100 Climbs Route: Day 9, Maentwrog to Llangollen
In August 2018, three Cycling UK members - Dominic Millar, Graham Salisbury and James Findlater – cycled a 3,300-mile, 29-day route around Britain to take on all 100 hills featured in Simon Warren’s book ‘100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’. This route plots day nine of the journey, 110 miles from Maentwrog to Llangollen, taking in the climbs of Bwlch-y-Groes and The Road to Hell.
Another day with only two featured climbs, although they’re two humdingers with a certain infernal feel to them: the Bwlch-y-Groes or ‘Hellfire Pass’; then The Road to Hell.
First you'll have to navigate away from Maentwrog, south along the main road and past the mountain bikers’ wonderland of Coed-y-Brenin. Soon you're in among the mountains of Snowdonia National Park and heading towards the legendary Bwlch-y-Groes.
This is the highest road in Wales and it certainly feels it. Although there’s a real beauty about the place, you'll be unlikely to appreciate it: this is hard – very, very hard. Make it to the top and you’re rewarded with a suitably evocative rest/viewpoint and then a fantastic descent to the shores of Lake Bala. If all that pedalling has made you peckish, enjoy a bite at the station café that’s housed in an old railway carriage.
From Bala head to Druid and then, just before Corwen, turn left, the purpose of which is to take a huge loop up to Denbigh and then back round to ride The Road to Hell. As you head up to Denbigh, make a note of the hills to the right – you'll be coming nearby this way tomorrow for more.
Soon after Denbigh, turn south-west to take on the day’s final challenge. If this is The Road to Hell, be aware that the devil lives a long way away – at almost seven miles, this is a real test that starts with a 20% section and intermittently hits hard slopes all the way up. At least by the time you see Lake Brenig, you'll know there’s just one final push to the top.
Head down and round the bottom of the loop, then due east, to bring you to the destination for the day at Llangollen. Unless you've sold your soul to the devil in exchange for getting up those hills, well done - you’ve seen hell and conquered it.
