So the idea was to follow the River Severn as closely as possible from source to sea by bike. Well the source of the Severn is on the slopes of Plymlimon, a mid-Wales mountain and about 4 miles from the nearest road, and hence not easily reachable by touring bike.
Instead we settled for that road at the Forestry Commission car park at Hafron. A couple of kind friends gave us and our bikes a lift to the car park, so at just before midday we were setting off on our 4 day tour.
Our destination for this first shorter day was Welshpool, on the England-Wales border, so 40 miles away. The weather forecast was unfriendly with rain due in the afternoon so we set off promptly.
One of the advantages of following a river is clearly that the average gradient is negative, and so it proved for the first section to Llanidloes, where we actually crossed the Severn for the first time. The vallley to that point had been quite steep and narrow with a smallish stream in the bottom, and a steep ridge separating the river from the Wye which also has its source on the same mountain about a mile away.
However once we passed through the town and recrossed at the far side, the river already had been swollen by tributaries from the north.
The next section was primarily climbing – steeply up the shoulder, down into the valley the other side, and then back up steeply again before descending again to the river plain.
Unfortunately by this stage the rain has arrived so we suffered a 30 minute shower on the way to Newtown where we thankfully found a cafe for tea and tea cakes.
Refreshed we headed on Northeastwards, crossing the river and enduring a short section on the main road before heading off on the southeast slopes.
The rain had now thankfully stopped so we rode the undulations in the road, firstly mostly flat and then more uphill before the long descent back to the river and into Welshpool and our accommodation for the night.
A great first day with beautiful views despite the mixed weather. Tomorrow we will be in Bridgenorth with hopefully better weather.
The Oyster Wheel 