Last weekend saw three of my friends and I go on a bit of a road trip that covered some of the best roads that Wales had to offer. I thought that it would be good to share the experience and maybe help someone who may want to repeat some of the route and the fun that comes with it 
I'm sure that many here have driven some or all of these routes and would join me in saying that these are some of the best roads in UK and are a must for anyone, who enjoys a spirited drive or just a pretty landscape.
The planned route covered over 500 miles of A and B roads, with promise of epic views and great variety of driving experiences. The four cars in the group were a Supercharged Lotus Exige 240, diesel Skoda VRS Estate, Mazda MX8 and my 'porky' Stg2+ S3 - a bit of a mix then...
My personal main objective was to drive the Evo triangle, which I have heard about many times, but have never driven myself. The plan was to leave work early on Friday and meet in Swindon, then head to Brecon Beacons down the M4/A40 and spend the rest of the day following our planned route with a goal of getting to Llandrindrod Wells for an overnight stay at one of the many hotels there. In the morning we planned to leave early-ish and drive west, towards Aberystwyth and then north towards Gwydyr Forest Park and finally, the Evo triangle. We then wanted to stop over for lunch and begin heading in the direction of home - south, towards Severn bridge, through Brecon Beacons again and on to the M4 to London. We effectively had three main stages to the route.
After 'surviving' the long slog from West London/Swindon we finally reached Brecon Beacons and got on to the B4560, in order to avoid driving through the A40, then B4519 to Llangammarch Wells. We made good progress at this point and after a solid hour of spirited driving we reached the first of our objectives - the MoD road from Tirabad to Llywel, which formed part of Nicky Grist's tarmac rally stage. This was an amazing experience - a very narrow, single track road with open views of upcoming turns. My brakes were feeling the pressure of constant abuse by the end of this and my head begun filling with thoughts of braided brake line upgrades to complement the EBC disks and red stuff pads, I already had fitted
We then headed towards Llangadog to begin the first attempt of the Black Mountain pass (A4069). I've heard about this road before, but have never driven it, so was pleasantly surprised to find something that resembled the Alps The sun was setting at this point and warm daylight was starting to turn to dusk, so we did not waste any time tackling this road. The ascend on the north side of the mountain was amazing - I didn't know if I should be looking at the narrow and very twisty road or the view that was opening up in front of me. There were points, where I wanted to stop and admire the view, but desire to find out what lies around the next corner made sure that we kept 'at it'. The pass is effectively a combination of two distinct ‘personalities’ - one is steep and twisty with big drops on one side, while the other has less of an incline and is quite open, so planning overtakes of slower moving traffic and keeping your desired pace is very easy. It was great fun, but by this point I was starting to feel a bit tired and the many parallel black skid marks that lead toward the edge of the road gave an indication that we were not the only ones that came here to play and served as a warning to stay focused. We reached Upper Brynamman on the other side very quickly and after a short break on the side of the road to let the brakes cool down, we did the pass in reverse. This road is a keeper and will definitely see me coming here again, with better brakes and well rested!
The rest of the evening was more sedate and after finding a place to eat we headed to Llandrindrod Wells for our planned overnight stay. It’s at this point, while following my friend's MX8, I briefly made a friend....
It looked like a pigeon in the video, but digging out feathers from Exige's grill, that was following me, we confirmed that it was indeed a pheasant that decided to hug the front of my bonnet and explode in a ball of feathers, guts and blood all over the trailing Lotus and Skoda. All I'm going to say is that the 3M Venture Shield film on my bonnet definitely saved the paint from deep scratches. The blood splatter and dirt on the Lotus was so severe that it’s owner decided to clean the poor thing first thing in the morning, which gave us a chance to plan the day ahead and have a bit of banter about the previous evening
As we drove out of Llandrindrod Wells in the morning, the weather was looking a little poorly, but cleared very quickly.
