The scenic route

Saving the best 'til last & all that, this morning getting ready to leave Llandudno, the weather was to put it simply...beautiful...and thus to be enjoyed.

My two co-conspirators were accompanied to the station to catch their Choo back to our side of manchester (extra) With one change in Manchester, their trip was to take almost three hours. I waved them off before puttering away to find some fuel.

A garage in Colwyn Bay came up with the goods and whilst fully.intending to join the eastbound carriageway of the A55, the handlebars were having none of it, instead guiding Biscuit to the A470 and heading uphill as far as Llanrwst and turning off sharply to cross what I thought was a pack horse bridge (in the extra). Not so according to Wikipedia but 'Pont Fawr' does date back to.1636 so does well and truly pre-date Biscuit & Co.

The reason for crossing the bridge was to.reach the B5106 aka the quiet route up to Betws Y Coed. No time for touristing unfortunately but thanks to the 20mph limit I could take it all in whilst passing through. The lovely little place was busy enough anyway. I think a weekday may be better for future reference.

Back to the A470 very briefly led to the A5, briefly doubling back to a layby with a fab view of a mountain (main blip) Not Wyddfa I later discovered, but Moel Siabod, around 200 meters shorter than the big 'un. Back in motion the road twisted and turned its way downhill quite dramatically in places all the way to Llangollen, again chock full with tourists but who can blame them on a warm sunny day in February?

I pondered stopping at Pontcysyllte again to see the aqueduct but that may have stretched to a coffee and wotnot and unfortunately time was ticking. There will be other visits. On this occasion it was straight to the dual carriageway towards Chester, looping around it's ring road a short way to join the A54 and eventually the old Chester Road, through Northwich & on towards Altrincham. I may have been tempted off the new bypass north of the M6 to putter past Tatton Park but was needing either home (or facilities) for my own reasons by now(!) and so pressed on, joining the motorway and giving poor Biscuit's fuel economy figures a hard time, even using the outside lane occasionally to get back sharpish!

I almost got back before my co-conspirators too. They were walking the short distance from our local station to home as I rounded the corner, but before I had Biscuit maneuvered down the driveway, youngest had wheeled her flight case past me & marched through the front door ;-D