The Irish Mail Event Details| Audax UK - The Long Distance Cyclists' Association

The Irish Mail Upton Magna, Shrewsbury Humphrey Dunn

400Km

Summary

413Km cycling event starting from Upton Magna, Shrewsbury.

Controls at

Start
Bala
Porthmadog
Llanberis
Holyhead
Llandygai Services
Glyndyfrdwy
Upton Magna
Plus 4 information controls

E-Brevet permitted.

Description

The return of the classic Shrewsbury to Holyhead (and back) route, crossing the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in both directions. Stunning scenery guaranteed. Good preparation/training for those tackling LEL 2025.
Based on the original route by John Hamilton, the outward route takes you first gently up the Vyrnwy Valley, on scenic roads over wild mountain terrain, then across the Menai Straits to the end of the world landscapes of Anglesey and the port of Holyhead.

The return mostly follows the route of Thomas TelfordsÆ coach road built for the Irish Mail from London to Dublin in the early 1800s, which makes for an easy to navigate night section. A control at Glyndyfrdwy will be available through the night for refreshments, before the final push to the finish.

The route crosses some remote areas where you'll be some distance from civilisation and mobile phone coverage is not always guaranteed.

Whilst this is overall quite a hilly ride, with nearly 5,000m of climbing (5 AAA points), the majority of this is in the section between Llanfyllin and Llanberis with around 2,000m in this 100km section. However, this means that (with the exception of a couple of long climbs on the return leg) the rest of the event is not too fearsome.

The full route can be viewed here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50555052