Trip to Welsh Wales - any good sites?

[yamaha]

Hi gang

We are off to North Wales on Saturday for a week, or two if the weather is good.
Planning to go up the middle of Wales, maybe through Welshpool.

Anyone recommend any "nice" sites? Quiet would be good - few kids would be a bonus - so I suppose that rules out sites with pools and clubs? Or would the fact that the kids are back to school mean those sites would now be quiet? Should be cheaper, also, now, I imagine !!

Nothing against kids - we have three grown-up ones, but I couldn't eat a whole one these days. ;D

Mike

[Graham]

Hi Mike

Aileen has very kindly done reviews for 3 sites in Wales you will find them on the main web site:

www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/wales.html

We have been to the Rhandirmwyn (sp?) which is near the Brecon Beacons its a Camping and Caravan Club site with great facilities and very quiet, with a great pub a short walk up the road.

Have a lovely time wherever you go.

[yamaha]

Thanks very much, Derek.


Mike

[Pauline]

yamaha said:

Thanks very much, Derek.

Mike

Me thinks Mike should have gone to Specsavers

[moya]

I know what the problem is Pauline. Mike has spent too long looking at this

[yamaha]

Well, we're back, folks !!

Had a very nice, quiet, holiday. Left last Saturday, mid-morning, and travelled over the new bridge ( old one was shut, for some reason )
Our first night was at a lovely site - Dalmore Caravan Park, on the A483 near Howey, 4 miles north of Builth Wells. No children, and no dogs allowed, lovely flat pitches, with a great view. £10, plus £1 for an awning. 4/5

Next day, it was up to Bala, via a recommended visit to Barmouth. I wish I hadn't met the chap who said Barmouth was worth a visit - a miniature Blackpool, kiss-me-quick, and wind-swept. Never again!!

We tried the C&CC club site at Bala, but it was heaving - only two camping pitches left, and no EHU, so we found another, quieter site, up on the hill overlooking Bala, called Pen-y-Garth. Very quiet, but toilets left a bit to be desired - but we understood the owners were on holiday, so maybe we picked a bad time to visit there. £13 per night. 3/5

Spent a couple of lovely weather days there, including a magical drive over a very quiet mountain road, starting at Llanuwchllyn, signposted Afon Lliy, towards Bronaber, then Trawsfynydd. A truely great road - you have to pass through about 6 closed gates on the way - but the scenery is spectacular. In the 15 miles, we saw two cars, and a couple of cyclists. Plenty wide enough for Romahome types - but nothing very much bigger.

Next day we continued on, up to Porthmadog, where we parked up and went on the Blaeneu Ffestiniog railway - an enchanting trip, but the destination was a disappointment - the train returned 30 mins later, and we made sure we didn't miss it!! A great place to be if you have a slate fettish - if not, don't dawdle there.

The trip took about 3 hours all in, then we pushed on to Bedgelert, where we found a very nice forest site - Forest Holidays, run by bthe Forestry Commission - very nice, amongst the trees, reasonably flat pitches, great toilets, £10.20 per night. 4/5
It was here that we met another Romahomer! They had a Hi top C15 van, a few years old - and loved it! Not on the internet, so not members of any Clubs. Nice chinwag passed the evening - just as well, tv and radio reception was non-existant!

It was here that I threw a wobbly, and decided we MUST drive straight over to the East coast - Boston, Lincs, to be exact!!
At the Shepton Mallet Show, I met a guy selling cruise controls, and he mentioned he was in Boston - and that if we camped at a certain site there, he would come to the site and fit one, about £400.
Due to the poor cellphone coverage in N.Wales, we were well into our journey over there before I was able to make contact with him, to tell him we were coming - and could he fit one asap. This took him back a bit - but he agreed he would do it last Satuday morning.

This was now only Wednesday, so we spent that night at a very nice site at Nottingham, Thornton's Holt, Stragglethorpe, Radcliffe-on-Trent, where we met a very nice couple who lived on the site, and had just bought a Mazda Bongo - I'd heard of them, but never seen one, and was very impressed. Press a button, and the roof goes up - room for 2 up there, fold the centre and back set of seats down, and room for another 2 there. 2.5l turbo diesel automatic - but no fitted kitchen - just an 8 seater van, but he'd payed 4 grand for it - ready fitted out they go for about 10 grand - hmmm - tempting. Nice site, £12.50. 4/5

Next day, off to Boston, to a very nice site, Orchard Park, Hubberts Bridge, Boston. No children - aparently some had trashed the new toilet block earlier in the year, and they decided enough was enough. By far the best facilities so far - Boston was a lovely town - but the countryside we found uninspiring, so not likely to return to that neck of the woods.
Anyway, Saturday dawned, and the cruise control was fitted - what a difference to be able to wiggle your legs about, and have a quick kip whilst still driving - great!! A very neat installation, with the control module on the gearstick, replacing the plastic one. It looks very original - but it's a chromed metal knob, and a bit cold first thing in the morning ( we're still talking about the van, girls!!)

By the time we left the site it was gone 1.30, and we had about 225 miles to go to get home - but it was so nice to stick it on 65 on the motorway and still be able to wriggle - I had found the front of the seat squab gave me a bit of dead-leg after a while - they ARE van seats, after all, but for me it was worth every penny.

A very nice holiday - but very nice to be home again! ;D

Mike

[Pauline]

Wow, sounds like you fitted plenty into your week Mike!!

