Fresh Prince of Cwmbran

[lucky number 7]

**** yeah I'm back.

Apologies ...

 

[DorceOutSide]

Dear god another thread turned Irish :lol:

we have a habit of doing that :d

 

[Groundhog]

3 girls from Kerry arrived in my house the other day to stay for the week....I had no warning of the arrangement and as a result was found walking the house naked..

ah sure there used to it

 

[MichaelBoard]

Most of Wales is stunning, it's tough to find anywhere more beautiful than the Brecon Beacons or parts of North Wales like Betws Y Coed anywhere else in the UK. There are some utterly depressing places though! The two that immediately come to mind are Port Talbot in the South and Blaenau Ffestiniog in the North. Port Talbot because of its industrial, smoke filled skyline (that was apparently the inspiation for the film Blade Runner. Bleak, always raining, go figure). Blaenau because all you see is slate.... everywhere. The houses are made of slate, walls and roofs, the walls in the fields are all slate, even the mountains are made of slate, with piles of the stuff left over from its mining past.

Edit. If anyone is ever travelling through Wales, there are three roads I thoroughly recommend taking, as the scenery is awesome.
1 - The mountain pass between Rhayader and Devil's Bridge (through Cwmystwyth). Great road, but its got no road number for a reason, as its not for the faint hearted. It's narrow, littered with sheep, and there are some serious drops in places with no barriers to speak of. If you get a nice day, especially as the sun is coming down in the evening, the views are spectacular in places, as you look down over the snaking valley in front of you. You also pass an old abandonned mine towards the bottom. I love this road, I really do.
2 - A470 through Brecon. Quite an obvious one, but I'm always in awe of the landscape every time I travel along this road.
3 - A470 between Dolgellau and Betws Y Coed, right through the heart of Snowdonia. Infact, just drive around anywhere in Snowdonia and the roads are great and the scenery epic. Pitty all the holiday makers drive at 20mph so it's mostly impossible to enjoy the roads propperly.

Lastly, although I'm yet to drive it myself, the A4069 from Brynamman to Llangadog is hailed as the best driving road in the UK. I need to pick a quiet time of year and go for a blast at some point soon.

Was driving to Bangor a few months back from Cwmbran to visit the University up there and some of the views on the way are stunning once you get into North Wales. Dodgy roads, but some stunning unrivalled views

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Some cracking mountain biking up in Betws-y-Coed


I second the North Wales thing - Drove through there on the way up to Bolton a couple of months ago, some truly stunning scenery, unreal at points - looked painted on

Also agree with the roads, sheer drops down one side with no barrier aren't my idea of fun

 

[MichaelBoard]

Haha, I suppose we can't have both, stunning views as well as safe viewpoints Yeah the views are really stunning, wouldn't mind living somewhere like that one day.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Port Talbot is stunning this time of year ...

 

[dullonien]

Some cracking mountain biking up in Betws-y-Coed

Yeh, I've done one of the tracks in Betws Y Coed. Really well made unlike some others. Machynlleth trails come to mind, great fun, but I had a majour crash there due to the loose shale used in some places.

Mid Wales is an awesome place to live for mountain biking. Plenty of great places to ride within a max of 3hours drive. Nant yr Arian, Machynlleth, Coed Y Brenin, Aran Valley, Betws Y Coed and Brechfa. Did the black trail at Brechfa summer before last: wow, tough doesn't describe it! Some of the downhill sections I found un-rideable, the climbs never ended, by the end my brakes barely worked (xtr v-brakes) and I was so knackered I could barely stand, let alone ride. Great fun non-the-less.

Have barely got on my bike in a year and a half though, due to uni commitments. Hoping to start again soon though.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Haven't ridden in two years - my old landord was anal about bikes and had it written in the contract that any bikes on the property would result in tenancy being terminated - said I could chain my bike up outside, but it was worth more than my care so decided against it

Sold it eventually for a camera, but looking to get back into it asap now that I've moved


Was about to mention Brechfa - The downhill parts are decent, but the climbs are bloody torture, they really do just go on for ever

 

[Thingimubob]

Out of interest Olyy, what's Aberystwyth like? My friend keeps badgering me to come up to Aber for his freshers in September (it's a week before Swansea Uni kick off our shenanigens ) haven't decided whether it's worth the tedious bus journey from Swansea to Aber?

Also didn't know anything could be fresh in Cwmbran... then again I can't talk...I went to school in Barry

 

[lucky number 7]

Port Talbot is stunning this time of year ...

The photos of that town upset me.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Out of interest Olyy, what's Aberystwyth like? My friend keeps badgering me to come up to Aber for his freshers in September (it's a week before Swansea Uni kick off our shenanigens ) haven't decided whether it's worth the tedious bus journey from Swansea to Aber?

Also didn't know anything could be fresh in Cwmbran... then again I can't talk...I went to school in Barry

Depends what you look for in a night out - there's no Oceana etc. and you're unlikely to get stabbed on the way home, but I love it

 

[Thingimubob]

The photos of that town upset me.

Imagine seeing that in all it's glory every time you have to go between Swansea and Cardiff...

Ah yeah Olyy, there's only one or two clubs in Aber right? My mate says there's some awesome pubs up there, so might give it a go...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, there's two clubs and about 14,000 pubs/bars
Makes for a good night out!

 

[dullonien]

Does the Angel class as a club? For me, the best night out in Aber is a nice pub crawl. Start in Spoons and end in the Ship and Castle or Castle which are open untill 2 and 4am I think. Pick up Cambrian, Beachings, Schollars, Varsity, Kaynes, Downeys, Academy, Black Lion & Rummers along the way, myabe even Salt Bar for a quiet one lol.

There's also In on the Pier which I think is still open 24hrs on the weekend if you're up for continuing past 4am.

There used to be 2 other clubs in Aber. The Bay closed a few years ago, but I always enjoyed it, especially the drum & bass nights in the basement. When I first started going out, the place to be at the end of the night was The Glen, although it was completely overflowing with all of us underage kids!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Suppose the back room of the Angel could, music and dancing and the such

Luckily the Bay was still around in my first year here - Was definitely better ending up there then in Yokos/Pier Pressure

 

[dullonien]

Suppose the back room of the Angel could, music and dancing and the such

Luckily the Bay was still around in my first year here - Was definitely better ending up there then in Yokos/Pier Pressure

Ah, that was the s**t Bay though. It stopped being half decent in around 2002/3. Yokos was always utter cr*p. I've not ventured into the re-branded Why Not? or whatever it's called nowerdays. That place stopped being half-way decent when it stopped being K2!

 

[lucky number 7]

Does every town have a pub that has so many underage drinkers that it resembles a creche as opposed to a tavern