Post: A brief ending to a marvellous tour in the best of weather. And no, Charlie’s drawing of the Cromlech in the Llanberis Pass was not on their route, but Charlie added it to his journal to pad out the brevity of his tour !
Friday, July 3 Bala, the Vale of Dee, Bolton
We were up early this morning, taking the air before breakfast. We left at 9am, intent on getting away early – by the way, the ‘Bull Bach’ in High Street is a peach of a place, we paid 5/- for supper, bed and breakfast, with home comforts and thoroughly good food. Notice the loaves of bread they serve to keep you together whilst breakfast is prepared – they are whoppers! Bidding our motorist friends goodbye, we left Bala, and entered the beautiful Vale of Penllyn, by the silvery Dee. Where the road forks, we took the right turn (both go to Corwen, one via Druid being new and easy, and of excellent surface, but devoid of scenery, the other (right) being narrow, rough and hilly, but runs by the Dee through the ‘Sweet Vale of Edeyrnion’). At Llanderfel, we entered this wooded paradise, this road that never can become weary. Through leafy dells, with many inspiring glimpses of the ‘Sacred Dyfrdwy’ to Llandrillo, where starts the track over the Berwyns to Pistyll Rhaiadr, and so along to Cynwyd, Llangar, where the valley opens out and the road drops one into Corwen and on to the great Holyhead road, that road of High Romance – Telford’s masterpiece.
A mile beyond the quite ordinary town of Corwen, one finds oneself in the valley of the Dee again amongst unrivalled scenery. We had long started to potter, stopping here and there, just as the whim took us. Carrog, Glyndyfrdwy – or to give it full rein Llansantfraidd Glyndyfrdwy, which means ‘The Church of St Bride in the Glen of the Sacred Stream’, Berwyn, and winding round a huge hill we gained a vantage point from where this valley is opened out in its full glory. Then came a swift rush down to Llangollen, and a halt on the old Dee Bridge. It was 12 noon but it is highly desirable that we get away from this resort before lunch, so we headed down the Vale of Llangollen. A sudden storm drove us into capes. It continued as we climbed away from the Dee at Trevor, entering a squalid mining district at Acrefair. At Ruabon, where it was fairly pelting down, we found a lunch place after some searching – and it proved unsatisfactory. We paid 2/- each for bread and butter and some fruit that we could not face, it was so far gone. Incidentally, this is the only place on our tour that was not up to scratch.
We joined the Bangor road then to miss the industrial area and came in for more storms. The wind got in front, and the scenery was not much, so that we were glad to cross the Dee once more and run through Bangor Is-y-coed, or Bangor on Dee. The six mile climb up to Malpas told on Ben, but the improving scenery as we ran along that dear old foothills road to Peckforton and Beeston revived him. Eaton now, and the winding lanes to Whitegate, where we found a fine tea at Mrs Jones. Strawberries and cream! More lanes to Chester road, then down this main road via Northwich, Tabley and Altrincham to Stretford and then home for 9.45pm.
Ben was absolutely wild with enthusiasm with this, his first tour, and now says that touring is the ‘only wear’ for holidays. And well he might be with what we saw. We had the best of conditions, the best of food, lodgings, scenery, and no trouble (I had only two punctures). We covered 337 miles – not bad for four days of hot weather, and for food and lodgings, I spent 26/9d. Can it be beaten? 95 miles
