Final day – 41 miles, 2902 feet – Llanbedr to Caernarfon
After leaving Llanbedr we continued along the coast for a short while before turning right and heading back up into the hills from Harlech. This town briefly held the record for having the steepest residential in the world! and I can certainly see why, we went up one (walking) which was well over 25% gradient. Once we got to the top - spectacular views down towards the coast & Caernarvon far in the distance, then continued along this quiet narrow farm road along the mountain ridge. Of course what goes up must come down, some v.steep sections back down. I put new brake pads on at the beginning of the trip & be interesting to see how much is left! We then continued on into Porthmadog and up again along some trails and more quiet (steep) country roads and cycle paths down towards Cricceth. The final 12 miles was on this amazing cycle path – Lon Eifion, running parallel to the Welsh highland railway for a while.
Then eventually, as we approached Caernarfon we caught our first glimpse of spectacular Caernarvon castle which was the finale point of our ride, feeling a great sense of achievement. Time for well earned drink with my good friends, at the Anglesey Arms looking out towards the Irish Sea.
Over 202 miles of cycling, 16,400 feet of climbing, endless spectacular views across valleys and mountains -Lon Las Cymru (largely NCN 8) really was a spectacular route, with a bit of everything Wales had to offer - very challenging, particularly with the rain, but highly recommended.
View from top of Harlech
Good friends 💜
Porthmadog steam railway
