Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I'd love to know what you all think about having a holiday here
http://www.penlan.co.uk/the-park.html
with a view to using it as a base for touring the area.

I know that many many people ride from England into Wales just to go riding, but I don't think that happens much south of Brecon.
Out here, I'd expect people to come down, stay somewhere and then go exploring.

What makes you decide to go abroad or stay here during the summer?.
Where have you been in Wales?.
Where have you stayed?.
What do you need as a motorcyclist on holiday?
What do you most often lack as a motorcyclist on holiday?.
How many of you go on holiday as a group?.
What would be your upper limit for accomodation?.
Bearing in mind the speed limits, how far would you expect to ride in a day whilst on holiday?.
Would you be interested in activities that don't involve bikes?.
Would a workshop or secure parking be a decision-changing factor?.

We're in the process of buying this park, and I'm trying to establish potential income streams, then assess their cost-benefit impact on our existing resources.

I know these roads, and apart from some dodgy surfaces there's some outstandingly beautiful scenery, and it's not far from Brecon and their traditional stomping grounds.
It's closer to Cardigan, with its beautiful rivermouth harbour and surrounding beaches (christ, I sound like a f3cking timeshare git).

I've done enough riding to know what i want at a cafe when i stop for food and drink, but i've never been on holiday on the bike, so I don't know what's desirable and what can be offered that usually isn't.

The more replies i get, the more i can find out how the park, club, pool and other stuff can be used.
Thanking you in advance...

I am quite sure I won't be in Wales anytime soon, however, this is what I think anyway.

My friend and I did a road trip for a couple of weeks and ate and stayed in a wide variety of places. A few times we sought out a hotel with a pool and hot tub thinking it would be a wonderful way to finish off a long day.

Unfortunately, the pool was filled with jumping, running, screaming kids. Hotel management did nothing to make them calm down. The parents of those kids just let them be wild.
All of that is fine if it early in the evening. But at some point, the amenities should be adult only. If there is a time limit for children, then that time limit needs to be adhered to. Adults who have been travelling/riding all day need a place to wind down and having a pool full of screaming kids does not do it.

The same would apply to an exercise room or a pool table. It's fine to have kids providing they are supervised, but there needs to be a time when the kids have to leave so that adults with no kids may have some "quiet" time to shoot a game of pool or get on a stairmaster or whatever.

Thanks for the suggestions.
Do you find that there are many places which do segregate children and adults or have quite areas or times?.

Personally, I just prefer a tent and an empty field. If I do get soaked or tired or miserable and want to find something more comfortable I look out for a B&B for the night. I wouldn't normally stay in a place like the one in your link if I were on a riding holiday. Too much like what I'm running away from (not that I have a pool in my back garden, you understand. )

I love Wales though. I bike there and I walk there from time to time and occasionally (when I was a weensy bit fitter ) I used to cycle there as well. Most times I head up to the Betws-y-Coed area and strike out from there on two wheels or two legs . But I've also walked/ridden/cycled the south coast, the Beacons, Pembrokeshire, Anglesey and parts of the north coast as well. I have a friend with a cottage at the foot of Snowdon, which is very nice.

I tend to holiday in the UK during the summer and go abroad in February or in the autumn to catch the best of the weather. But I also get itchy feet and just go somewhere, anywhere, on a whim sometimes.

Normally I would go alone or with a couple of friends. Occasionally I go with a larger group.

Normally I'd ride between 0 miles and 700 per day abroad. In the UK, between 0 and 500. On my last holiday on Scottish single track roads, I averaged 250 miles/day

Welsh Al wrote:Thanks for the suggestions.
Do you find that there are many places which do segregate children and adults or have quite areas or times?.

It's not so much as segregated areas as making the children leave at a reasonable hour so that the adults may have an hour or so of quiet time.

Here is an example. Last fall, I was in a hotel in Calgary. There was a pool and a hot tub side by side. The children were running around from pool to hot tub to pool to hot tub......

I finally gave up waiting for the kids to leave, so I went to the hot tub hoping to soak my weary muscles in hot jetted water.
The water level was low, the pool was gritty and the temperature was only mildly warm.
Plus.....the kids would cannonball into the pool causing great cold splashes into the hot tub.

Not a pleasant or relaxing experience.

That's my 2 cents. (or pence or shilling)

I've got more fingers than I've had holidays, so getting responses like you guys have provided is superb.
Thanks both of you.

Now for a google search for 'cages: reinforced: child-sized'

I've stayed in a cottage by Lyn Crafnant a few times, mostly in Winter. Your place looks attractive as long as you can avoid it turning into Butlins Some sort of secure parking would be an obvious benefit.

Yes.

I spent my childhood holidays in Wales at Rhyl and there abouts Llandudno springs to mind
I used to visit my girlfriend in Bangor every weekend at Uni.

I sailed to Angellsey from Liverpool
I've been to Worms Head, the Gower, Splott nr Cardiff
Up Snowdon on Boxing Day
Done the Dragon Rally
and generally messed about in Wales quite a lot. I still eat Welsh Rarebit too.
I do like the borders too, Ross on Wye and symmons Yat being particularly good bike riding areas.

I live in the Midlands for many years. Wales become less attractive when I moved to Colchester and is even less likely to have me pop over now I'm in Seattle.

But yes, I'd recommend Wales, just avoid the marrauding male voice choirs who can terrorise you with their harmonies.

Interestingly, I've been reading a Brit travel book and just stopped at the chapter to Wales the other day. Someday I'd love to travel up there, but in my usual style, I plan my own things, then just fly by the seat of my pants, usually living in rather adverse conditions doesnt kill me... but i really have never found much reason to plan too heavily in advance on trips, but then again, i've never been overseas riding, so we'll see when the time comes... still lots of trips to make over here before hitting the castles and forests of Great Britain.