BIKE & HIKE Pontypool Folly & Roman Road

I've heard stories about this place since I first arrived in Wales. Following the suggestion from Ivor of the Kingfishers that we make the visit and look for the roman road - the decision was made; we would go on our next group ride!

 
Notorious for having been torn down during WWII for fear that German bombers would use it as a marker for locating military installations; most notably the arms factory in Glascoed near Usk, the Folly Tower was finally rebuilt to it's 18th century glory and reopened in 1994.

Ride Report Card
Ride Name:	Pontypool Folly
Ride Date:	August 15, 2017
Distance:	73.3 mi
Duration:	12:28:44
Moving Time:	06:42:45
Elevation:	+ 4520 / - 4518 ft
Avg. Speed:	10.9 mph
Weather:	Sun!
Temperature:	18°c / 64°f

Like so many places in Wales... it takes a climb and a will along with a healthy does of fortitude to make the ascent up the ridge behind Pontypool Park to reach the folly.

John, Ivor, and Eric "hoof-it" to the top.

Once at the top, the views are well worth the effort. As you can see, we had a nearly 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding valleys.

20 miles to our south the Ebbw River Valley and Rhymney River Valley flatten out and merge into the Bristol Channel at Newport, which is visible along the far horizon.

A large portion of our visit involved simply wandering about and looking. Someone points out something, another finds a little detail of interest. It's quite a spiritual thing to stand on a hill and look at the world around you. It makes you consider so much about yourself and your place.

And even though you can never really answer your own silly metaphysical questions on the huge nature of meaning, when standing at such a place, on such a fabulous day, it just feels damn good to look and think.

And then it's time to head off. Reluctantly, we meander across the thick grass looking for something we may have missed... looking at what we've already seen one more time... placing little images in our mind to take with us.

The Roman Road?

So we set off again for our next adventure! Heading north and down the hill a short distance we left the paved road for a VERY rough trail into the woods. Clearly this was not for cycling. And so we climbed off our trusty steeds and began the slow navigation whilst pushing our bikes through the thick growth leading onto "The Roman Road".

Traveling along a route 2,000 years old is "hard to get yer head around". But there we were... pushing our bicycles through VERY thick vegetation, along a VERY slippery descent of wet cobbled stones. Partially a path at best, but mostly a creek at it's worst, we followed this "road" for nearly a mile.

As we moved further down the hill, the path slowly levelled and became a bit smoother. It was at this point the stones started to form a recognisable pattern. Yes! You could see that this was indeed a road... a well made road!

Look at that! There is no doubt about it.

So I searched online for more information on this "road" and I have to admit that my results are mixed. While some folks claim that it is indeed Roman, others claim that it is much newer.

And so we continued further down the road to where we met more modern pavement just above the M&B Canal.

You can smell the cold stone of the bridge and the musty green leaves and dampness permeates the air as light fights through the thick canopy overhead.

Eric waves "so long" as John sorts his gear and Ivor races ahead on open road.

Whilst searching for more information on the road, I found this blog, which seems interesting and could tie in nicely with my "Bike n' Hike" plans. So, dear reader, if you have any pertinent information you'd like to pass along... drop me a note in the comments section below.

One last photo looking back... I am a lucky boy.

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Relevant Links:

• Pontypool Folly Tower
• Pontypool Circular Walk
• Walking the Blog
• Weatherman Walking

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