Wales
In June 2024 we embarked on a tour through Wales. Coming from the ABR festival in Warwickshire, it was only a short ride to the meeting point in Birmingham.
Marleen started her trip from the Netherlands, taking 2 days through the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK to get to the meeting point.
June 30th – Day 1
Our journey started at the meeting point just south of Birmingham. After a quick stop at the supermarket, and Costa for a quick coffee with a bite, we headed to the first destination: Irongorge campsite near Coalbrookdale. This trip we traveled with 5 friends, most of us on adventure motorcycles and a single Ducati Monster.
Upon entering Telford we navigated south towards Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge. In Coalbrookdale we had to navigate some small and narrow streets , through a forest, and eventually arrived at the bottom of the hill towards the campsite. The campsite was beautifully located on top of the hill overlooking Coalbrookdale and the surrounding meadows.
After pitching our tents it was time to find a local pub and catch the second half of the Euro quarter finals.
July 1st – Day 2
Wales means rain, and we certainly experienced that today!
We started the morning off right, waking up together, making a hearty breakfast, and packing up our tents. Today marked our first ride through the stunning roads of Wales.
We knew ahead of time that we might encounter some wet weather, but we decided to go to Wales anyway because the landscape here is just breathtaking.
Around lunchtime, the rain started, and it kept pouring until 9 PM. We donned our rain gear and continued our ride, soaking in the beautiful scenery and navigating the winding roads.
Setting up our tents in the rain was quite the challenge, so we opted to have dinner at the local pub. Once the rain let up, we headed back to our tents. There, we gave our bikes a quick maintenance check and watched the penalty shootout from the Euros.
Tomorrow, we ride on!
July 2nd – Day 3
This morning we woke up to a semi-dry tent and, thankfully, no rain. It was a bit chilly, but that quickly changed once we got into our motorcycle gear.
After breakfast, we packed up our tents and gear and set off. Today’s plan was to ride a beautiful route through Wales. Our first stop was supposed to be a steam train ride, but unfortunately, there were no spots available. So, we moved on to the next stop.
We visited Portmeirion, a successful British architectural project. It’s an eco-friendly village in Italian architectural style built harmoniously within the natural beauty of Wales. It was a charming place to walk around and enjoy a cup of coffee.
After that, we hit the stunning roads of Wales, which is really what we came for!
Due to the rain, we decided to take shelter in an Airbnb for two nights. We tried to get the TV working to watch the Netherlands vs. Romania match. It took longer than expected, so we decided to turn off our phones and watch it later.
Meanwhile, Emily and Krista treated us to a delicious shepherd’s pie. What a treat!
July 3rd – Day 4
From our Airbnb, we embarked on a scenic loop through the beautiful roads of Wales today. Along the way, we took a brief break for coffee and some tasty treats.
At the end of our route, we stopped by the Yamaha Off-Road Experience Center. These are the guys who helped Leendert earlier this week when his wheel broke at the ABR festival. It was great to catch up and discuss the possibility of doing some off-road riding in the area.
On the way back, we had a quick fix as André almost lost his license plate 🫣.
With groceries in hand, we headed back to the house where Emily had prepared “toad in the hole” for us all. It was absolutely delicious!
We then took a dip in the hot tub and enjoyed the stunning views surrounding us.
Tomorrow, we continue our journey.
July 4th – Day 5