Aravis
Putrid Donut
- Location
- Gloucester
I think the region is pretty popular already. How could it not be? The feature which most characterises the South Wales region is the presence of several very long, deep, and gently inclined valleys spreading out from all the large towns near the coast. They resemble Scottish glens as much as anything, except that they have been heavily industrialised in the past, evidence of which is still readily apparent. There are also numerous roads of varying types and gradients hopping over all the ridges separating the valleys, so the scope is endless. And best of all, the region butts up against the Brecon Beacons which has its own collection of spectacular roads, this time in more conventionally wild mountain scenery.They look really good and bear a lot of resemblance to the Peak District climbs I do. Those around here are really popular, maybe more needs to be done to promote what is obviously really spectacular cycling in S Wales
Several of the larger inter-valley roads which now make for such spectacular cycling were built by unemployed miners during the depression of the 1930s. Amongst these is the triple-headed Bwlch-y-Clawdd, all three ascents of which feature in the article. I've sketched out this possible route which looks like fun:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13637913
Do I dare? There was a time...