4. Driving home

Almost a post script.  I wanted to drive down the Wye valley from Monmouth to Chepstow, and particularly past Tintern.  Well, that's as far as we got as the road south from Tintern was barred.  So we took a short detour over the hills and back into Chepstow the slow way.  From Chepstow the old Severn Bridge, 50 years old this year, took us to the M4 and then Bath and Bradford on Avon for lunch.

Bradford had been a venue on a previous holiday this year, on water, in a barge.  The K & A in October was far less busy and a good deal less moist than it was in May.

Nearly home we came upon the remains of a film set seemingly abandoned in the middle of a field in Wiltshire.  No guesses what it is meant to be.  In understand it was a set for a movie - Transformers : The Last Knight.

After five days driving along some of Wales' most picturesque roads the E-Type was surprisingly clean.  Wheels were washed, and paintwork ragged down in no time.

The car will be out again before the winter, but not for an extended holiday.

3. Brecon Beacons and Abergwesyn

For the last full day in Wales we decided to venture into the Brecon Beacons, via a few more wee mad roads up the Devil's Staircase and over the Abergwesyn Pass.  At this time of year these roads are almost completely free of traffic, just the occasional farmer or logging truck to content with.

For lunch we stopped at the Brecon Beacons visitor centre.  The main facility was closed, but the carpark was full and the restaurant well patronised.  Brecon itself was quiet and charming.

2. Rhayader and Llandridod Wells

A quiet day today, after two days of quite involved driving.  Rhayader is a small town with one distinguishing claim - it has more pubs per head than anywhere in Britain.  This claim seems justified as almost every other building in the centre is a pub.  Today was market day, and the town was full of the sounds and smells of a rural livestock auction.

The main roads around this area are fantastic to drive.  Up and down, left and right.  Slow and fast sweeping turns, challenging hairpins and just the occasional straight bit.  I saw a few signs indicating speed cameras, but to be honest there were very few roads along which even a spiritedly driven E-Type would break to law.  Fast driving would be more likely to involve a visit to a bodywork shop than a visit to the County Court.

1. Driving into Wales

This is just a quick weekday tour based in mid Wales.  The idea was to spend a few days somewhere central from where we could go and see and do various things without travelling too much.  No one told us mid Wales was as empty as it is.  There isn't a great deal to do or see without travelling a bit.  Never mind, empty countryside means stunning scenery, which when added to empty roads that twist madly through valleys and over mountains means E-Type heaven.

We drove into Wales through Gloucester and along the Golden Valley, at the end of which we found Arthur's Stone, a stone age barrow.  Getting there meant we drove along what appeared to be farm tracks rather than roads.  We would have to get used to this.

A few miles further we met up with the Wye, our companion for the week, and had lunch overlooking its brown waters, swollen from recent rainfall.

As I had heard that another E-Type had been stolen, I kept an eye out for the car whenever I could.

We travelled further along the Wye to Newbridge and our lodgings for the next four nights.
And what a lovely place it was.  A modern building, open plan living area with triple width bi-folding windows onto a deck, it was also well appointed. Our welcome pack even included bread and milk and a bottle of wine.

First thing on the agenda for our first day in Wales was that we had an itch to scratch - the Vale of Rheidol Railway.  A quick phone call established we could travel from Devil's Bridge to Aberystwyth and back (rather than the other way round which would have involved a longer drive there and back), and so off we set, driving along well maintained A roads towards the coast.

The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a very well run preserved narrow gauge railway running from Devil's Bridge into Aberystwyth, pulling in right next to the main station.  Starting from the wrong end turned out to be the better option, as there is little to do during the turnaround at the Aberystwyth end, except follow the engine as it disconnected, and was refuelled, ashed out and watered ready for the long steam up the valley.  If we'd have desired to wander around Aberystwyth, we'd have had to commit to the longer drive.

Back at the Devil's Bridge end we found almost as many tourists taking photos of the car as of Number 8, the engine under steam.  So while the train nerds asked questions of the engine driver and fireman, the classic car nerds asked me questions about my E-Type.

The shorter drive to the railway meant we cold take a detour on the way back along the Elan Valley. We drove along lots of wee mad roads, through stunning scenery and past magnificent reservoirs with impressive dams and their hydroelectric facilities.

In all a long day, but very rewarding.  Wales was turning out to be very enjoyable.