Lon Las Cymru campsite suggestions

[rtf01]

I’m starting Lon Las Cymru . . . . will be cycle touring and camping over 7/8 nights

Can anyone please give me their tips and or suggestions re: campsites along the route and where to start and finish

I am unsure as to whether to start in the South or North i.e. Cardiff/Chepstow or Hollyhead and where to start/finish in the South i.e. Cardiff/Chepstow

[james01]

This is a great route, we did it from Holyhead to Cardiff a couple of years ago. It took 6 days, so 5 nights camping. We decided to eat our main evening meal in pubs, so all campsites were chosen to be near towns or villages.
First night was at Cae Garw Campsite near the centre of Caernarvon, postcode LL55 2DF. An easy walk into town, very rural feel despite being in town, and best of all it had a segregated car-free pitching area for real campers.
Next night was at a pleasant coastal site just north of Barmouth - good choice of breakfast cafes, I've forgotten the site name I'm afraid but there were a few sites around the resort.
Next was Dol Llys Farm camping SY18 6JA just outside Llanidloes. Lovely spacious site on the banks of the Severn. It has a campers' kitchen where you can use a microwave and kettle. Good curry in Llanidloes.
Next was somewhere around Newbridge, but I've forgotten the name (and it wasn't very nice anyway!).
Last camp was near Brecon at Pencelli Castle site, LD3 7LX. Very nice, and pub-restaurants within walking distance.
We learned not to follow the Lon Las signs when passing through larger towns, signs were often poor and it was a recipe for getting hopelessly lost on a network of local cycle lanes. We just followed the motorists' road-signs and sped efficiently through towns. Similarly in the countryside the NCN route would sometimes take us off a pleasant quiet lane onto a difficult gravel track, so it's best to plan your own route albeit based around the Lon Las trail. The Sustrans philosophy seems to be to avoid motor-roads at all costs.

[MarkusDeBute]

Just got back from Carmarthen to Holyhead ride. We followed Lon Las a bit but were BCQing so did a lot of meandering. This did however mean we saw some great sights you'll miss, such as Parys Mountain which was astonishing.

We didn't camp every night but in Barmouth we stayed at http://www.hendremynach.co.uk/ which had good facilities and is right by the sea. Very windy at Barmouth but the field is set back enough. Min Y Mor hotel is alright for food and beer halfway to town.

In Caernarfon try James01 recommendation as we meant to stay there but ended up at Coed Helen up on the hill which was awful and ridiculously priced.

The campsite at Pencelli is a bit steep, we prefer http://www.talybontfarmcamping.co.uk/ as it's a)cheaper and b) smaller and c) 2 minutes walk from tent to bar at http://www.starinntalybont.co.uk/ which is one of the best pubs in Wales.

In Cardiff there is a council run campsite 10 minutes walk from the city centre. Haven't stayed there but it's on my way into town, reviews on ukcampsite don't look great but looks alright from what I've seen, and you can't beat the location. http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/revie ... revid=4154.

I can post you our stop off points if you like and see if the stop overs tie up. We did it over 12 nights so did a lot more stops than you're doing.


Oh and James01, where was the good curry in Llanidloes? Ours was rubbish....

[meic]

On the dates that you have chosen, I would start up in the North.

There will be 9,500 police (many of them toting guns) enforcing large exclusion zones in Cardiff and Newport, odds on they will block stretches of the NCN route as cyclists are even more insignificant than the rest of the general population.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... rs-7697281

I would hate your memories of Wales to be this disgusting image as a Police state, dancing to the tune of the USA security mania.

Slightly off route, this place was super cheap (£3 for cycle camper and £18 for B&B just five years ago).

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/revie ... revid=4409

There is lots in the forum on this subject but unfortunately the key words are only 3 letters long and the search function is used to four letter words.

[RickH]

There is lots in the forum on this subject but unfortunately the key words are only 3 letters long and the search function is used to four letter words.

Google is your friend here if you do a search using

site:forum.ctc.org.uk "lon las cymru" (result)

the first bit restricts the search to the CTC forums & the quotation marks makes Google look for the phrase.

Rick.

[james01]

Oh and James01, where was the good curry in Llanidloes? Ours was rubbish....

The Spice Club, 30 Great Oak Street. On reflection we were starving and had already had a few aperitif beers so anything would have tasted pretty good

Good advice from Meic ref avoiding the NATO Conference in Cardiff this weekend, although I reckon you're better off on a bike than in a car if the expected gridlock happens.

[MarkusDeBute]

Oh and James01, where was the good curry in Llanidloes? Ours was rubbish....

The Spice Club, 30 Great Oak Street. On reflection we were starving and had already had a few aperitif beers so anything would have tasted pretty good

Good advice from Meic ref avoiding the NATO Conference in Cardiff this weekend, although I reckon you're better off on a bike than in a car if the expected gridlock happens.

Interesting, that was where we went and service was shocking, food was alright at best. Thinking back, the quote from Ruby, who runs the Crown and Anchor, was that the "Immigration Van had been round the week before" and they were subsequently a bit short of staff. The Crown and Anchor is worth visit if only to meet Ruby who's been running it for 49 years.

[MarkusDeBute]

Regards Cardiff, if you haven't been before it really would be a shame to see it in the state it's in this month. Hopefully it will be dismantled quickly enough afterwards.
Also I believe a few people have had police interest in their rucksacks so not sure what reaction a few panniers might get, I'll find out when I go shopping Thursday.

[gingerwizard]

Hi there, we did the Lon Las Cymru about a month ago, starting at Holyhead, and finishing in Chepstow.
I can't remember all the sites we stayed at, but 2 that really stand out are as follows.

Tan-Y-Fron caravan and camping park at Dolgellau. This is a couple of hundred metres off the route. £15 per night, for 2 people. Washing facilities, good showers and loos.

Dol Llys Farm Caravan and Camping, at Llanidloes. This was by far the best campsite we encountered. £7 per person per night. Great facilities, lovely spacious shower rooms, and the real bonus, a huge kitchen room with 2 microwaves, fridge, freezer, kettle, toaster, well almost everything really! And plenty of power points to charge phones etc, and also seating and tables.

Whichever route you take, the scenery is spectacular, and I'm sure you will have a real adventure, and something you will remember for a long time.

Good luck, and hope you enjoy it as much as we did!