The Llyn Aled cycle: probably the best ride in the world.

Rhyl Cycling Club's Sunday run was little short of amazing; I shall count it amongst my best rides ever. The weather was ideal for cycling with light winds and temperatures above ten degrees throughout. There was no cake stop, but so remote was much of the route that cake-emporiums did not exist. From Caerwys we descended to Rhuallt to meet with the group. Then via Abergele we climbed to the highest points of the Denbigh moors.

The descent to Denbigh was fast and exciting. However, I had come without my jelly-babies and 70 km or so on a small bottle of lucozade was hardly going to be enough; Craig came to the rescue with a power-gel. I had not had one before and the effects of the concentrated carbohydrate soon seeped through my body. The final pull up Caerwys hill was tackled and beer in the Piccadilly was the order of the day. Yet the power-gel had not finished with me as I had some disconcerting stomach cramps before the beer worked its magic. So overall a great day and thanks to the route designer and all the riders.

Look west young man.

Eternal winter

I might be exaggerating, but this eternal winter has stretched on long enough. We had some warm days in March, but April has been the coldest I can recall. This week we have had more rain than our usual monthly total, and torrential downpours are predicted for Sunday. The fields on the way to Mold are flooded and at lunchtime I took this photograph of the waterlogged school yard.

St George's Day

I think that today is St.George's Day. I say I think it is, I'm really not that sure. You can't miss St.Patrick's Day with all those shamrocks and freshly poured pints of Guinness. And as I Welshman I never fail to wear a daffodil to mark St David's Day. Perhaps the Scots do something similar with a thistle. However, despite all the fuss we make over the various saints, I have a secret admiration for St George, and it has nothing to do with the dragon. I rather like being Welsh, but I admire the way the English decide to ignore their saint. Not for them the flag waving, real ale drinking celebration it could be, but a instead a healthy indifference to nationalistic symbolism. Nor have they allowed they patron saint to be sponsored by a multi-national company. Saints days are admittedly reasonably harmless stuff; in that spirit I will mark St George's Day with an understated small glass of English beer. Which is probably the best in the world.

DIY Audax: Ruthin - Vyrnwy - Ruthin

Another 100km+ ride; this was my 6th of the year, and third this month. It was a great ride crossing the Berwyn mountains; here are some photographs from along the route:

Roger and Garmins

Near the top of the long climb out of the Tanat valley.

At Vyrnwy: Dam

Time trialling and me.

Signing on in the shadow of the church

I have not time trialled in a decade and certainly did not imagine I would ever do it again. This spring - feeling fitter than ever - I have once again pinned the orange number to my shirt and hammered down the road. When I last time trialled I was at least 3 stones heavier, if not considerably more. I think I assumed therefore that I would find the races much easier and get Personal Bests each time I took part. The first race up the Rhuallt Hill went according to that plan; even the horrible weather did not prevent a 'PB'. But the last two races over 5 and 9 miles have shown that age is equalling the weight loss and my times have not been markedly different from years ago. In fact on the 5 mile course I was 46 seconds slower that my best, and for the 9 mile event some one and a half minutes slower. Now those times were set on warm nay balmy evenings after months of time trialling, so I will keep trying to see if I can get back to that level.

Hen Caerwys

The Caerwys Historical Society organised a field trip yesterday evening to Hen Caerwys. Actually it is not 'hen' as in 'old' Caerwys, as Caerwys pre-dates 'Hen' Caerwys - confused? Hen Caerwys is the site of a deserted settlement to the north of the town. From the remains it must have been of some importance, especially, I think, due to the large central enclosure. Small houses are in evidence around the perhaps 4 acre site. The site is well-preserved by the landowner and he allowed a archaeological excavation to take place there last summer, and another is planned for later this year. In fact archaeologists have been interested in the sire since the 1960s, but the quality of the digs and the subsequent record keeping has been variable. Will Davies of CADW gave the society an excellent and informative tour of the site.

The interest in antiquity can be judged by the number that turned up to the event. Thirty-nine members of the society took part on a perfect April evening. The large numbers did cause a problem for catering in the Piccadily afterwards, so I need to learn from that. Here are some photographs from the evening.

Prime Ministers that came to North Wales on holiday.

David Cameron came to North Wales on holiday this Easter. The Daily Mail in their typical 'glass half-full' style painted a picture of the PM having a rather glum time of things. They included this less than complimentary photograph of David Cameron having a pint at Morfa Nefyn:

The Daily Mail entitled their piece 'Wish you weren't here'. Yet they are so wrong as North Wales is just about the best place any Prime Minister can visit for some well-deserved rest. And the weather only adds to the beauty of the place. The beer is good too. There is quite a tradition of Prime Ministers visiting North Wales on holiday. The great 19th century Prime Minister W.E.Gladstone visited Penmaenmawr on a dozen different occasions and brought welcome publicity to that town. Of course Gladstone himself lived in North Wales, so a journey to Penmaenmawr was relatively easy, even in the 19th century.

Gladstone's holidays are still remembered in Penmaenmawr.

I will mention Lloyd George shortly. My favourite Prime Minister and North Wales story involves H.H.Asquith. He was Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916. During that time he fell in love with a girl 40 years younger than himself, Venetia Stanley. Her family owned a large house in Penrhos, near Holyhead. Asquith wrote hundreds of letters to Venetia (sometimes even while Cabinet was in session) and he managed to get invited to Stanley family holidays in Penrhos. Asquith was married to Margot (who was 12 years his junior); they had numerous children from other marriages. Nevertheless Asquith's infatuation with Venetia was to last for many years and their holidays in North Wales were an important opportunity for them to meet socially. Venentia would eventually break Asquith's heart, but that is another story.

A poor quality image, but Venetia and the prime Minister in Holyhead.

Even Winston Churchill got an invite to the Stanley North Wales holiday retreat, although this was at least three decades before he would become PM.

I am not convinced that Lloyd George found North Wales that relaxing as he seemed to prefer the high life in London and Surrey. Perhaps there were too many skeletons in too many cupboards. Inevitably, as a North Wales MP he had to visit from time to time. A year after relinquishing his role as Prime Minister he came to Caerwys. I walk by this spot every day and think of the great Welsh Prime Minister visiting my home town on holiday, where he stayed with the former North Wales MP, Sir John Herbert Lewis.

So there is quite a tradition of Prime Ministers visiting North Wales to find peace and beautiful scenery. The Daily Mail, as so often is the case, got it completely wrong and did this part of the world no favours as the vital tourist season approaches.