Not Spain & Portugal! Part 1

We had booked to go touring Northern Spain and Portugal for a couple of weeks this September but, as with a lot of things at the moment, this has been postponed to, all fingers and toes crossed, next year.

Elan Valley

So where to go instead?? After chatting at a bike night with a couple of people who had recently been to Wales, I had a look online and booked a cottage in Welshpool which is kind of mid Wales giving us a great location to explore mid, south and north Wales.

Old Stores Cafe

We set off up the A5 on the Saturday stopping at services on the way for fuel and a coffee and carrying on to Pontblyddon to a cafe I had seen online called the Old Stores which I thought would make an excellent stop for brunch.

Wow! What a cool place the cafe is!!! There is so much bike memorabilia all around the place and indeed even bikes to look at. 

It is such an interesting place to wander around and read/look at and the food is very good too :-)

Old Stores Cafe

We sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed our food. Afterwards we chatted to some other bikers and had a look at the bikes in the car park. Definitely a great place to re-visit.

We hopped back on the bikes and headed for Welshpool to find our accommodation for the week. We struck lucky with the cottage I had found, it was literally in the middle of nowhere so the bikes would be safe and yet about a twenty minute walk to the nearest pub – perfect!

Our cottage for the week

The following morning the sun was shining so we set off for a ride through Elan Valley stopping at the visitor centre first for breakfast and, as it later turned out, one too many cups of coffee (there are no toilets en route through the valley)! 

Elan Valley

The ride through Elan Valley was breathtaking, the scenery was
amazing. We stopped at each of the dams to have a look around and a chat to some other bikers that had the same idea as us. 

One of the chaps we spoke to said if we were heading into Aberystwyth, we should get on the B4574 out of Devils Bridge and then onto the A4120 which takes you there as it was a good biking road.

Old mining village

We carried on through the valley and stopped at the old mining village to have a look around before carrying on making our way down to Devils Bridge Falls in Ceredigion. We had intended to stop here for a cuppa but it was soooo busy we decided to leave it for another day and carried on the recommended B road into Aberystwyth. 

What an amazing road that road was, I can thoroughly recommend it – thank you to the chap who told us about it.

Aberystwyth is a lovely seaside town and we parked in designated motorcycle parking on the promenade which was really handy. Coffee and cake was found in a little cafe – that surprised you didn’t it! What a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Lifeboat at Aberdovey

Another sunny day beckoned the following morning and we headed to Aberdovey stopping in Machynlleth for breakfast. You guys are going to think all I do is eat and drink copious amounts of tea and coffee which, to be fair, is a pretty accurate assumption to make but hey, we’re on holiday and I shall be using that excuse all week!

Aberdovey

Aberdovey is another seaside town and this time we sat on the beach, ate ice cream and watched the lifeboat launch (thankfully only an exercise and not because of an emergency). We headed back to the cottage to chill in the summerhouse with some beers before dinner.

Ponderosa Cafe

Before we came away, everybody we spoke to about Wales said you have to do the horseshoe pass and stop at the Ponderosa cafe so the following morning we headed to Llangollen with the intention of so doing. As we headed out of Llangollen to pick up the horseshoe pass, there was a sign to say said road was closed!!!

Luckily you could still get to the cafe but you had to go via a lane which, to be fair, was a good ride and produced some amazing scenery. 

The cafe I have to say, did a cracking sausage bap and coffee and although it was pretty windy as it is very open there, it was lovely and we spent a while having a look around.

Ponderosa Cafe

As we were heading to the cafe, my friend John, managed to get stung on his eyelid and his eye was beginning to swell. Luckily one of us had some antihistamines so John took one in the hope that it would ease the swelling.

By the following morning, John could barely open his eye and literally one side of his face had swollen. There was no way John would be riding today, nor indeed the rest of us. We walked along the canal into Welshpool to find a pharmacist to take a look at John’s eye. 

The pharmacist thought it was a horsefly bite and gave John some strong anti histamine to calm it down.

