PU I don't think the M4 is going to be part of any route from North Yorkshire to North Wales, or is it? Michelin suggests tinyurl.com/3238al
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Pooh I realised what I did - I made a Southcentric assumption !
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Would you not have easier journey using A494 via Mold, Bala and Dolgellau (lovely place to visit), as PU says the A44 last 30 or so miles is scenic but quite narrow in places. A494 very pretty route imo.
I go about once a month (truck mind you) to Aberystwyth and do not be surprised to be overtaken on blind bends even though you may think you are shifting. (not you i hope PU, do you see shocked car transporter jockey out the corner of your eye?)
There can be some revenue vans dotted about, but the good natured locals do warn of them (something i thoroughly dissaprove of....).
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I agree with that routing. The alternative is to drop down through Oswestry on the A483 and join the A470 there and then onwards to the A44 from there, that is quite a reasonable road with some overtakes on it and some bits are arrow straight and dualled.
The last time I used the A44 I had a reasonable car performance wise and being an ex- BMW driver I had the ability to see around blind bends (!!!)
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The last time I used the A44 I had a reasonable car performance wise and being an ex- BMW driver I had the ability to see around blind bends (!!!)
Touche' i stand in awe.
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Forgot to mention Hawkeye, if you come into Chester area off the M56, be aware there are long term roadworks at end of M56 along A5117 to the A550 near Queensferry, for some time now we have been scooting round the bottom of Chester on the A55.
Can't help you with more local knowledge than that.
Safe journey.
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That route will take you nicely on to the Wrexham By-pass, follow signs for Oswestry then. I used that road several times over Christmas to avoid the long term roadworks, I don;t know why more people don't use that road to access the N Wales coast road.
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I was in the Quuesnferry area that GB refers to, about 3 weeks ago. Narrow lanes and slow moving but not grid lock or tail backs - not at the time anyway!
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Gastsos though (in the road works)
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Roadworks on the A5117 - thank you for that little gem GB.
Re Wrexham by-pass, are you recommending A 539 Ruabon to Llangollen, then A5 and A 494 to Dolgellau PU ?
Wheels will be the "faster than it's any right to be" C3.
All replies really appreciated. Ta.
Edited by Hawkeye {P} on 24/03/2008 at 14:15
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A539 to the A5 at Oswestry then the A483 to just south of Newtown (powys) and join the A470 there and then head off towards the A44.
The road via Bala and Dolgellau is pretty and scenic the buts are that North Wales Police's Scamera vans operate in the area (two based in Dolgellau) and can get busy at holiday times.
Excellent eateries in Bala and Dolgellau by the way.
Once you get to Dolgellau join the A470 and go south and join the A487 that road takes you straight to Aberystwyth, not a bad road, fine eatery just south of Furnace - a roadside cafe/garage with the best coffee in Wales....and very large breakfast.
Edited by Pugugly on 24/03/2008 at 14:23
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Can see why a BMW was needed, spent all his time in the caff.
PU you'd have made a fine old school lorry driver, knowing routes by your tum.
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BMW to get to them quickly, then take up two parking bays thus reducing waiting times inside ! Doesn't work the same in the Roomster, people assume you're a dodery old git.
Spent a fair bit of time on these roads whilst Mrs P got in touch with her Celtic side.
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Caffi Cletwr
1 review - Write a review
Clettwr Services
Tre'r Ddol, Machynlleth, SY20 8PN
01970 832366
That's the Cafe - I think there's a discount if you use rudimentary Welsh !
Cracking place to stop.
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Hawkeye,
You've probably thought of this, but would you or son want to do this journey several times over the next few years?
Might be worth suggesting son considers somewhere handier.
Or do as a friend did in similar circumstances, take the longest possible plausible route in the hope of putting him off.
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Maybe a long journey but what a lovely part of the country.
Quite a home from home for the family Hawkeye.
Always found nice people whenever i've been to Wales, good poss of semi or full retirement there for us.
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iffi...
Like his dad did, no. 1 son struggles academically. Unlike me, he has the choice of whether he goes to Uni or not. Aberystwyth, Teesside, Stafford and Oxford Brookes offer what he wants, so we're going to look at them all, as we did for his sisters. I don't want to be a limiting factor here and I want to be even-handed with him as with his siblings.
The longest route plan is flawed; he knows how the sat nav works as well as I do and his national geography is coming along fine.
Motoring link; I would like to go in his banger AX so he could share the driving but we are saving up for a new exhaust.
Edited by Webmaster on 24/03/2008 at 15:43
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Forget the overtakes then !
Mind you there is a Railway service to Shrewsbury
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Whichever route you decide on beware that, if it entails driving through North Wales (as it almost inevitably will), you will be travelling on roads that are policed by the force that is headed by 8< snip Brunstrom who is waging war on the motorist.
Speed cameras abound and little, if any, leeway is allowed. Minor transgressions are jumped on and one of the most picturesque areas of the UK is rapidly becoming a no-go place to visit because of this totally unacceptable attitude to policing.
Edited by Webmaster on 24/03/2008 at 16:02
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Not sure I want to divert the thread but have been along the A55 a couple of time recently.
Only road I know where you can guarantee seeing a marked traffic car, so I don't think that it is all bad. Didn't see many speed cameras.