We haven't been to Barmouth for about 25 years, pity it's changed we thought it was really nice back then.

Shame you didn't like the Boston area but I suppose it depends on what you want - we love that area and around the wash to North Norfolk because there is such a vast range of bird life.

Good to hear the cruise control has improved your circulation! I know what you mean about the van seats being uncomfortable, we've noticed a great difference since having the Dimension, you can shift your position easily and there is so much leg room.

I could add the campsites you visited to our website reviews if you like, although I would need the addresses and phone numbers. Or, if you want you can do it all via the on line form: www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/reviewform.html

Any plans for another outing?

[Derek]

Hi Mike

I have just put your trip into Autoroute and come up with abt 700 miles, you sure like your driving.

Interesting abt cruise control, the possibility of fitting it had not crossed my tiny mind. My brain is still locked into mechanical linkages between fuel pump and accelerator. The Berlingo is all electronic I guess. £400 was a good deal, cheapest I found was abt £480.

Glad you have got rid of the old dead-leg, thought it was just me, I had put it down to the upright seating position.

Interesting to look round a Bongo, I quite like the idea of 4 wheel drive and electrickery driven roof, shame that they are not available a little newer, a bit greedy on diesel as well, not like our frugal little Berlingo's.

How did you get on with your Quicktent ? I find ours flaps around a bit in the wind but I forgive it when it comes to striking camp, take out the poles, pull out a few pegs and fold it up.

Derek

[yamaha]

Hi Derek

Thanks to both you and Pauline for responding to my post.
Yes, it was a fair old way - just over the 800miles, actually!

The seating is atrange, isn't it? When I first test-drove it, I thought "What a great driving position - nice and upright". It's only on a longish journey that I began to realise that the front of the squab was either too high - or the well was too deep, although I'm 6ft tall, and was tending to give me dead right leg. It was then I thought a cruise control may be the answer. If you're interested, this is the link:-

www.adroitservices.biz/

The system we decided on was the Elec-1, with the Gear-1 command module. There is also a box of tricks uner the steering wheel, on top of the fuse tray - didn't think to ask what that did!
Harry initially quoted a fitting time of 2 - 2.5 hours, but was actually there for 4 hours! He then made me test-drive it in set-up mode whilst he preset various parameters until he was happy all was well.
Naturally, I couldn't wait to use it on the way home, and what a difference it made, just to be able to wiggle my leg about in different positions! ;D
As I think I mentioned - ours is the Hdi engine which developes peak torque at 1900 revs, and can accelerate up an incline in 5th - not sure how the standard 1.9 engined one would perform, with 5th possibly being more of an overdrive gear?

Yes, that Bongo is quite a high-spec vehicle - just not sure how practical they would be for European-sized people! I think maybe it would need to be a hard-hat area!! And also the upstairs may be a bit difficult to use in real life - plus - the downstairs bed area doesn't look very comfy, maybe a bit like sleeping on a camel?

As for the Quicktent - yes, very good. Couldn't quite grasp about tensioning the solid panel across the bumper area - wasn't sure if it was 'sposed to be outside covering the bumper, or underneath the footwell! Either way, the sides always seemed to have a loose fold running from the bottom of the poles, up to the top front.
But, definately a very useful bit of kit for an overnight stay - just what it was designed for. A good buy, but maybe a triffle expensive new for what it is. I did wonder about experimenting with different length poles. The supplied ones make the folded length a bit on the long side for stowing under the seats, and I wondered if either they were a fraction longer, or shorter, if the canvas would tension any better. Worth playing around with, maybe?

Mike

[Derek]

Hi Mike

Thanks for the cruise control link, I might put it on my list for Santa.

Regards the Quicktent, we have the green panel that blocks the gap under the van against the back bumper. Seems to work for us. I have bought some 2m ali poles from Millets which break down to four sections so they pack easier. They are 2" longer as supplied but I ended up cutting them down with a tube cutter to the same length as the originals. The OH thinks they are a little flimsy so I carry them in place of the second set. I think they would be OK just for an overnight stay.

Derek

[wendy]

We had our cruise control fitted by Dave Newell in Telford:

www.davenewell.co.uk/

He had fitted one on our previous van when he worked for Conrad Anderson, but he now has his own business. He was very good and we are really pleased with it. It was £358 - it's this:

www.conrad-anderson.co.uk/cruisecontrols/CM25-stalkcommandmodule.htm

[brougham]

Dear Mike,

Blaenau Ffestiniog at the northern terminus of the Ffestiniog Railway can seem a little daunting at first glance, however when you know about the history of the place and it's historical importance for providing roofing material around the world, it takes on a different meaning. The railway is only there because of the slate.

What is of real interest is the nearby Llechwedd Slate Caverns tourism attraction. It really is worth getting off the train at Blaenau and taking the link bus the couple of miles up to the caverns. Have a look at www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk/ .

The site you mention at Beddgelert will soon have an interesting addition - it's very own railway station. The Welsh Highland narrow gauge railway is currently being rebuilt along it's original trackbed, which is routed alongside the Forest Campsite. The railway will be fully open from Caernarfon in the North to Porthmadog in the south at Easter 2009. The new railway will link up to the existing Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadog providing a 40 mile through route amidst fabulous scenery. See www.welshhighlandrailway.net/ , www.isengard.co.uk/ and whr.bangor.ac.uk/

Sorry for the tourism slant on things - that's the business I'm in.

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Very interesting to read about the cruise control by the way.

Kind regards,

Neil.