The Elan Valley

The plan for today was to share with No.2 son the delights of the Elan Valley. Originally we were going to do a longish but leisurely ride together today, followed by a shorter ride tomorrow. Having seen the horrendous weather forecast for Tuesday, though, we decided to get out first thing in the morning and try to get the ride in before the forecast rain arrived, aiming to head back for home in the afternoon. We left the B&B at 9am, our rucksacks packed and ready to be picked up later. We took a fairly direct line to Rhyader, picking up the A road which follows the Wye Valley, before reversing the Devil Ride route from the previous day, climbing up the ridge and over into the Elan Valley. My lad was a little apprehensive about the climb following a big day out for him yesterday, but he actually had no problem at all. It was good in a way that the road could be seen a long way ahead for it made the sense of achievement that much the greater. He was very full of himself at the top and loved the descent and especially the hairpins down to the bridge at the head of the four reservoirs. The route down the valley was sensational and No.2 son loved the feeling of remoteness and the sheer beauty of this half natural, half man-made landscape. I loved most the fact that he was able to appreciate it so much, far more so I'm sure than if he had just been driven around in a car.

Just before the third dam we were hit by a fairly heavy shower which we could see approaching as a wall of water. Prompted by my son, we had our jackets on before it reached us. The timing was such, though, that I was no longer inclined to take the right turn for the out and back trip to the dam at the bottom of the Claerwen Reservoir, so we just headed back to Rhyader for lunch, although my lad wasn't phased at all by getting wet; indeed, he seemed to rather enjoy it. The rain had stopped by the time we reached the town but it started up again while we were eating. It always seems so much worse when you are inside looking out! We took our time, hoping that it would soon ease off again. Which indeed it did - as soon as we got out of town. We retraced the Devil Ride route here, except that we turned right instead of left to Abbeycwmhir. There was no way I was going to do that climb again! This was a fantastic little stretch of road, gently undulating and No.2 son seemed to get inspired here, setting a good pace, taking a route through all the puddles, spraying as much water around as possible, thoroughly enjoying being a kid. From there we continued to take a mostly minor road route back to the B&B, the rain holding off and allowing us to finish in the dry. My lad flagged a bit at the very end, but after 45 miles he was entitled to that, and it also told me that the length of ride was right. He was quite keen to get back home now. Even if the weather forecast had been good, two hard days out on the bike was probably enough for him. And for me too for that matter.