Tandem cycling from Brecon to Swansea with stunning Cray Reservoir drone footage and a surprise reunion with the CTC Swansea — scenic roads, missed paths, and canal-side camaraderie!
Join us on an unforgettable tandem cycling journey from Brecon to Swansea, taking in breathtaking views as we climb the main roads toward the Cray Reservoir, where John captured stunning drone footage of the Welsh countryside. After a brief detour from a missed cycle path, we found a safer scenic route that led us straight into an unexpected reunion with our CTC Swansea cycling club, who were out canoeing along the canal! From epic climbs to friendly faces, this ride had it all — beautiful landscapes, adventurous twists, and classic cycling camaraderie. Perfect inspiration for anyone planning a cycle route in South Wales or seeking the best tandem bike adventures in Wales.
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📍 Route Highlights:
* Brecon to Cray Reservoir climb
* Stunning drone footage over Welsh countryside
* Missed cycle path detour (oops!)
* Safe scenic alternative found
* Surprise reunion with the CTC Swansea canoeing crew
Tandem cycling Brecon to Swansea | Cray Reservoir drone footage | South Wales cycling vlog | Cycling Wales | CTC Swansea | Bike touring Brecon Beacons | Scenic cycling in Wales
#TandemCycling #CyclingAdventure #BikeTouring #CyclingVlog #SouthWalesCycling #BreconBeacons #CrayReservoir #WalesByBike #CTCSwansea #CyclingCouple #DroneFootage #ScenicCycling #AdventureCycling #ExploreWales
After cycling the Taff Trail, we
stayed in the Wellington Hotel for a few nights and explored the
small market town of Brecon. [Music] With our trailer all packed up, it was time
to get back on Tilly for our ride home. It was a beautiful sunny morning, though
the wind had started to pick up a bit. We were going to follow the main road
out of town and take the most direct route until we reached the cycle
path further along the way. There’s a roundabout up here. We got to go
right round it, don’t we? [Music] It’s not this one, is it? Keep going, keep going, keep going [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Done that. Been there. Done that. [Music] oof a mala goo [Music] You got boobs you have Oh, it’s on camera. Forgot. This is just the first
of one of John’s many different expressions. [Music] Come on Mr. Caravan, giving you the option,
please go. It only takes one nervous driver to hesitate to overtake and then there’s
a bottleneck. When they do decide to go, it’s usually the worst possible time. I like to
think that they’re in awe of us on our tandem. [Music] Llan fanny angel.
And he went, “Oh, you bloody idiot.” No. He said it in Welsh. Yeah. And
I said to him, “Oh, that’s Llan fanny angel. [Music] its where we met that car isn’t it. We had another narrow miss
here on the very same stretch of road that we can’t include on this video as it was reported
to the police and is currently going through the judicial process. Suffice to say, it was
nerve-wracking and left us a bit shaken. [Music] We got to go through those mountains.
Those are not mountains. And that’s the Cray. They’re hills. [Music] Crist love,
old innit. There’s a quaint place now [Music] Hey, hey, hi. We come through a little little bit for now and
we’re going up by that mountain by there. Going between it. We are. And again, what’s with
the mountains? It’s not. It’s a hill. [Music] surprising [Music] how far that mountain is. I can’t be doing this.
It’s not a mountain. It’s a hill. I keep saying they’re called the Brecon Beacons. Love, not the
Brecon Mountains. They are the Brecon Beacons. [Music] Arsey bum seat bum bum. What’s yours
like? Arsey bum seat bum bum. It’s like he has a language all of his own…. This my father used to reckon
was the tank bridge. This is where they used to bring the tanks
before going up. He said anyway. Oh, I’m going get some drone footage of uh Pushka
Pushka land…. that only he understands. [Music] [Music] [Music] . [Music][Music] It’s pretty pretty gradual climb up. See,
this isn’t a climb climb. We’ve done the worst. [Music] We take our time on here
now, right? It’s almost sacrilege to say, but we have to keep our brakes on
going down these hills because of the the trailer. I explained in a previous video,
the weight of the trailer pushes us forward, and if you go over a certain speed, then it
can start to wobble and cause a jack knife. [Music] As we’d cycled through this village, I’d
noticed what I thought was a scarecrow in the garden. And I thought, that’s a pretty
scarecrow. But then I saw a few others, and I thought, what’s going on here? I don’t
know if there’d been a carnival or something. [Music] [Music] [Music] There’s a path down there. There’s a path running
right through. I think that could be ours. Yeah, there it is. Goes across our road. The one
we going on. Right. Hold tight. Hold tight. Hold tight. Yeah. Uh, not as much
left. Keep going. We’re going out towards the right now. Down to the right
a bit. Are we going to get off the road here now? I’m not sure if it’s down here.