Cake @ The Bay Tree Vintage Cafe

In the name of medicine you understand and in order to cheer John up, I found a quirky tea shop, The Bay Tree Vintage Tea Rooms, which did these amazing cakes and huge pots of tea. 

I definitely have to make a return visit here ……..

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we continue our holiday in Wales and then onto Cornwall.

BK

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Not Quite Germany!!! Part 2

Looking for coffee!

So the following day we decided to head to Abergavenny in Wales going via Ross-on-Wye. 

The o/h decided to use the sat nav. It's a bike specific sat nav and, apparently, there is a ‘for a thrill’ route option so he opted for this and decided to see where it would take us expecting sweeping bends and twisty corners.

Well the roads it took us on were definitely not thrilling, the roads were getting narrower and narrower until finally one had grass growing down the middle and we were being hit by overgrown branches from hedges on both sides. We finally got to a main road and turned the sat nav off. I can tell you no thrills were found on that route!

Stopping for a selfie!

Having finally reached Abergavenny we parked up and found somewhere for coffee and food (you guys are going to think I have a caffeine addiction).

Coming back from Abergavenny, we stumbled across this fantastic road that took us via Hereford and through some cracking scenery. I often think you find the best roads by not following a sat nav, we certainly were!

Chepstow Castle

Come Wednesday we headed to Chepstow along a fairly okay ‘ish road, nothing exciting. We were sitting having a coffee (that surprised you didn’t it) and a couple of bikers sat down for a coffee too (see it’s not just me!) and we started chatting, as you do.

Well, best chat ever! They told us about this biker cafe called The Steel Horse which is a biker-friendly licensed café, set near Abergavenny in the heart of Monmouthshire serving freshly cooked food along with hot tea and cold beer – sounds just like my kind of place.

Steel Horse Cafe

The bikers also told us about these two roads we needed to go on to get to The Steel Horse which were the B4293 out of Chepstow to Usk and then the B4598 to the Steel Horse cafe. OMG the roads were amazing, it had twisties and tight left/right handers, long sweeping bends and a few long straights.

Honda VFR At Steel Horse Cafe

We found the cafe and after some food, okay, alright, and a coffee!, we decided to head back down the same road and have another go. It honestly was the best road and such fun.

To make our way back to where we staying we decided to ride up the Wye Valley and across the Forest of Dean on another good windy A road. That was the best day’s riding so far with the best roads we had found and was finished off perfectly by walking to the pub for dinner and a beer.

Broadway

So Thursday was our last day before heading home and I decided it was definitely a cake day. I needed a cake fix. We headed towards Evesham and as we were riding through we spotted a bike garage with a few classic bikes on the forecourt so we parked up and went and had a look and a chat with the owner.

Back on the bikes we carried on to Broadway which is another pretty little village. After parking up and wondering around for a bit looking for a suitable place for cake, we stumbled across what my o/h described as ‘a little old lady tea room’!

Afternoon Tea

#JamFirst

Well you can imagine the faces when we walk in with our leathers and helmets but we held our heads high and found a table in the corner. We ordered a very delightful afternoon tea to share which consisted of a pot of tea, sandwiches, a slice of cake and scone with jam and cream #JamFirst.

I had finally got my cake and can honestly say I felt much better. I had definitely been lacking cake!

Broadway

We carried on out of Broadway up Fish Hill to go and see Broadway Tower. Well, Fish Hill as it turned out, was another amazing road and had even tighter twisties and bends than yesterday’s road and was about a mile long. OMG such fun. We passed a couple of bikers going the opposite way who looked like they were having fun too.

Broadway Tower

At the top we found Broadway Tower and after stopping for a look we decided to go back down Fish Hill again and then when we got to the bottom, went round the roundabout and back up and down again and passed the two bikers from earlier who had the same idea as us!

Burford

Friday was our day for heading home and after packing up and loading the bikes we set off. This time we did finally manage to stop in Burford for brunch which, by the way, was well worth the wait.

We had a brilliant week away and found some great roads, would definitely recommend a visit to Gloucester.

