If you
are the kind of cycle tourist who likes to make sideways excursions
rather than just biking straight ahead, there is no greater
joy than cycle-touring in Wales and the Welsh Borders of England.
You can easily avoid cycling on major highways as this little
known region, on the western edge of Britain, is criss-crossed
by a maze of rarely-used lanes (paved) that make it a touring
cyclist's paradise.
It's not
just the famous national parks – such as Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire
Coast, and Brecon Beacons – which justify a bike tour,
but the bits in between like the Wye Valley, the Gower and Lleyn
Peninsulas, the South Shropshire Hills, the Cheshire Plain,
the Forest of Dean, and much more.
Stick
a pin in a map of Wales and the Welsh Borders and it can't help
but land near a river valley, mountains, coast, moorland, or
all four. Look more closely at the map and you can see how the
Welsh border was constantly changing as the Norman French pushed
into Wales, and were beaten back by angry Welsh. A dead giveaway
are the Welsh place names appearing in England, and English
names appearing in the middle of Wales.
So, Wales
and the Welsh Borders is not just a beautiful region, but it
is full of history – romantic ruins, standing stones,
moss-strewn churches, pagan wells, sulphur springs and Victorian
spas to name but a few. Even if you aren't interested in history,
they provide cyclists with a good excuse to stop and have a
bite to eat.
The focus
of this site is on-road bicycle touring. You don't need
to go mountain biking off-road to enjoy the peace and quiet
of this area. Motorised traffic is hardly ever encountered on
the country lanes. You will find a few ideas to work out a cycling
itinerary scattered around the site – even on the Tales
of Wales and the Pubs pages!
Now cycle
sideways to one of the links on the left. Happy biking...
Croeso i Gymru –
Welcome to Wales
Note: The Welsh Borders are
sometimes referred to as the Welsh Marches or the Welsh Borderlands.
Technically it is either side of the England & Wales border,
but for the purposes of this site it is the western portion
of the counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire
in England.