Was it? Right. We got off by No, not here. Have we missed it. Should
have gone off at the cafe. Sorry love. You did say cafe, cafe, cafe,
cafe. Well, that was a bad one my It was my I’m to blame, I admit that. Motto
of the story is listen to your stoker. It wasn’t a big deal because it was
only just down the road anyway that we were able to get onto this cycle path.
Yeah, I know. I can see it, I can see it [Music] So we got to steady now all
the way to Morriston [Music] Oh. Oh, look at these. [Music] That’s a big
one. So, how do you cut that down there? You have to pull it off the bank cuz if you cut the
bottom, right, the whole lot will come down. Before he retired, one of John’s jobs had been as
a tree cutter, and he’d felled loads and loads of trees in Penllegare Valley Woods, making way for
the new car park and cafe that had been built. [Music] [Music] Hello. Hello. [Music] Cheers. [Music] It’s Wendy and Oscar. It’s It’s the CTC. Wendy
and Oscar. CTC. I thought we’d have missed you all together. No we’re still here. We’re on
the last ride canoe ride of the afternoon. Oh, are you enjoying it? You can get
canoes with two people mind. Well, I know. I said that and he said, “No, I want to
see you doing it on your own.” Isn’t he awful? Yeah. Come on. Put a bit of effort bit of effort
into it. Is it Is it Is it just the four of you? No, that’s okay. The others
have probably finished. We’ll go see who we can find then. There’s another four. Hello! Come on, you’re blocking the path. I said
to him, he said, “everything all right?” I said, “Yeah.” I said, “Uh, I thought it was
a bike shed, not a bed shed.” He said, “Oh, we’re clearing it on the weekend.”
I thought, “That’s no bloody good, is it? Yeah. Here they are. No sign of Josie. Or. No. They’ve
been blackberry picking. Josie and Alison. Yeah. Just see them going now and we’ll
trundle on. It was a treat for us to see our friends from our local bike
club, the CTC Swansea. We spent a while chatting with them before setting
off for the final push home. [Music] The Tilly Two ride side by side through winding paths where dreams collide.
Kay and John hearts open wide, together where the world won’t hide. Hop on the trail where
rivers run. A tandem life beneath the sun. Old and new. We’re passing through.
The world unfolds with the Tilly Two. Maps are folded. Stars our
guide, the whispering forest, the ocean tides. Every town holds tales
untold, with every turn we find pure gold Tilly rolls through storms, through
rain, through joy and laughter, even pain. The wheels keep turning,
the journey grows. Where we’ll end up nobody knows. Hop on the trail where the
rivers run. A tandem life beneath the sun Old and new, we’re passing through.
The world unfolds with the Tilly Two [Music] miss. Where did that go? [Music] The Tilly Two Mountains high and sunsets low. Through
bustling streets where winds may blow. Kay and John hold steady and true. A tandem
heart in a world of hues. Hop on the trail where the rivers run. A tandem life beneath
the sun. Old and new. We’re passing through. The world unfolds with the
Tilly Two [Music] with the Tilly Two [Music] Tilly rolls through storms through rain through
joy and laughter even pain. The wheels keep turning the journey grows. where we’ll end up
nobody knows [Music] where noone knows[Music] Tilly rode through storms through
rain through joy and laughter even pain, the wheels keep turning, the journeys
grows, where we’ll end up nobody knows. We cycled up through the small town of Morriston
to pick up our local cycle tracks for about another four miles or so to home [Music]
Kay and John hold steady and true, a tandem heart in a
world of hues [Music] Hop on the trail where the rivers run. A tandem
life beneath the sun. Old and new passing through. The world unfolds with the Tilly Two. A tandem
heart in a world of hues. Oo wo with the Tilly Two world on Tilly Two [Music] We hope you’ve enjoyed this trip and
we look forward to you joining us on our next adventure. Please consider dropping us a comment
or a thumbs up. It would really be appreciated.
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