In Llanidloes: Clywedog Reservoir

June 21, 2024

Yesterday’s ride up to the crest of the Cambrian Mountains was exceptional, but today’s may have been even better. And best of all it was outstanding for Rachael as well, putting the day well up in the Best of Tour rankings for both of us. Let’s start with her view of the day:

Video sound track: Hillside View by Ancient Future

Our routes start out the same: after crossing the Long Bridge we climb up the narrow, somewhat busy and uncomfortable B road north of town for a few hundred yards and then branch off to a wonderfully quiet lane through a long stand of oaks, their branches overarching the lane like a cathedral. Rachael got out the door about twenty minutes before me so she’s well into this section by the time I catch up with her. When I do, I see her down at the end of a straight stretch, her camera out shooting video of the sheep surrounding her.

I was impressed by the long, exposed root of this old oak.

It occurs to me that it’s not a bad idea to wear a helmet here, not that it would help much.

We travel more or less together for another quarter mile when our lane ends and merges back into that same B road we’ve been paralleling, and we start steeply climbing. Partway up Rachael comes to her turn and branches off onto another quiet lane while I keep climbing. Its a decent challenge, maybe 10-12% much of the way until it finally levels off.

In another cathedral of the Church of the Great Outdoors.

We part ways here, Rachael dropping to the reservoir and me continuing to climb toward the top of this hill.

It’s in her slide show too, but we didn’t want to forget the pony that harassed Rachael for food when she walked through a field filled with sheep and horses. It was persistent enough that it made her anxious, and she worried a little about coming back this way later.

Maybe it was noticed that he’s being a little too assertive, because he’s been placed in timeout by the time she returns.

I’m going to miss beautiful Wales when we leave. It’s a steep climb here, but the views give me excuses to stop.

A look back down at the first but not the worst climb of the day.

It was a steep climb going up but I’m feeling good about the direction I’m going when I drop at 15+% off the other side, abruptly leveling off when I come to the reservoir and Bwlch y Gle dam. I stop there to look out across this branch of the large sprawling lake and the impressive blanket of foxgloves on the slope of the hill ahead, waiting for several minutes until a patch of sun finally moves in to illuminate them.

The Balch y Gle dam. Later I’m surprised to have Rachael say she saw the dam too, because she’s nowhere near this place. Looking at her photos I see it’s not even the same dam - it’s the Lynn Clywedog Dam, the main one on the lake. The one I’m at looks more like just a retaining wall.

The view up the reservoir from the Bwlch y Gle dam. It’s a brachiated body of water that suggests an oak tree, and here we’re only seeing a fraction of its length.

Across the other side of the dam though the ride climbs up again, to what looks like an even higher summit than the one I’ve just dropped down from. When I come to its base and see it’s another 15 percenter (a lie - it’s actually 16 for half of its length), I stop to enjoy the view one last time and consider my options. It’s about as bad to go back as to continue on though, so I brace myself for a bit of a hike.

I’m about to start up when a biker races past, building up momentum for the climb ahead. It buys him a couple of hundred yards but he’s soon in his lowest gears, pedaling very slowly and wobbling a bit. I keep expecting him to stop, but he keeps with it and finally disappears around the bend and presumably makes it to the summit without stopping.

And, to my satisfaction so do I. I surprise myself by continuing around one bend and then the next I finally seeing the pitch leveling off just ahead. When I arrive at the top, a stunning spot labeled on the map as the Lynn Clywedog Viewpoint, I stop to bask in the spectacular setting and give thanks once gain to my cardiologist and his team for making this possible.

There’s a couple perched on camp chairs at the top admiring the views also, and they congratulate me when I pull up - the man says he’s been taking a video of me, and now I wish I’d given him my email address so he could share it. They’re a couple up from Bath, here to pay homage to the woman’s father who passed away a year ago at the age of 93. He was Welsh, always wanted to return, and this was his favorite spot.

Looking down on the reservoir from its highest viewpoint. When I mention this ride to a few folks over the coming days they all know of this spot and express admiration for the fact that I biked up here.

Looking across the south end of the branched reservoir. The left arm here is the outlet, with the Lynn Clywedog dam at its far end.

He’s another shot stolen from Rachael’s slideshow, which hopefully she won’t mind. The dam in the background is the Lynn Clywedog, which the same-named river flows out from. In the front is the ruins of the Bryntail lead mine that was the cornerstone of the regional economy 150 years ago.

An impressive display covers the slope just below the viewpoint.

So that’s astonishing, but it’s not actually the high point. There’s about another mile of gradual climbing before I finally top off and stat dropping again, back to the reseservoir level once more but at its upper end now, near the can’t-miss village of Staylittle. I remember it as being slightly off route but vow to stop in. How can I be this close to Staylittle and not stay a little?