As the route took us through Elan Valley and the one road that leads around two of its lakes and on to the B4514, though Devil’s Bridge. The pace was, once again, quite brisk. This piece of road is very narrow and quite bumpy, so my suspension got a serious workout while trying to keep the car on the road. Anyone with a track suspension setup should think twice about doing this at anything more than walking pace (I’m exaggerating here of course), because you will likely come out on the other end with a back injury or end up in a ditch as you hop along the tarmac. The surface is pothole-free, but uneven. My fast road-focused ST X Coilover kit did very well here - never bottoming out and always felt in control while keeping me relatively comfortable.
As we turned north on the A487 and A470, the road opened up a little, but still delivered mile after mile of pure driving pleasure - I had to almost pinch myself just to make sure that I was not dreaming. The views throughout the route were breathtaking and combined well with well-surfaced tarmac that just flowed and complemented the modified S3’s power, torque and suspension, making sure that my friends knew which car was ‘the boss’ on this sort of road.
On our way to the Evo triangle route, I missed a turn and our convoy ended up following the B4391 further than planned - what an awesome mistake that was! Between the junction with B4407 and A4212, it’s a real gem of a driving experience! Lotus came into it’s own here and Rob, the owner, disappeared into the distance before I knew what happened. I’ve never heard about this stretch of tarmac before, but if you are ever in the area do make a point of trying it out - what a ride! Mostly open, flowing turns, with good view of what is coming, in most cases. It was a great find! We all loved it and the fact that we had to return to the missed junction made it all the better.
At this point our group got separated and the route toward the triangle was marred with desperate searches for fuel and phone reception. If there is one tip I have for anyone doing this, make sure to plan your route through decent petrol stations - the donkey urine that passes for fuel in some of the smaller stations will make you regret not doing so as you feel loss of power and hear the struggling engine of your baby.
By sheer chance, we managed to regroup near the triangle and I finally got the opportunity to experience what the Evo magazine and anyone, who did this route was on about - I was speechless with amazement at how well it suited my driving style and the S3. With the rest of our group being held up by some traffic, I managed an almost uninterrupted run of this epic road, which we did anti-clockwise. I have a feeling that it would have been better done in a clockwise direction and wanted to do it again, but combination of hunger, low fuel and fatigue meant that we decided to head to Betws-Y-Coed, which had a Shell fuel station with plenty of places to grab a nice meal and relax after a long drive.
After lunch we loaded the final stage of the route on to the GPS and realised that our dear friend, B4391, featured here once again. We got to drive this great little B-road for a third time and I could see one of the guys’ eyes light up with anticipation when we realised where we were going
On our route to Bala, Lotus and I snuck up on a previous gen AMG C63 and an E39 M5, and quickly overtook them before they realised what happened. The drivers of both decided to give chase. It was a fun little jaunt, but both of them seemed to struggle to keep-up on narrow and twisty roads, which made me grin a bit, while seeing them getting smaller in my mirrors The driver of the M5 seemed to get quite frustrated by what happened and decided to perform an extremely dangerous, seven-car overtake when we came up to some traffic and end up scaring the living hell out of a little Fiat that was coming the other way. At this point, both of us decided to give these guys a wide berth by pulling over and waiting for the rest of our group. I think everyone involved quietly knew who had the upper hand there.
The rest of the drive through Wales was less eventful, punctuated by short blasts through the ever beautiful scenery and twisty roads, tempting us to keep going and explore what the region had to offer for the petrolheads in us. As the huge Severn Bridge loomed in the distance, we knew what this meant for our journey. Part of me was glad to see that the end of our route was in sight because we all made it one piece and all cars performed well, but the conflicting emotions of the impending end still made me a little sad, knowing that it will be a while until I get back here.
This one and a half days was a great experience filled with awe, adrenaline, amazement and a great bonding experience for all involved. I think we all felt the same way and spent a good while winding down and chatting about the trip while having a cup of coffee at Swindon Costa before heading our separate ways. I don’t think that we could agree on the best road of the trip as each had a favorite, but what we did agree on is that we’re definitely doing it again… maybe Scotland next time
PS - If I had to share any advice to anyone wanting to do this sort of trip, then it would be to make sure that everyone on the group has a walkie-talkie and plan your fuel stops along the route to avoid using bad fuel. The radios are a great way to keep some banter going while on a long motorway journey and are invaluable in places where mobile reception is spotty and you need to tell the guy in front that you’re desperate to stop for a toilet break
I'm sure that many here have driven some or all of these routes and would join me in saying that these are some of the best roads in UK and are a must for anyone, who enjoys a spirited drive or just a pretty landscape.The planned route covered over 500 miles of A and B roads, with promise of epic views and great variety of driving experiences. The four cars in the group were a Supercharged Lotus Exige 240, diesel Skoda VRS Estate, Mazda MX8 and my 'porky' Stg2+ S3 - a bit of a mix then...
