Go wild in the country

A bike and a sense of adventure are all you need to discover the unspoilt beauty of Wales, says Roger Thomas

Despite what the more committed urban cyclist might claim, traffic and bikes are like oil and water. For me, cycling is all about the open road, about pedalling towards the hushed, empty horizon. The open road? The last time roads were fit for cycling Norman Tebbit's dad was learning to ride a bike. So can you still, in this gridlocked isle of ours, find such a thing?

Despite what the more committed urban cyclist might claim, traffic and bikes are like oil and water. For me, cycling is all about the open road, about pedalling towards the hushed, empty horizon. The open road? The last time roads were fit for cycling Norman Tebbit's dad was learning to ride a bike. So can you still, in this gridlocked isle of ours, find such a thing?

In the centre of Wales there's a small market town called Rhayader. Apart from the barmy clocktower stuck on its narrow crossroads, it's an unremarkable place. But there's nothing ordinary about its location. Rhayader is on the doorstep of "wild Wales", one of Britain's last genuinely unspoilt areas. Cycle a few miles west of the town and you're all alone in the Cambrian Mountains - the boggiest, best slice of undiluted wilderness in Wales.

In the 19th century, the inquisitive wanderer George Borrow wrote a book, Wild Wales, that has since become a classic. Much of the country he tramped from north to south is now a bygone folk memory. Not so the central section of his meanderings, which took him across the remote "roof of Wales" where the hardiest of hill-sheep farmers slog it out against marginal land and malicious meteorology in territory that not even the Forestry Commission can be bothered to plant.

The start of my trip couldn't have been better stage-managed. At the approach to Rhayader the skies were filled with a commotion of red kites, the endangered bird of prey that has made a sensational comeback in these parts. One hundred years ago, just two pairs survived in Wales. Now, a squadron of these acrobatic, fork-tailed giants swooped and soared in the skies above Gigrin Farm, one of a number of dedicated kite centres in central Wales.

The first eight miles of the ride were deceptively easy. On the outskirts of town I picked up a newly created cycle path that takes you into the heart of the Elan Valley lakelands. The well-surfaced, traffic-free Elan Trail, on a gentle gradient that doesn't leave you gasping, follows the line of a railway built during the construction of the Elan Valley reservoirs at the end of the 19th century.

The reservoirs are the focal point of the huge Elan Estate, managed by Welsh Water. The Elan Valley Visitor Centre, just off the cycle route at the base of the Caban-coch dam, provides an excellent scene-setter, giving plentiful information on the rich wildlife that flourishes in these untouched parts. And for creating Wales' Lake District (but without the coaches, crowds and the Kendal Mint Cake) we have to thank the fair city of Birmingham.

A century ago, Birmingham's burgeoning thirst for water was slaked by building a chain of four dams in the Elan Valley. To protect the integrity of the water, the surrounding land was purchased - and over the years it has become a thriving nature reserve that's home tokites, ospreys, peregrines, goshawks and merlins.

From the visitor centre, the cycle path winds its way alongside the reservoirs. Unlike some of their modern counterparts, they look as if they have been here forever. Hanging oakwoods and smoothly contoured hills fringe, slip and slide into the water. There's a sense of harmony here that is somehow heightened by the dams themselves, solid and proud in their Victorian finery of dressed stone, craftsmanship and architectural detail.

The cycle path ends at Craig-goch, the northernmost reservoir. Although from here it's back to the Tarmac road, you are very much on your own. One of the few roads that manages to cross the Cambrians, it follows the headwaters of the Elan river through an utterly lonely high plateau where it rains by the bucketful (the annual rainfall figure is more than three times that of London's). My father remembered cycling over this same road in his youth, getting a puncture and being helped by a farmer who spoke no English.

After a little huffing and puffing I reached the head of the valley, a boggy watershed divide between the Elan and Ystwyth rivers. Bidding farewell to the east-flowing Elan I gave in to gravity and freewheeled down alongside the tumbling Ystwyth into a lovely, sheltered valley in which New-Agers and old hippies, softies that they are, prefer to erect their polytunnels and solar panels.

The one blot on the landscape came at the approach to the hamlet of Cwm Ystwyth. Pity the poor miner who had to dig for lead and live in the desolate barracks beside the shattered moonscape, which suddenly intrudes among the valley's green hillsides. But this abandoned, alien mine is soon passed, and within a few miles I was cycling alongside one of man's wholly benign creations. Thomas Johnes (1748-1816) was a landscape visionary who created, at the Hafod Estate, a delicious mix of wild and nurtured woodland and meadow. On the roller-coaster road between Cwm Ystwyth and Pontrhydygroes it's possible to stop off and explore this historic landscape by walking some of Johnes's restored paths.

