with me for ever, it was so tranquil and calm. Wonderful.

[st4]

Day two:

We piled into the Golf GTi. First observation, I am too fat for this car, the top of the seat pinches my shoulders so I cannot be comfortable in it. Ride is top notch, the engine punchy smooth efficient but dull sounding at peak power. Handling is very tidy and secure. Nice car and a great hatchback. But I like em back driven....

First significant stop was Lake Vyrnwy.

Wow....






its clearly a resevoir and man made. And none the worse for it as we have learned in this thread with Portmeirion. The architecture is stunning as is the landscape around it. I liked this place a lot and its good to see how something as utilitarian as a resevoir can be made into something as enchanting as this.

After here we went to Barmouth and the GTi demolished the A and B roads which stood in its way. It was also damp as it rained, and for once I was glad not to be driving my big heavy powerful RWD car.

Barmouth was like a mini Blackpool. I quite liked it





From here it was a long run to the Groes Inn....



I really liked the food and location, the staff were polite and whilst it wasn't cheap, it wasn't too dear and its a real car persons place. I would recommend it to anyone here....

On the way we spied an audi quatrro. This is as old as me and is in probably better shape. I would love to have one of these one days. 5pot engines are also wonderful. The noise and warble. Wow, as good as a V8 IMHO….



We headed back to the Llamberis pass to get sunset photos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them and being here...

[st4]

The final day: The attack run of the evo triangle and the Lancashire visit...

First stop, the Conwy falls cafe for breakfast...AMAZING. Go here, this is a nice friendly cafe with a wonderful relaxed arty atmosphere and if you eat here, you get free access to the falls. Awesome...

Sadly I cannot find any pics, please accept my apologies.

Here is the shed on the Evo Triangle….



Here is both of our cars on this iconic run….



The triangle is IMHO a bit overrated. I prefer the run down the A5 to the A55 IMHO. The other good one is the B road over to Ffestiniog (spelling is wrong). However, the triangle is a good test of a car with long straight sweeping bits that reward a big fast car, and narrow bits (start of the A543) that reward a smaller more nimble car. It has a few ridges and off camber turns which test damping and suspension travel. I discovered on one of the more open turns there is a ridge which bottoms out my car. However, other than this, its more than a match of the triangle and didn't disgrace itself but rather reminded me how sweet the E class with the Blistein B12 set up is. Ideally a C class or a 3 series or even a 1 series would be better, that bit smaller for the narrow bits but I never felt the car was too big for the drive and the torque meant great drive out of the bends and with firm but well damped suspension road holding is excellent, without being bumpy and fidgety. I really enjoyed it….

From here I went to see Aandy, Ian B Walker and trapperjohn. Three top blokes and three fellas who are a great asset to the forum and people I am glad to call friends of mine. We had a nice chat at TMS, John took us out in his decatted 124 300 24 valve and wow. I want a decat. The sound is immense and I am going to get mine done I think. Makes a lovely cultured 6clyinder roar and is still hushed and civilised. Whats best is that although the 124 is 3 generations older than the 212, it has a class and character that is pretty much lost on the newer cars and is IMHO a better size of large car than the bloated ones we now have.

From here I visited Blackpool and took a long walk from Bisham to the tower and back.

Here is the tower



Here is the Pier



From here I decided to visit Halo, nr Burnely. Its a structure that lights up at night, me being a dopey fool picks one of the shortest nights of the year to take pictures.

This is taken well past 9pm….




It never fully lit up, but you get the idea, so I drove back up the motorway and relished in the E classes comfort….

So, thank you Wales, Lancashire and to everyone who made this 3 day tour so great.

Here are the full albums…

2012_06_Wales and Lancashire Tour (1) | Facebook
2012_06_Wales and Lancashire Tour | Facebook

[GordonTarling]

Some cracking photos there Steve!

[st4]

Originally Posted by GordonTarling

Some cracking photos there Steve!

Cheers Gordon, sadly my images barely do the place justice.

I really liked Wales. It doesn't quite have the out and out drama of the North West Highlands, but its not far off and is more accessible to more people on here that I suspect a forum tour is on the cards.

Driving roads wise, I'd say its the definite equal of Scotland and maybe ahead slightly.

I cannot wait to go back

[st4]

PS, forgot to copy in a whole load of stuff

rom here it was a cruise to Portmeirion. This is one of the nicest places I have ever been to and the chap Ellis who built is has left a lasting impression on me, and his achievements should not be under-estimated. With the sun out, I forgot I was in Wales.




The outlook it has is very Welsh however...



From here, it was a long gentle drive to Aberadon for a beachside BBQ. Seagulls were an issue, but nothing a few well placed stones didn't cure....



Not a bad view eh?



From here we went to another beach for sunset and late evening shots.

You could be in Cornwall here...





The beach itself has lovely clear sands, and being late at night, clear of tourists...



Its quite rocky at the edges, so care is needed but its a magic spot and a great place to wind up



A 90min drive back in the shed with the seat heaters on was relaxing and the car still retains a compliance to make a quiet mooching drive a pleasure and a comforting joy. Take car at night driving in Wales, stray sheep are a real and frequent hazard...

This was the 1st full day we had in Wales....

[artyman]

What no photo of Patrick_McGoohan

[HB]

Truly wonderful Stevie boy. Your next tour should be going round the uk taking snaps of all the forum members.

[Neiltodd]

Excellent photos,thanks. Are they straight out of the camera or photoshopped?

[A210AMG]

You should write / photograph for Evo or similar.

Your reports are far better than most magazines! Even better you could give a 'G' rating on the food to boot

[developer215]

The usual quality Steve, however, I can't remember the last time your outside holiday snaps included any beavers.

No luck still?

[gmanrangers]

cracking pictures steve, looks like you had a blast.

[st4]

Originally Posted by A210AMG

You should write / photograph for Evo or similar.

Your reports are far better than most magazines! Even better you could give a 'G' rating on the food to boot

I'd love to do that, I heard about a job going for another magazine based up here, but they sadly filled it....

This was an immense tour and cannot recommend enough.

I also have a huge debt of gratidude to the members who suggested the various places on my OT thread. Without these, we would not have had such a good trip.

Originally Posted by developer215

The usual quality Steve, however, I can't remember the last time your outside holiday snaps included any beavers.

No luck still?

I'm more a kebab man as you can see



I can't get beaver....

[corned]

I have heard that kebab is an acceptable substitute...

[st4]

Originally Posted by corned

I have heard that kebab is an acceptable substitute...

Can't beat a kebab munch....

Oh on more important stuff, the lamb shanks were awesome....