A ride down to Florida .... Strata Florida !

With Easter out the way now and Tuesday off work I decided to ride out into Mid-Wales and try and find Strata Florida. The plan was to ride via Monkland and Pembridge south of Leominster to the A44 and down to Kington with a stop at a famous Waterfall curiosuly named 'Water Break its Neck Falls' in New Radnor. It was a cool morning where the temperature didn't rise much above 10 degrees so by the time I reached the falls I had cold hands and needed the excuse to switch gloves. The Waterfall was just off the 44 and with a 10 minutes walk into the moss covered valley fairly easy to find..

 

 

 

 

The trees are thick with Moss and the waterfall amazing, my pictures don't do it justice. I had the whole valley to myself, apparaently legend has it a Dragon 🐉  lives down here, so I was careful not to wake it while clod hopping around in my bike boots ! 

   

Real Dragon breath!!

Later, I stopped off at the usual bikers cafe at Crossgates for a sausage sarny and got chatting to a nice old chap riding a Yamaha MT-09. At first I thought it was the smaller variant, MT-07 the bike press are raving about, and coincidentally Rob contacted me this week who expressed an interest where we may take one for a test ride in June I thought I'd quiz the guy about it. He likes the MT-09 but in his words said 'it's not a GS' and misses owning a GS for comfort and refinements, but he reckons the MT-07 would be better value and said you can't go wrong with one of those. The only downside was the screen, they are naff he said, and the soft panniers are made of a material that are hard to keep clean and not really waterproof. Perhaps with aftermarket screen and panniers it would rival if not beat other bikes of the same price range e.g. dare I say the V-Strom 650 - 😂 nah, surely not the Wee!

So, onwards from Crossgates I stopped by the Red Kite feeding centre but not for long, only wishing to find it and get a price for a visit later in the year, and then took a right just past Rhayader town into the Elan Valley. I dont think I've been here so early in the year and the valley seemed quite sparse and the grass was paler than usual. I didn't hang about through the valley and took that sublime road down to Devils Bridge and stopped for a cuppa at the Woodside cafe before taking the B4343 down to Tregaron. This road is just wonderful Welsh heaven, twisty, narrow and so picturesque as I approached Strata Florida Abbey where I stopped for a quick look at the church and the ruins. Worth stopping I'd say, to take in the history of the area and get a sense of the community based on Lead mines. Strata Florida means Vale of the flowers in Latin as I now understand.

 

 

Abbey Ruins.

 

 

 

Eventually, I ended up winding through Lampeter then on to Pumsaint and stopping at the cafe in Llandovery, a usual stop for other bikers and parked next to a nice looking Triumph Ace Cafe Thruxton Bonneville limited edition in black and white. Unfortunately I forgot to to take a picture, but I do like these bonnie variants, wouldn't mind one as a second bike I have to say 👍

Great day out, 'blatting' about Mid to South Wales, and with a smile back on my face again watching those Red Kites hovering about everywhere. Wonderful!