LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Distance: !" miles /##$ km Total elevation: #%%%m Grade: Intermediate. The climbs are never long, but they are often steep with some technically demanding descents Download: www.mapmyride.com/ routes/view/2250097150

GETTING THERE

Machynlleth is served by regular trains from Birmingham and Shrewsbury.

WHERE TO STAY

We stayed at the Nick Sanders Expedition Centre, just five miles outside Machynlleth. Promoted by Nick as a place where people “can meet fellow adventurers”, it offers a choice of cosy wooden cabins or bell tents, all served by a communal shower and toilet block. Breakfast and evening meals are home-cooked by Nick’s wife, Dr Caroline Taylor, and are excellent. We enjoyed the roast lamb, patty pans in olive oil, beetroot in crème fraiche and courgette, lime and pistachio cake. The Expedition Centre also hosts Nick’s annual Mach Festival, “celebrating motorbikes and music”. The 2019 Festival takes place from 6-9 June.

FOOD AND DRINK

For lunch, we stopped at Roberts’ Café in the centre of Dolgellau, a popular, familyrun establishment housed in a cavernous, former grocery store. We can highly recommend the Welsh Rarebit and apple crumble cheesecake. You’ll have to lock your bikes around the nearest lamppost, however.

THANKS

Thanks to Nick and Caroline for hosting us, and to Nick for being a personal hero and inspiration when I was a young, aspiring “explorer” back in the ’80s.

TOURIST INFO

www.visitsnowdonia.info