BK

Steel Horse Cafe

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Not Quite Germany!!! Part 1

So six of us were booked to go to Germany in early June but with the pandemic situation in which we find ourselves we had to change our plans.

In the end it was just the o/h and I that went to Hartpury in Gloucester last week which, as it turned out, was a fantastic base for biking day trips.

Coffee Break

We were going to leave early Sunday morning and stop in Burford which is in the Cotswolds for breakfast but when we woke up it was raining. The forecast said it should stop by 10 so we held back a couple of hours.

Sure enough the rain did stop and we left about half ten so breakfast was now turning into brunch. We headed out of Aylesbury towards Bicester on the A41 and then picked up the A40 towards Burford. Unfortunately for us, a lot of other people had the same idea of going to Burford and I mean a lot of people. As we were nearing Burford the traffic was getting heavier and slower until finally it was at a standstill.

We cut off down another road in the hope of avoiding the jam but that too came to a halt. For those of you that don’t know Burford, it is a pretty little village in the Cotswolds and therefore the roads are not exactly wide.

Bourton-on-the-Water

Filtering was needed but filtering down a narrow road with cars coming the other way, as you know, is eventful and some strong language was coming from other motorists who were displeased with us. Oh well, hopefully they got over it!

We eventually got to the main High Street but that was at a standstill both ways. OMG all this just to get some breakfast! Needless to say we decided not to stop and filtered our way through the High Street and out of Burford and carried on to Bourton-on-the-Water which is kind of the next village on, still in the Cotswolds.

Bourton-on-the-Water was busy but we managed to park up and set off looking for a much needed coffee (or two) and some food.

After we’d finished eating we had a walk around the village, it has the River Windrush running through it and little bridges that you cross to get over ‘to the other side’. 

Ducatis @ Bourton-on-the-Water

We spotted a couple of Ducati’s parked up and were having a little drool before bumping into their owners and having a chat with them, as you do, or as I do anyway.

Ice Cream stop at Bourton-on-the-Water

We came across an ice cream shop and thought it would be rude not to sample their delights and sat for a while people watching whilst eating our ice cream.

Back on the bikes we carried on the A40 and then picked up the A436 and then A417 onto Hartpury to find our accommodation for the week. 

Our view from where we were staying

It was a converted stable block and it was literally in the middle of nowhere behind electric gates. 

Perfect for the bikes, which I like to make sure are secure at night when we’re away.

A nice beer after a day's riding!

There was a pub literally ten minutes walk away at the end of the road. Perfect for when you’ve been out on the bikes all day, come back shower, change and walk to the pub for dinner and a beer. This was going to be a good week :-)

Pudding!!!

So Monday, the sun was shining so we jumped on the bikes and headed off. Now me, I don’t use a sat nav, I prefer to just know the general direction I want to go, follow a few road signs and see where I end up so that’s what we did today.

Pretty cottages and narrow walkways

We headed towards Ledbury, and onto Malvern and carried on to Worcester. Worcester is a city and it has a kind of ring road going round the centre. Well we couldn’t find parking anywhere (or anywhere we were happy to leave the bikes) so we carried on to Tewkesbury.

Tewkesbury, as it turned out, was lovely and having parked the bikes we found a little cafe and sat outside in the sunshine for coffee (and maybe a cake).

After a wonder around we were back on the bikes and carried on riding and came upon Malvern again which was lovely and had some great scenery up in the Malvern Hills. We eventually came into Upton-Upon-Severn and decided that as it was lovely we would stop for a late lunch.

Pit stop

I do love this riding lark, you ride your bike through beautiful countryside on some great roads and keep stopping for coffee and food.

Perfect view

We rode back up through the Malvern Hills and stopped in Ledbury for dinner. 

We went into this pub and honestly, the waitress in there had us in stitches – everything was too much trouble and customers were clearly an inconvenience, she kept tutting and rolling her eyes at everyone and everything. It was like something out of Fawlty Towers! Brilliant fun to watch!

Find out in Part 2 where the ‘for a thrill’ route on 

the sat nav took us ……...

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