My personal main objective was to drive the Evo triangle, which I have heard about many times, but have never driven myself. The plan was to leave work early on Friday and meet in Swindon, then head to Brecon Beacons down the M4/A40 and spend the rest of the day following our planned route with a goal of getting to Llandrindrod Wells for an overnight stay at one of the many hotels there. In the morning we planned to leave early-ish and drive west, towards Aberystwyth and then north towards Gwydyr Forest Park and finally, the Evo triangle. We then wanted to stop over for lunch and begin heading in the direction of home - south, towards Severn bridge, through Brecon Beacons again and on to the M4 to London. We effectively had three main stages to the route.
After 'surviving' the long slog from West London/Swindon we finally reached Brecon Beacons and got on to the B4560, in order to avoid driving through the A40, then B4519 to Llangammarch Wells. We made good progress at this point and after a solid hour of spirited driving we reached the first of our objectives - the MoD road from Tirabad to Llywel, which formed part of Nicky Grist's tarmac rally stage. This was an amazing experience - a very narrow, single track road with open views of upcoming turns. My brakes were feeling the pressure of constant abuse by the end of this and my head begun filling with thoughts of braided brake line upgrades to complement the EBC disks and red stuff pads, I already had fitted
We then headed towards Llangadog to begin the first attempt of the Black Mountain pass (A4069). I've heard about this road before, but have never driven it, so was pleasantly surprised to find something that resembled the Alps
The sun was setting at this point and warm daylight was starting to turn to dusk, so we did not waste any time tackling this road. The ascend on the north side of the mountain was amazing - I didn't know if I should be looking at the narrow and very twisty road or the view that was opening up in front of me. There were points, where I wanted to stop and admire the view, but desire to find out what lies around the next corner made sure that we kept 'at it'. The pass is effectively a combination of two distinct ‘personalities’ - one is steep and twisty with big drops on one side, while the other has less of an incline and is quite open, so planning overtakes of slower moving traffic and keeping your desired pace is very easy. It was great fun, but by this point I was starting to feel a bit tired and the many parallel black skid marks that lead toward the edge of the road gave an indication that we were not the only ones that came here to play and served as a warning to stay focused. We reached Upper Brynamman on the other side very quickly and after a short break on the side of the road to let the brakes cool down, we did the pass in reverse. This road is a keeper and will definitely see me coming here again, with better brakes and well rested!The rest of the evening was more sedate and after finding a place to eat we headed to Llandrindrod Wells for our planned overnight stay. It’s at this point, while following my friend's MX8, I briefly made a friend....
It looked like a pigeon in the video, but digging out feathers from Exige's grill, that was following me, we confirmed that it was indeed a pheasant that decided to hug the front of my bonnet and explode in a ball of feathers, guts and blood all over the trailing Lotus and Skoda
. All I'm going to say is that the 3M Venture Shield film on my bonnet definitely saved the paint from deep scratches. The blood splatter and dirt on the Lotus was so severe that it’s owner decided to clean the poor thing first thing in the morning, which gave us a chance to plan the day ahead and have a bit of banter about the previous evening As we drove out of Llandrindrod Wells in the morning, the weather was looking a little poorly, but cleared very quickly.
As the route took us through Elan Valley and the one road that leads around two of its lakes and on to the B4514, though Devil’s Bridge. The pace was, once again, quite brisk. This piece of road is very narrow and quite bumpy, so my suspension got a serious workout while trying to keep the car on the road. Anyone with a track suspension setup should think twice about doing this at anything more than walking pace (I’m exaggerating here of course), because you will likely come out on the other end with a back injury or end up in a ditch as you hop along the tarmac. The surface is pothole-free, but uneven. My fast road-focused ST X Coilover kit did very well here - never bottoming out and always felt in control while keeping me relatively comfortable.
