northwick Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) Owned the GTi for about 9 months now but girlfriend doesn't really enjoy driving quickly so arranged for me and an old school friend to put it through its paces around some Welsh roads. I did some research on good roads and planned a route with an overnight stop in Aberystwyth. Day one (in reverse i.e. departing Worcester and ending in Aber): Map 1Day two (in reverse): Map 2We had to cut out a bit of day one because some snow forced a huge detour (costing about 1hr) and heavy fog meaning we were slowed right down (and there wasn't any fun to be had).(that is fog, not a misted up screen!)Nevertheless it was absolutely brilliant. Things to share:1. The route is packed with amazing roads. Some are real drivers roads (open and good visibility) and some are passages to amazing scenery (but too narrow to have a free flowing spirited drive)2. The roads are *so* quiet. You can make some serious progress and not come up behind anything for miles, particularly earlier in the day. Also, more than once people moved out of the way when we were behind without us even remotely hustling them.3. We saw no speed cameras or Police in any NSL areas (which was 95% of the route). And you'd do well do get much over 60 on those roads anyway so it was done within the law. We stopped frequently to take pictures. I'm not too good with my new camera yet but more pictures are here: Gallery (102 pictures)If anyone wants the full RAW images then let me know.The Lupo never missed a beat. Got a stone in the brakes which grated for a few hundred yards and lost BOTH towing eye covers towards the end of the second day (presumably when scraping over a large and sudden dip in the road at a decent speed). Used three tanks of fuel for 550 miles. Oh, and had to stop for a few minutes after one run on the A4069 because the brakes were cooked (at least now I know that for track days you need track pads even with bigger discs to dissipate the heat).Going to get the Awesome ARB and do another run and see what the difference is like.Also, notice how dirty the car gets during the photos. Needs serious snowfoam. Poor thing... Edited January 26, 2010 by northwick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CopeyCupra Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 good aint it? if your on the road i think your on about ( havent looked at maps yet) then its renowned for not being able to get over 60 mph on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CopeyCupra Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 good aint it? if your on the road i think your on about ( havent looked at maps yet) then its renowned for not being able to get over 60 mph on just looked at the maps **** me you did some mileage didnt you? how far up did you actually get, i know you got as far as bala. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikemad04 Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 Yeh good roads also down the breacon beacons area some nice roads there to, Top gear tested some cars there and they was happy , Lol yeh looks good fun on the beach, The sand ent so forgiving on your car tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenson Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 That looks like soo much fun! would love to do something like this myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobG Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 What was your time from Aber to Llangurig. I know someone who's done it in 23 mins in a peugeot boxer before now. I never managed to get it below 28 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payna Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 nice. gotta love welsh roads...i would love to do a bit of proper driving around those parts, but its always been a it too much of a journey for me to get around to doing. ive been down there camping a few times, and there are some truely exellent roads around snowdonia, but the elan valley etc has always been a bit too much of a journey for the missus to be be happy about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_273 Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 I would love to go to Wales to do exactly this, looks great fun! Clear open empty roads, what more do you need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheps Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) I feel a road trip coming on saved your maps so hopefully get this done in the coming months test out the new arb and tyres Edited January 26, 2010 by sheps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver! Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 Llanberis pass! Hmmmm......hope you stopped at Pete's Eats! (http://www.petes-eats.co.uk/) a famous (dare I say world wide) cafe for climbers for a mahoOosive chip butty!Done this road a number of times in various cars, but never the Lupo GTI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CopeyCupra Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 llanberis pass isnt that great. theres some better ones about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliecjno1 Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 Evo triangle, Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons is where its at Done the triangle several times in a Scoob and an Integrale Evo which was awesome plus in my own car, Cregennan lakes has some awesome roads around it, used to camp there.Used to go up round Brecon alot seeing as its only up the road and around the Black Mountains - Gospel Pass is a favourite! Took the GTI a couple of times but havent tried since the coilovers, dont hold out much hope lol. Loads of local mountains a 5 min drive away good for a blast too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver! Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 llanberis pass isnt that great. theres some better ones about.Depends what you're rating it for. As a climber and driver, Llanberis is pretty good! With Pete's Eats at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Green Giant Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 the photos in that album are lovely! it does look like a really cool drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpolo Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 i did offer to have a meet up the evo and black mountain pass a while ago some awsome roads here iam lucky i drive thos roads eveyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamAtkinson Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 This is actually amazingI so want to do this, it's just a shame that walse is so far away from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah_Diamond Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 You came down as far as Brynamman lol, that's about 20mins from me. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a wuss so wouldn't be able to drive all that fast, not sure I'd get the same enjoyment. I reckon it would have been an awesome couple of days though, some very decent driving roads around mid-wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penry Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 Done these roads a lot recently, being in rhyl and then bangor for uni placements. My fave is horseshoe pass just after Llangollen, what a piece of road if you've got a nice sorted handling car! My best run though was behind an S3 who obviously spotted me (and the FMIC!) in the mirror and we spanked it between Aberystwyth and Bangor. My brakes were cooked by the time we got to Betws-y-Coed! And i was wandering why i need new pads on the front! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northwick Posted January 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 Thanks for all the comments (especially about the photos).The Llanberris pass was one part that was sacrificed after the snow detour and fog. Will make sure I get there next time and check out the cafe on your recommendation, Ray.We stopped at a cafe in Llandovery on the Sunday at lunchtime. It was packed with bikers and whilst I was stood outside I counted 18 MX5s going past in convoy.Just to echo whats been said above (inc my post) - some of the roads aren't brilliant driving roads but are routes to brilliant scenery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CopeyCupra Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 scenery is top notch, the picture you got are awesome, but some of the views are speechless. give me a msg if your up next time, ill show you around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcarroll Posted January 29, 2010 Report Share Posted January 29, 2010 I went to Uni in aberystwyth for 3 years and knew the roads pretty well by the time i left, including a nice short cut on route. The Llangurig road if were on about the same one is quality, deathly drop on one side... big mountains on the other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobG Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 I went to Uni in aberystwyth for 3 years and knew the roads pretty well by the time i left, including a nice short cut on route. The Llangurig road if were on about the same one is quality, deathly drop on one side... big mountains on the other Sounds it - the A44. Big sweeping curves following the side of the hill round, where you can see about a mile ahead round the corner I also did 3 years in aber, got out on good behaviour. Part time comp-sci, most time courier 'guy who does the computers' and part time aber rag driver in my third year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huw Pugh Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Living in Wales ftmfw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver! Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 ...ftmfw! I could make a guess, but do you want to fill me in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northwick Posted February 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 For the mother ****ing win, I expect. Which is how I would describe the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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