I kept my energy for what lay ahead. Now well into the ride, I knew from the map that some of the toughest stuff comes along the return leg to Rhayader. Turn left at the pub on the crossroads at Ffair-rhos (you can't miss it - it's the only sign of civilisation for miles), eat your last Mars bar and dig deep into those mental reserves, for the road goes up, and up, and up in a sapping succession of hills. But it's all worth it - honestly - for it gets you to the Teifi Pools, the headwaters of yet another classic Welsh river.

The melodious name alone is filled with promise, and the place doesn't disappoint. This smattering of little lakes set among the humps and bumps of a lofty shelf of moor is possessed of a profound, intoxicating stillness. If they ever decide to build those visually polluting windfarms up here I will, in indignant rage and out of sheer malice, throw the bike away, go out and buy the biggest gas guzzler I can lay my hands on and turn the central heating up full.

Beyond the Teifi Pools the Tarmac disintegrates into rock and scree as the route tracks east back across the Cambrians - so don't think of riding it on anything but a mountain bike. Things became a little smoother when I picked up the loose-surfaced road that runs along the northern shores of the Claerwen reservoir, the fifth and final of the Elan Valley lakes, completed in 1952. You'll need to keep something in reserve, for the road follows the waterline in and out of little side valleys, making it seem endless.

I eventually arrived at Claerwen dam, a soulless, somewhat brutal structure in comparison to its Victorian counterparts. With more than 40 miles on the clock since setting off, I was grateful of the final roll downhill back to Rhayader on smooth roads. Back home, I dipped into Borrow's book out of curiosity. I can't promise that you'll dry out beside turf fires supping ale and feasting on goose, pickled salmon and mutton chops, but when you venture into these hills you'll get closer to his Wild Wales than you ever thought possible.

TRAVELLER'S GUIDE

RIDING WALES GETTING THERE

There is no train station in Rhayader; the nearest is in Llandrindod Wells, which is 11 miles away. To reach it from most parts of Britain is a tricky business. There are two routes that you can take from London - either from Paddington or Euston. From Paddington First Great Western (08457 000 125, www.firstgreat-western.co.uk) takes you as far as Swansea where you change onto the Arriva Trains Wales Line (0870 9000 773, www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk), which will take you to Llandrindod Wells in as little as 5 hours 40 minutes, from around £60 return. Be warned that journey times can take up to 10 hours depending on times of connecting trains. From Euston, take Virgin Trains (08457 222 333, www.virgintrains.co.uk) service to Birmingham New Street, change onto the Arriva Trains Wales service as far as Shrewsbury and from there take a train direct to Llandrindod. You can also travel on Virgin from Newcastle via Birmingham New Street and from Manchester via Craven Arms. From Bristol Parkway, again take the First Great Western train to Swansea and change.

There are connecting buses between Rhayader and Llandrindod Wells; the last bus leaves Llandrindod at around 6pm.

GETTING AROUND

Roger Thomas used his bike. If you are feeling as energetic then you can hire mountain bikes at the Clive Powell Mountain Bike Centre (01597 811 343, www.clivepowell-mtb.co.uk) at Cwmdauddwr Arms, West Street.

To hire a bike for a day (9am-5.30pm) costs £16, including a water bottle, pump and puncture kit. If you are feeling slightly more adventurous, or if you feel you need some guidance, the company also offers two- and three-day weekend cycling tours.

ACCOMMODATION

There's a good choice of inexpensive hotels, inns and B&Bs in the area. The Elan Valley Hotel (01597 810448, www.elanvalleyhotel.co.ukf), just outside Rhayader and on the Elan Trail, is a bike-friendly place with doubles from £60, plus special off-season breaks from October-April. Slightly more luxurious is the Brynafon Country House Hotel (01597 810735, www.brynafon.co.uk), set in beautiful gardens where you should be able to spot a red kite or two. A double room including breakfast starts at £55.

MORE INFORMATION

Rhayader Tourist Information Centre (01597 810591, www.rhayader.co.uk) has a useful website for the area. The Elan Valley Visitor Centre (01597 810880, www.elanvalley.org.uk) can also provide useful information.