Tuesday, 22 August 1944
Log of a Cycle Tour to North Wales, by Roy Spurgeon, with Leslie Lee. 21 August 23 August
Leaving the Hostel at 1015 hours (4272.7), we went down across the bridge back into Denbighshire and set course for Conway by the main road, running alongside the river (see photo) for most of the way. The weather was rather unpleasant; a cold, stiff wind blowing in our faces, the sky completely overcast with low cloud and a heavy haze over everything, restricting visibility to little over half a mile. These conditions prevailed all day, though fortunately the only rain fell during our lunch when we were under cover.
The road from Llanrwst to Conway was somewhat disappointing possibly owing to our restricted view; the river Conway appeared far from attractive, having large stretches of dirty mud on its banks. Passing through Tal y Cafu and Llansaintffraid Glan-Conway, two small villages with little of note except remarkable names, we reached the town of Conway after a hard ride at 1130 hours (4236.1), back in Caernarvonshire once again.
We crossed the famous suspension bridge (see photo) into the town, the ancient walled city of Conovium in Roman times, standing at the mouth of the river Conway, and spent some time looking over the castle, climbing, during the process, albeit a little dangerously, to the highest tower overlooking the estuary. The castle, another of the many built by Edward I to suppress the Welsh, stands on a triangle of rock on the western side of the Conway; it is approached nowadays, as already related, by a picturesque suspension bridge completed by Telford in 1826 and by the side of which stands a tubular railway bridge built by George Stephenson 20 years later. Construction of the castle, which has eight huge towers and is the best preserved of its kind in Britain, was begun in 1285.
Deciding, after reconnaissance, that we were unlikely to get any lunch In Conway, we ate our packed lunches in the shelter of one of the walls running round the Royal Balcony of the castle and then set course back across the suspension bridge for Llandudno. We climbed across the neck of Great Orme's Head, passing out of Caernarvonshire for the last time, into Denbighshire and rode into Llandudno at 1305 hours (4291.1). Here we tried for some time to obtain lunch until we finally came to rest in the British Restaurant at 1340 hours, by which time the long queue had disappeared. This big Welsh holiday resort (see photo) lies around a bay, known as Orme's Bay, immediately behind Great Orme's Head and facing North. It was very crowded at the time of our visit despite the unfavourable weather. After lunch, we went on to the pier, but like most other British piers, it had been blown in two as an anti-invasion measure, so that there was little to see except the ferocity of the rough sea, flinging itself against the rocky shore. We did not leave Llandudno until 1545 hours (4292.1), setting course along the coast road to the east. We passed through Colwyn Bay (see photo), where we made a special detour to look down from the cliffs, but the mist had closed right in so that we could only just discern the pier and the sea, and then stopped for tea on the main road in the village of Colwyn at 1620 hours (4297.8).
Climbing once more to the top of the cliffs, we carried on down a long, straight stretch of road past the estate of Gwrych Castle with its fine inscribed gates, ran through the small village of Llandulas and reached Abergele. Again, there was very little to see and, in any case, we were by then pressed for time, so we went straight on, the country being perfectly flat for miles in all directions. Shortly after leaving Abergele, we turned inland to the right on to the Chester road, passed into Flintshire and a fast ride brought us to the cathedral town of St. Asaph at 1820 hours (4310.4). Crossing the Elwy river below the town, we climbed the steep high street and, again without stopping, carried on through the town, passing the small cathedral, parts of which were built in 1282, on our right.
Reaching the small village of Rhualt, we began to climb the northern foothills of the Clydian Range and were soon to discover that the Hostel at Bodlonfa was situated, as usual, right on the highest spot for miles around. The road was an excellent arterial, but it ascended very rapidly in the last mile or so, so that we were forced to walk a good distance up the hill. We reached the Hostel, a very imposing building, via a rough track at exactly 1900 hours (4314.1) in the nick of time for supper. Bodlonfa had not been open for long before our arrival which may have accounted for the very few hostellers staying at such a large Hostel. It is a very well built place with spacious common and dining rooms, its only drawback being the shortage of water to which we had by then become resigned.
In our dormitory, I selected a fine looking single deck bed, only to find, too late, that most of the springs in it were either broken or missing. However, with the aid of a certain amount of string, some pliers lent by a co-operative hosteller and a good deal of patience, the situation (and my comfort) was restored and a good night's sleep was had by all.
Total cycling distance for the day - 41.4 miles.