THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBES

Nothing to do with the fantasy novel for children written by C.S.Lewis, but an opportunity to travel over the fantastic Central Wales route with a pair of Class 20s. ‘The Lion’ comes from the Royal Standard as we start in England. ‘The Witch’ comes from the witches of Powys, one of the Welsh counties we travel through,  ‘The Wardrobes’……..well obvious really!

On departure from Crewe, we will call at Shrewsbury and Craven Arms before diverging on to the Central Wales line.

This line is known as the Heart of Wales Line and initially staddles the border between England and Wales. We pass through Knighton, which sits on Offa’s Dyke and the traditional border between England & Wales. From there it is onward to Llandrindod Wells where there will a leg stretching break of around 45 minutes. Heading south we pass through Llanwrtyd Wells (home of the world bog snorkelling championships) before attacking the climb to the top of Sugar Loaf Summit and the tiny halt of Sugar Loaf itself.

From here we cross the Cynghordy Viaduct before passing through the towns of Llandovery, Llandeilo and Ammanford arriving at Pantyffynnon. Continuing south we reach Hendy Jn (not named after the Lord!) before traversing the Swansea District Line avoiding the city of Swansea and then the South Wales Main Line to arrive at our destination of Cardiff, the capital of the Principality.

After a break of a couple of hours we will set off on our return journey, this time taking the Welsh Marches route from Newport to Shrewsbury, including the ascent of Llanvihangel Summit north of Abergavenny. The scenery of both the Heart of Wales and Welsh Marches routes is stunning and fully recommended.