So I have been home for a day or two now and have just about finished cleaning all my camping gear and washing all my clothes. Not done the bike yet, but that can wait as it's filthy!

All in all it was a good trip. I didn't really know what to expect as I'd not been to most of the areas I went through before. In terms of "Best bits", I really liked the section up the border. Very rural with lots of great views. Gospel Pass was great - even though I didn't even realise that the big hill I was going up was in fact Gospel Pass (the highest road in Wales) until I'd got to the top!

The far south west was also very nice. Kinda feels like the end of the Earth down there! And I actually enjoyed the cities - Swansea, Cardiff and even Newport as I'd never been to any of them before.

Here's the VeloViewer summary wheel:

The weather was fine in the end. I had some rain early on, but it wasn't that bad. I only had one day of horrendous rain, but even that wasn't too bad as it was very warm that day and the sun came out in the evening so everything dried off.

The hills did surprise me a little bit. I know that sounds ridiculous as everybosy knows that Wales is very hilly, but I was perhaps a little unprepared for the relentless very steep, short, sharp hills that can slow you down massively. I soon came to realise my daily mileage was taking a hit compared to normal prurely because my average speed was hampered by constantly crawling up hills, then tentatively coming down them.

I'd defiinitely go back to Wales - much like Scotland, I'd like to go back and check out some of the off road routes as I think some of the best adventures could be found that way. A different bike will be needed for that though...

I think it's definitely time to start replacing some of my kit. It's always nice to know you've got your money's worth rather than just replacing stuff just because it's a bit old. First up will be a new sleeping mat as my current one won't hold air for very long now. I think the valve is toast. My tent is starting to leak at the corners, so in heavy rain, puddles form at each end. Not ideal waking up to that! My panniers - which have always been absolutely waterproof are not anymore. But they are 20 years old, so they've had a good innings.

So now I just need to think about where to go next!