More Rough-Stuff in Mid-Wales 2007 - Day Two
11.8.07
I looked out of the tent at 05:30 to see the mist rolling in the bottom of the valley on a otherwise clear morning, after viewing this it was time for a second sleep, until 08:30 this time. No breakfast for us this morning just a coffee and then straight onto the bikes to take in the beautiful clear day. Cycling further up the forest track we could see the road way down below us, our theory about 'torch man' the previous night seemed to be correct! The Sun blazed down, a Red Kite soared gracefully above us, seeing this bird meant we were now in the heart of Wales! As we looked across the valley Drygarn Fawr at 645metres stood there in all it’s splendor. We stopped there for a while contemplating this huge plateau peak before cycling on the track to join up with the public road on top of the snaking, winding hill known as the Devil’s Staircase. The route from here took us on the back road that drops down to where the Llyn Brianne reservoir starts. The sun was shiny down on the dark peaty waters of this reservoir as we made our way to Soar-y-Mynydd, a remote chapel alongside its waters. The track that would take us to the head of the Doethie valley is a steep, rough, stony path, that required some serious bike dragging up it! It levels out over the mountain, my new 32 mm tyres were handling the track easily and it was not long before we reached the Doethie. A few 4x4's went past us as we forked off down the valley. This is a very narrow trail indeed, cycling was difficult through the ferns and the drag, push and shove method had to be taken. The valley is a spectacular chasm with crashing waters over rocks and deep dark pools. The path got worse as we went further down the valley, four mountain bikers sped past us and disappeared into the distance. We struggled down the valley and after a few hours we arrived at the remote Troed-y-Rhiw farm where I had changed my tyre earlier in the year. Asphalt road was ahead and it was like heaven to be on it again. We eventually came to the village of Rhandirmwyn, here we found a nice spot to camp in a field overlooking the valley. We cooked our food , I had a chicken casserole while Nick ate Irish stew, with home made dumplings! It was not long before we were back in the comfort of our tents for another long well earned sleep!
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