Monday 11 July 2016

3rd July 2016 - Devils Bridge Run

The car got a good test a few days after fitting the new heater matrix on a club run up to Devils Bridge in mid-Wales. This had been organised by the Wyedean group of the TR Register and they invited the Glavon group which I belong to come along as well.

Several of us Glavon members met up at the old Severn Bridge services and drove up through the lovely Wye valley on a beautiful Sunday morning with hardly any traffic. We joined up with everyone else just outside Hereford and headed up to a refreshment stop at Crossgates near Llandrindod Wells. We were rather surprised as we arrived to find the large car park virtually full of motorbikes. There must have been well over 100 bikes but luckily there was some parking space in front of some business units at the top of the car park so we lined all our TR's up there.
Lined up at Crossgates Cafe.

 Everyone was in good spirits and luckily the bikers didn't seem to mind us car drivers in their midst. It appeared to be some kind of charity event with quite a lot of them wearing the Blood Transfusion Service tabards. They also seemed to mostly as old as us!  The cafe staff were working at full speed so we didn't have to wait too long to get served.

The drive from Crossgates to Devils Bridge took us up past the Elan Valley and over the mountain road which is a super drive with great views.
Heading up the Elan Valley
We had some local company as well.
I have driven through Devils Bridge many times on rallies over the years but there was never time to stop and explore.  Turns out it is actually three bridges, each built on top of the other. The legend tells how the first one was built by the Devil himself but I suspect that is unlikely. It is well worth a visit and you can pay £1 to go down into the gorge below the bridges.
Three bridges at Devils Bridge.
Not many of these left.
We got a cuppa and an ice cream from the Woodlands Cafe and then our return route took us south to Llandovery for another stop, this time at the Castle Car Park. This is another place I have been to so many times on rallies because it was very often used as a service area. We parked in front of the sculpture of  Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, the first Prince of Wales.

Llewelyn ap Gruffydd sculpture at Landovery
 Many of us sat outside the Castle Hotel for one of their excellent cream teas before we all split up for our various journeys home.  The first few miles along the A40 towards Brecon are another lovely piece of driving road, fast sweeping bends and lovely scenery so I was really able to have some more fun.

Arriving home we had clocked up 276 fun miles, it had been an excellent day out with good company and great cars. 



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