A beautiful but demanding 122-mile cycle route that involves pedalling up the equivalent of Wales’s highest mountain more than four times is being opened in the north-west of the country.
Stretching between the historic market towns of Machynlleth and Conwy, the Traws Eryri (Trans Snowdonia) route should take hardy cyclists four or five days.
Almost all of the route is within Snowdonia, or Eryri, national park and those who complete it will have tackled 4,424 metres of ascent – more than four times the height of Snowdon, or Yr Wyddfa, at 1,085 metres.
“It’s a brilliant route,” said Sophie Gordon, the campaigns officer for the charity Cycling UK, which has plotted the way, its first in Wales. “The climbing is a challenge – Wales has a lot of steep hills – but it’s beautiful, a mix of different terrains and landscapes from forest to valley, open hillsides and estuary. There are amazing views.”
The route includes bridleways, byways and forest tracks. Cycling UK has worked with landowners such as the National Trust, Woodland Trust and individual farmers to obtain permissive access to link together some sections and keep people off roads as much as possible.
Those using the trail will also come across fascinating history. The southern starting point is Machynlleth, an ancient capital of Wales where the 15th-century leader Owain Glyndŵr held an assembly. At the northern end is Conwy, with its castle built by Edward I during his 13th-century invasion of Wales.
Cyclists will also pass close to Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant, near Penmachno, which was the home of Bishop William Morgan, translator of the Bible into Welsh, and will go close to the slate mines of Bethesda. “You do feel as if you are following in the footsteps of the ancients,” said Gordon.
Cycling UK says the route is for “competent riders” who would need to be on off-road machines such as mountain or gravel bikes.
The charity says cycle tourism spending in the UK generates £520m a year. A survey of riders of King Alfred’s Way, a route starting in Winchester that Cycling UK launched in 2020, shows on average every cyclist spends £83.60 a day on food and accommodation.
Sarah Mitchell, the chief executive of Cycling UK, said: “On Traws Eryri, you’ll want to travel light to get up the hills and make the most of the supply points of the local shops, pubs and tea rooms you pass by – and many of these will be off the beaten track.”
The trail is the seventh long-distance cycling route Cycling UK has launched since its riders’ route for the North Downs Way was unveiled in 2018.
The creation of the first Welsh route was funded by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and put together over three years. Cycling UK engaged with communities and off-road riders to get their views on the best possible route.
John Taylor, NRW’s north-west Wales team leader for recreation, said: “The route connects existing mountain bike trail centres with an off-road cycle route, blending the best of public rights of way and existing tracks to offer a longer-distance, wilder-feeling cycling route.”
