Wheels of Thrill

Route

Day 1 - 17/05/19

LLANDDERFEL, BALA

On Friday afternoon it's finally time and all participating teams are expected at the magnificent 5* Relais & Châteaux hotel 'Palé Hall', which has been exclusively booked for our rally group. During the welcome ceremony it's time to enjoy this wonderful venue and meet your fellow rally drivers, while Palé Hall surprises us with various small snacks and refreshing drinks. Later in the evening we will enjoy a delicious 6-course tasting dinner in the 3-rosette awarded fine-dining restaurant of the hotel. Bon appetit!

HOTEL
Palé Hall (5*)
Llandderfel, Bala (UK)

Palé Hall  

Day 2 - 18/05/19

LLANDDERFEL, BALA - LLANDDERFEL, BALA

After a quiet night in the traditional Victorian hotel rooms, we will start the day with a delicious breakfast. A quick morning speech will follow, after which it's finally time to start driving. We will start the official rally route by heading north over some long winding roads to warm up our engines. After 20 min we will already reach one of the highlights of the Snowdonia Rally: the EVO Triangle. This notorious triangle of roads is considered as one of the best driving roads in the United Kingdom and is used for many car reviews in the EVO magazine. When we passed these amazings pieces of road, we will continue our route into the Snowdonia National Park. Here we will pass the 'Yr Wyddfa', better known as the Snowdonia itself, with 1085 m the highest mountain peak in Wales and England. Soon after we will come across immense slate quarries that dominated the Welsh economy at the end of the 19th century. After following various exciting roads through the Snowdonia National Park we will finally arrive at 'Castell Deudraeth' around noon, our lunch location for today. At this authentic castle, originally dating from 1188, we will be surprised by a delicious 2-course lunch. From here we will also visit the neighbouring Portmeirion Village, a fascinating resort built in Mediterranean style at the 'River Dwyrd' estuary between 1925 and 1975. After this visit we will continue our route southwards. Here we will follow a part of the 'Mach Loop', a series of valleys used as a low-level training area for fast jet aircrafts of the Royal and US Air Force. After reaching the west coast of Wales we will continue on various winding roads through the rolling landscape with beautiful small lakes from time to time. After a short stop we continue our journay towards our hotel, where we will be welcomed with a refreshing glass of bubbly and various culinary snacks. In the evening chef Gareth Stevenson will surprise us with another culinary 6-course tasting dinner in one of the hotel's private dining rooms. Afterwards there is of course plenty of time for some more after-dinner drinks in the lounge area. Finally, it's time to go back to our traditional Victorian hotel rooms, enjoy our well-deserved rest, and prepare for the second driving day of the Snowdonia Rally 2019! Sleep well...

Distance:
317 km

Approx. travel time:
5 h 00 min

National Park:
Snowdonia

START
Palé Hall (5*)
Llandderfel, Bala (UK)

Palé Hall

 

LUNCH
Castell Deudraeth
Portmeirion, Penrhyndeudraeth (UK)

Castell Deudraeth

 

CHECKPOINT
Portmeirion Village
Portmeirion, Penrhyndeudraeth (UK)

Portmeirion Village

 

HOTEL
Palé Hall (5*)
Llandderfel, Bala (UK)

Palé Hall

Day 3 - 19/05/18

LLANDDERFEL, BALA - CAERLEON, NEWPORT

After a proper night's rest it's time for day 3 of the Snowdonia Rally 2019. We will start our day with an extensive breakfast and a short morning speech. When everyone is ready it's time to start our engines and hit the roads again. We will start our route by heading towards Dolgellau, after which we will again follow some beautiful valleys of the Mach Loop. At the most southward point of Mach Loop we will continue our journey further southwards towards the Llyn Clywedog reservoir. Here we can enjoy the amazing view over this beautiful reservoir and the surrounding landscape. After a short stop we will continue to Elan Valley, also known as 'The Welsh Lake District' and famous for its scenic views. Here we will encounter a range of reservoirs and dams of various sizes and heights. Each of the 6 dams is built in its unique style. After passing some of these dams we will pay a visit to the Elan Valley visitors centre, where we can both enjoy of cup of coffee as well as read about the rich history and precise details of the Elan Valley reservoirs. When leaving Elan Valley we will continue further southwards to arrive at the Llangoed Hall hotel in the afternoon. Here we will enjoy a delicious lunch in their 3-rosette awarded fine-dining restaurant. After lunch we will head southwestwards to reach the stunning Brecon Beacons National Park. Soon after entering this park we will encouter the Black Mountain road, also known as the famous 'Top Gear Road'. This unique piece of tarmac is not only a amazing driving road with challenging curves, but also provides a breathtaking view over the national park with its countless sheep. After leaving this lovely mountain road we will enjoy many more challenging roads through the widespread Brecon Beacons National Park before we continue further southwards. When leaving the national park we will soon arrive at the Celtic Manor Resort, the finish of the Snowdonia Rally 2019. This imposing golf and spa resort already hosted the 2014 NATO Summit, as well as the prestigious Ryder Cup in 2010. Here we will be welcomed with various snacks and drinks to look back at the fantastic weekend we had together. Of course also this event Wheels of Thrill will arrange a common closing dinner afterwards for the ones that simply can't get enough of it. See you in Wales...

Distance:
407 km

Approx. travel time:
5 h 30 min

National Park:
Brecon Beacons

START
Palé Hall (5*)
Llandderfel, Bala (UK)

Palé Hall

 

LUNCH
Llangoed Hall
Llyswen, Brecon (UK)

Llangoed Hall

 

CHECKPOINT
Elan Valley Reservoirs
Elan Valley, Rhayader (UK)

Top Gear Road

 

FINISH
Celtic Manor Resort (5*)
The Usk Valley, Newport (UK)

Celtic Manor Resort

ROUTE | SNOWDONIA RALLY