Riders on Cycling UK’s Traws Eryri, or Trans Snowdonia, route. 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 […]
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