As we turned north on the A487 and A470, the road opened up a little, but still delivered mile after mile of pure driving pleasure - I had to almost pinch myself just to make sure that I was not dreaming. The views throughout the route were breathtaking and combined well with well-surfaced tarmac that just flowed and complemented the modified S3’s power, torque and suspension, making sure that my friends knew which car was ‘the boss’ on this sort of road.
On our way to the Evo triangle route, I missed a turn and our convoy ended up following the B4391 further than planned - what an awesome mistake that was! Between the junction with B4407 and A4212, it’s a real gem of a driving experience! Lotus came into it’s own here and Rob, the owner, disappeared into the distance before I knew what happened. I’ve never heard about this stretch of tarmac before, but if you are ever in the area do make a point of trying it out - what a ride! Mostly open, flowing turns, with good view of what is coming, in most cases. It was a great find! We all loved it and the fact that we had to return to the missed junction made it all the better.
At this point our group got separated and the route toward the triangle was marred with desperate searches for fuel and phone reception. If there is one tip I have for anyone doing this, make sure to plan your route through decent petrol stations - the donkey urine that passes for fuel in some of the smaller stations will make you regret not doing so as you feel loss of power and hear the struggling engine of your baby.
By sheer chance, we managed to regroup near the triangle and I finally got the opportunity to experience what the Evo magazine and anyone, who did this route was on about - I was speechless with amazement at how well it suited my driving style and the S3. With the rest of our group being held up by some traffic, I managed an almost uninterrupted run of this epic road, which we did anti-clockwise. I have a feeling that it would have been better done in a clockwise direction and wanted to do it again, but combination of hunger, low fuel and fatigue meant that we decided to head to Betws-Y-Coed, which had a Shell fuel station with plenty of places to grab a nice meal and relax after a long drive.
After lunch we loaded the final stage of the route on to the GPS and realised that our dear friend, B4391, featured here once again. We got to drive this great little B-road for a third time and I could see one of the guys’ eyes light up with anticipation when we realised where we were going
On our route to Bala, Lotus and I snuck up on a previous gen AMG C63 and an E39 M5, and quickly overtook them before they realised what happened. The drivers of both decided to give chase. It was a fun little jaunt, but both of them seemed to struggle to keep-up on narrow and twisty roads, which made me grin a bit, while seeing them getting smaller in my mirrors
The driver of the M5 seemed to get quite frustrated by what happened and decided to perform an extremely dangerous, seven-car overtake when we came up to some traffic and end up scaring the living hell out of a little Fiat that was coming the other way. At this point, both of us decided to give these guys a wide berth by pulling over and waiting for the rest of our group. I think everyone involved quietly knew who had the upper hand there.The rest of the drive through Wales was less eventful, punctuated by short blasts through the ever beautiful scenery and twisty roads, tempting us to keep going and explore what the region had to offer for the petrolheads in us. As the huge Severn Bridge loomed in the distance, we knew what this meant for our journey. Part of me was glad to see that the end of our route was in sight because we all made it one piece and all cars performed well, but the conflicting emotions of the impending end still made me a little sad, knowing that it will be a while until I get back here.
This one and a half days was a great experience filled with awe, adrenaline, amazement and a great bonding experience for all involved. I think we all felt the same way and spent a good while winding down and chatting about the trip while having a cup of coffee at Swindon Costa before heading our separate ways. I don’t think that we could agree on the best road of the trip as each had a favorite, but what we did agree on is that we’re definitely doing it again… maybe Scotland next time
PS - If I had to share any advice to anyone wanting to do this sort of trip, then it would be to make sure that everyone on the group has a walkie-talkie and plan your fuel stops along the route to avoid using bad fuel. The radios are a great way to keep some banter going while on a long motorway journey and are invaluable in places where mobile reception is spotty and you need to tell the guy in front that you’re desperate to stop for a toilet break
I think that I ended up spending about £100 on fuel, with the diesel Skoda winning that number with £70 and the Mazda being about £150!