Fantastic at the top as well. I’m lucky to have caught a bit of sun for the most scenic stretch of the loop.

The Cambrian mountains show what they’re made of at the summit.

Afon Clywedog (Afon is the Welsh word for river), the primary feeder of the reservoir. Like the Wye and Severn, the Clywedog begins within a mile or so of Glaslyn, the small nature reserve I biked up to yesterday.

When I come to this old chapel I assume I’ve found all there is to Staylittle, so I take my shot and continue on. I’m wrong though - I missed downtown Staylittle and all its highlights - the lodge and post office - at the turnoff I just passed.

So unfortunately I missed the heart of Staylittle, but it just gives us an excuse to return to this area some year. The rest of the ride though continued exceptional, if not quite as stunningly dramatic as that viewpoint of the reservoir from above. Until I returned to the B road a few miles from town it was invariably quiet. I see a few cars along the lake, but the last hour is passed on an exceptionally quiet road as I climbed away from the lake on a succession of excruciating hills - 19%, 17%, 17%, 13% - through an open livestock range protected at both ends by gates and lifestock grids. Some pushing seemed appropriate.

For several miles I followed an arm of the reservoir on this single track road with pullouts. When two travelers pass, someone waits at the nearest pullout.

Crossing the Afon Biga, one of the tributaries feeding the reservoir.

The western arm of the reservoir, sourced by the Afon Biga.

Toward the top of the climb away from the lake I come to a vantage point where I stop for a shot across to what I think must have been the high point I climbed to earlier in the ride. Almost immediately though a small herd of cows crowds into the frame and frustrates my attempt.

So I bike/walk up another hundred yards or so to what looks like an even better viewpoint, as it might have been if the cows hadn’t followed along with me. A third attempt meets the same annoying fate until finally I thwarted them by passing a fence at the end of their pasture.

Must be a slow news day out on the range. Good thing I came along to liven it up for them.

Finally! Yes, I’m sure that diagonal slash up the face of the hillside across the lake is the same one I climbed a few hours earlier.

So I figured that must be the end of the drama for the ride. I’m just one last 17% climb from the summit and then it’s downhill the rest of the way back to town. I’m not expecting to take any more photos, and in my mind I’m contemplating how many photos I can all9w in today’s post. I hardly need any more, but views I can’t help stopping for just keep coming.

Finally leveling out at the top of the last climb.

A sign of a very quiet road in Wales - there’s not even enough vehicular traffic to flatten out the sheep shit.

I don’t need any more shots for the day, but I have to stop for this one.

Finally I’m dropping down on the last descent to town; and once again I decide I’ve gone the right direction, because it’s even steeper on this side. The Garmin claims it’s -21 and I’m just thinking I might need to walk down when it finally starts flattening out.

I’m halfway down the climb, controlling my speed on a 21% precipice when the phone rings. It’s Rachael of course, coincidentally calling again when I’m at almost exactly the same spot on the road where she called me yesterday. This time it’s because she set off the incident alarm on her Garmin somehow and wants to reassure me she’s fine in case I got notified. Also to express her frustration that she can’t figure out how to disable it so it quits beeping at her and how to get her map back which has gone black. Finally she announces with relief that she’s fine again and can see how to get home now.

I’m glad to know she’s fine, and haven’t minded either interruption. She’s brought me luck- yesterday it was the swifts nesting in the eves of the building I’m staring at, and today it’s a red swift flying across the gap between the trees ahead, the only one I’ll see today.

I’m happy to see the bar is open when I get back to the Unicorn. I order a Butty Bach to celebrate the day and then head up to the room to grab the iPad and adaptor so I can unload the shots I’ve come back with. I’ve not been back five minutes when Rachael steps in the door, excited to share with me stories of a day that sounded as exceptional as mine. A day as good as it gets, even if it ends with a disappointing meal at the Bangladeshi restaurant down the street.

We consolidated our two maps here. Rachael’s is red, but mostly masked by mine in blue.

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Today's ride: 20 miles (32 km)
Total: 2,291 miles (3,687 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	7

Kathleen JonesWhat a day for each of you. Just spectacular. Chapeau to you both.
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5 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Kathleen JonesThanks, Kathleen. The whole last week has been pretty exceptional. I’m really glad we’ve taken so long here.
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5 months ago

Susan CarpenterWhat a fantastic day!!
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5 months ago

Carolyn van HoeveBeautiful photos and huge admiration for all that hill grinding. Looks like it was a fantastic day!
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5 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Carolyn van HoeveThanks, Carolyn. It was pretty exceptional alright. Its nice when there’s a fair return for the effort.
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5 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Susan Carpenter⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
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5 months ago

Gregory GarceauThe was not only one of the Best of Tour, but I'd have to think one of the Best of Touring CAREER. Absolutely gorgeous. And between the two of you, you sure captured its essence.
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5 months ago