We had to cancel our planned spring German tour because of illness, perhaps luckily as Europe suffered a heatwave with temperatures in excess of 30°C. Subsequent weeks were too wet, too cold, too windy or too hot, eventually we seized a window in late June to ride this Sustrans route.
I booked three advance tickets from Porthmadog to Dyfi Junction but only two bike spaces can be booked on TfW class 158 units, we risked winging it for the third. The initial route was straightforward and familiar, down to Lôn Eifion and along this former railway line, passing the Welsh Highland Railway depot at Dinas, but a section near Penygroes was closed, with no information about alternatives. Being local, we knew where to go, and luckily returned to the route at the southern end of the closure.
I had to keep stopping for Christine to catch up and was concerned about missing the train. We took the quicker main road alternative for the final stretch, reaching the station half an hour before the 12:01 departure time. The conductor wasn’t pleased to see three bikes but allowed us on, I’ve a feeling it would have been different if we’d not been a party of three. The train was busy, with more dogs than I’ve ever seen on one. 26 miles, 372m ascent.
The first connection to Aberystwyth would have involved a wait of over an hour, and showed no available bike spaces so we’d decided to cycle to Aberystwyth. Dyfi Junction exists as an interchange between the two legs of the Cambrian Coast line, not to serve a community, it’s connected to the A487 trunk road by a long track. Turning right at the main road, we soon reached the small village of Furnace, named after the mid 18th century charcoal fired blast furnace used for smelting iron ore. The site, downstream of the waterfall on the River Einion, used the water power from the river and charcoal from the local woodland, the iron ore being transported down the coast from Cumbria and then up the Afon Dyfi. The furnace was only used for about fifty years to smelt iron ore. By 1810 it had been abandoned and the waterwheel removed. Some time later a new waterwheel was installed and the furnace became a sawmill.
The A487 is a horrible road, busy, hilly and twisty, but avoiding it involved a network of steep narrow inland lanes and a long rocky track. A couple of times it descended to the main road for a short unpleasant stretch before striking off uphill again. We were very pleased to eventually reach a level cycle path which led us into the town. The path passed a big Morrisons supermarket, so Rowan and I could buy our lunch on the way out tomorrow, Christine having made sandwiches for two days. If we’d realised what a hard ride it would be, we’d have risked the train, it’s not a route I would ever repeat. 17 miles, 494m ascent for the afternoon.
We stayed at Shorelands guest house, run by an Australian woman who’d been doing it for 37 years. Basic but adequate for a night, and with a garage to store our bikes. Aberystwyth used to have better dining options but Athro Lounge, in a former school by the railway station was currently the most appealing. They had a Monday offer, a free pudding or drink. We were hungry and chose the food, finishing with a pint in the Ship and Castle pub.
Total 43 miles, 766 metres ascent