Monthly Archives: May 2018

St Clears Circular

Posted on by under Carmarthenshire, Cycling, Uncategorized

Another lycra day, this time west of Carmarthen near St Clears along lanes new to me passing through Laugharne and back.

Route

I parked up near the chapel just passed  the Forge garage on the A40 just east of St Clears. Most of the ride followed NCN 4. From the start there is a cycle lane which leads to the Afon Dewi Fawr and into lower St Clears.

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Just after crossing the bridge over the Afon Taf the main road to Laugharne and Pendine is left behind by taking the right hand turn which climbs steadily from 18 feet to 500 feet through woodlands before turning east at Three Lords. It was now time to regain my breath on a flat and downward route to Laugharne via Landawke.

Underneath Laugharne Castle it was time for a stop to munch on a banana and watch the tourists slowly filling the car park. This of course is Dylan Thomas country and for more up to date times one of the areas used for the filming of the well received TV drama “Keeping Faith”.

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Laugharne Castle

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Taf Estuary

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Dylan’s Boathouse

Reasonably refreshed I rode up through the town and turned north west at Cross Inn eventually meeting my outward route.

 

Ffairfach Circular

Posted on by under Carmarthenshire, Cycling

I blame the wife and the Grand Old Duke of York – read on.

The blog has been quiet of late as the knee problem has turned out to be the need for a new knee! The excellent NHS in my part of the world expect me to wait 20 months and will not automatically transfer me to a health board with shorter waiting lists! So I will have to raid the piggy bank and line the pockets of a surgeon carrying out private work.

Although I cannot walk far without pain and then very slowly, riding a bike has little effect – thankfully.

Amazingly for a Bank Holiday the weather is glorious and a bike ride was planned. I had a route in mind west of Llandeilo possibly visiting a friend from decades ago whose children I helped learn the dark arts of kayaking.

Route

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I parked the car in Ffairfach and cycled steadily uphill to Bethlehem, well if the Giro can start in Israel.

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Bends in the Afon Tywi

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Of course I cycled passed well before 12 o’clock.

Then onto Felindre to join the main road from Llangadog to Brynamman before turning left back onto narrow and quiet lanes leading to Pont ar Llechau crossing the Afon Sawdde. This used to be the get in for a grade 2 river run down to Carreg Sawdde Common.

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Afon Sawdde

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Carmarthen Fans

After the bridge it was a long uphill ride and walk to Capel Gwynfe, the village where I planned to visit an old friend. I had failed to find his address on the Royal mail post code site and a little way after the summit of the hill I stopped to ask some locals who knew Roger well and explained I would have to go back down the hill looking for a chapel and follow a lane through some forestry. I rode back as far as Pont ar Llechau without seeing anything resembling a chapel. Loins girded I rode/walked back up the hill and again spoke to the locals. They had not explained or I had not understood, but I should have taken a turning off the main road which led steeply down a lane where I would indeed see the chapel. Off I set again and lo and behold I found the house – he was out!!! I now had the joy of riding/walking back up the above mentioned steep hill!

At least this was the end of any major hills and at spot height 287 I stopped to eat my cake before an excellent downhill swoop to Ffairfach.

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Sheep hoping for a piece of my cake.