Charlie dwells on the welcome – and food – you receive when staying at the Bed and Breakfast hostelry in Bala, namely the Bull Bach.  He is particularly fulsome about the loaves of bread they bring to the table, for you to cut your own slices.  (Looking through all that Charlie has ever said about meals bought on the hoof, it does seem that bread and butter and little else formed the main ingredient at all the cafes).  They had a superb final day on their way back to Bolton, apart from a storm in the Wrexham area, and got back home at 9.45pm, about right for Charlie.  He also tells us that for food and lodgings, his four days cost a total of one pound six shillings and nine pence, or put another way £1.34.  Beat that.

We learn about the ‘Sleeping Bard’ from George Borrow of all people, and the Red Robbers of Mawddwy, on this interesting road looping through the real heart of Wales. The target was the ‘Pass of the Cross’, or to give it its proper name, Bwlch-y-Groes. Rising over 1000 feet in one mile, you can work out for yourself that the average uphill gradient is around 1 in 5, even steeper in places.  Meeting and talking to an interesting couple on holiday made Charlie’s day, leaving him dreaming of those mountains again.

It would be reasonable to think Charlie was feeling a touch of heatstroke, for he and Ben spent 2d each on the Barmouth Railway viaduct footbridge, a place they could have avoided with some elementary planning.  But he does say the view from the bridge is worth it.  We get for free a lesson in Welsh name pronunciation and further instruction on where to practice.  And something new for us all, the Lake of Three Pebbles, on the summit of the Tal-y-Llyn Pass.

Here Charlie takes off to North Wales for four days to make the most of his limited finances, taking with him a fairly new companion who has done very little cycling called Ben.  Given Charlie’s descriptive writing, it is really easy to read it as though oneself were making this journey, and to revel in the changing views and see closer to hand the mountains which Ben had never seen before in his life. And let’s have some reality here, they start out from Bolton at 5am ‘to get the best out of the day’ and arrive at their B & B at 10pm.  How many of us touring cyclists have had days like that ?

Obviously a day of clear skies and fine views, which Charlie and his close friend Tom Idle made good use of.  This is a very detailed description of what could only have been a very memorable ride under perfect conditions.  This is an area of my home turf I know very well indeed, I just wish the traffic levels were the same as in Charlie’s time.  He only encountered one ‘chara’ in the whole course of the day.  Bliss !

Charlie starts this day by bemoaning his lack of funds and the difficulties of enjoying the Bolton Annual Wakes Week, which started today, forgetting entirely that he is riding a new bike this year, after having to wait four years to get one !  I suppose waving off on holiday some of his clubmates en route to the Wye Valley would not have helped, but as this coming week draws on, all the negatives are quite forgotten as he winds his way around North Wales.

I think it best to start this post with an explanation of the ‘case at the crossroads’.  Bolton CTC had previously placed lockable glass fronted display cases at several sites around Bolton in which notices could be placed giving details of forthcoming clubruns and other items of interest.  Obviously, Charlie did not have a key to this case in particular.  His descriptions of the foliage, views and the day sound absolutely wonderful, making you wish to be there with them.

An evening excursion around Winter Hill and finishing on the sixty three steps – or is it 66 steps ?  This ride does much to put Bolton, a somewhat grimy mill town, into perspective.

A day of contrasts, getting lost, negotiating a shallow ford which wasn’t, and having a very welcome lunch at the ‘Crown’.  And that is before the real objective, the Horseshoe Pass’ above Llangollen was reached.  A 133 mile ‘scout’ round next weeks run was no small feat in those days, the roads were far from perfect for cycling, leading to the need for a wash at each cafe to get the dust and grime off one.

A summer afternoon potter, and a tea stop with cliffs and rowing boats to entice visitors into all manner of extra mural activities.  As for the motorised ‘chara’ party, what on earth is ‘in and out the window cricket’, because I have never heard of it ?