On the plus side on the two journeys to Bangor and back we saw a total of 15 cars stopped with police cars behind them. Not sure all were speeding but several that passed us were, but of all the roads to speed along that must be the daftest! Most of those stopped had local plates as well.
We sat at the limit (or a few miles over) and made plenty of progress.
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>>Railway service to Shrewsbury
In the loosest sense of the word service!
During the time that SWMBO and I worked in Wolverhampton, we lived a little way outside Shrewsbury, and we tried the train a couple of times. The journey down the lanes round the Wrekin and the M54 was many times more pleasant, and much, much, quicker.
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Mind you there is a Railway service to Shrewsbury
There's a service from Darlington to Aberystwyth. Unfortunately the earliest train wouldn't get us there on the same day on time. An overnight stop is out. It's either the C3 or the erm ....
motorcycle and I don't think either of us wants to do 5 hours against the clock in April weather, partly in Wales (add in other wimpish excuses here ...).
Yes I have heard of the extremely safety-conscious Mr Brunstrom, the scourge of motorists wanting to make progress in N Wales.
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As an ex-Aber student I hope your son loves it as much as I did. Great place to have a car, fantastic walks/mountain bikes, sunsets to die for etc. Enjoy the A44 from Llangurig to Aber in particular. As a highly irresponsible student I got the journey time down to 18 mins from the NSL sign leaving Llangurig to the 30mph limit entering Aber ;-( - kept to the non NSL limits too... Tis a great road - keep an eye on the road as far as you can see as that opens up a lot of overtaking opportunities that you would otherwise miss including two hairpins ;-). If you have an hour to kill, head to Yyns Las (north of Aber) which is a great beach to drive on if no-ones around but a bad beach to drive on if you get stuck!
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6hrs on the train from Darlo to Aber. By far the better option I'd suggest. There are loads of places along the road route to have a bad time of it -Leeds/Manchester/endless hold-ups behind caravans and or trucks on the windy bits.
My in-laws lived about 20 miles south of Aber and from Manchester it was a four hour journey so I think 4hrs 45 from Richmond is optimistic. There again the time does always drag en route to my-in laws for some reason.
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Haha yes it is a good road, when empty, and that time sounds easy enough when its clear *halo*
I use the almost-parallel Devil's Bridge to Aber road if there are people in my way.
As for longer journeys through Wales, I've driven all kinds of routes from Ormskirk (near Liverpool) to Aber and the fastest seems to be Wrexham-Oswestry-Welshpool-Llangurig (pretty sure they are the A5/A483? I know the route off by heart so I can't remember the actual road names all the way!) A55 through to the turn off for Denbigh, followed by the Denbigh Moors route too is also alright.
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This may seem a daft question but doesn't the university have open days when he can actually go in and speak to people rather than just walk around the outside (I remember trips to Cardiff, Nottingham and others with our two - always during the week).
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This may seem a daft question but doesn't the university have open days when he can actually go in and speak to people rather than just walk around the outside
We have been invited to an open day; that's what the trip is for ...
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My cousin was brought up in Bedfordshire but did her degree at Aber. My mum lives down by Cardigan so she saw a lot of her during those years and it was clear that my cousin absolutely loved being a student in Aberystwth and had a great time. Yes, it can be a pain to get to from certain parts of the country but your lad can use a train if necessary and in any case students don't care about travelling long distances - or do they, these days? I put in a lot of miles on National Express coaches on the M4 as I recall...
Suss
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Could be Hawkeye junior wants to be a goodly distance away from the eagle eye of Dad.
I didn't go to university (bet you couldn't tell...) but i did leave home at 15 and it was great to be away and getting up to all sorts of mischief safe in the knowledge that parents were unlikely to make a surprise assault, and catch me unawares.
I'm sure such a plan has never crossed the mind of H junior?
Can H junior do the accused/innocent look convincingly? I couldn't and still can't.
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Do YOU really want him to go there? Ghastly journey, six times a year, four years, plus sundry other visits...
What's wrong with Leeds?
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Could be Hawkeye junior wants to be a goodly distance away from the eagle eye of Dad.
I think it's Mrs H who he's worried about
Can H junior do the accused/innocent look convincingly? I couldn't and still can't.
Oh yes, yes. Fools me every time but not Mrs H.
..............
>>Do YOU really want him to go there? Ghastly journey, six times a year, four years, plus sundry other visits...
Ahem. It's not about what I want. It's got the course he wants and Aber is currently No.1 for student satisfaction.
What's wrong with Leeds?
See above :-)
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Aberystwyth is a small town whilst Leeds is a large city, towns can be simpler and cheaper to live in and ultimately safer. Aberystwyth is steeped in history. I've been there with Mrs P who claims some rootage in the place and you feel "at home" there.
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My geography mistress put it like this. If you were brought up in a small town/village, you should study in a large city to expand your life experience, and if you were brought up in a city you should study in a small town, for the same reason. She was brought up in Liverpool, and studied in Aber, coincidentally to this thread. A distinctly odd woman, who drove a Mk1 Nissan Prairie (motoring link!). Was this one of the first mini MPVs?
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"Mk1 Nissan Prairie (motoring link!)"
Or motoring multilink !
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I've had several friends who went to Aberystwyth, and they all loved it. Camped near there with the Scouts; a long trip.
Sorry, I missed the post above; apologies.
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