THE BACK STORY
May 2018: Dave Talbot was asked (by the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales) to lead a 7 day trekking route across Wales, that finished in Cardiff Bay. After some map-time Dave plotted a route from Machynlleth to Cardiff featuring Glyndwrs Way, The Wye Valley Walk and The Black Mountains.
May 2019: Dave led a large group of Noah's Ark fundraisers on this 200km+ journey. It was dubbed the "Great Welsh Walk" and was a fantastic success, raising £65,000 much need funds for the charity's work.
May 2019: Dave led a large group of Noah's Ark fundraisers on this 200km+ journey. It was dubbed the "Great Welsh Walk" and was a fantastic success, raising £65,000 much need funds for the charity's work.
BIRTH OF GWU
December 2019: Dave and Mike were chatting about the route with a shared appreciation of how beautiful mid-Wales is. Mike re-counted his experience of the ITERA Expedition Race in 2014 - his favourite sections were beyond Machynlleth and across the Cambrian Mountains. Dave waxed lyrical about the serene River Wye, the peaceful trails, and the Waun Fach Ridge.
It dawned on them that the Great Welsh Walk would be a fabulous ultramartahon. Thus the GWU was born.
The original date for the inaugural GWU200 was to be in May 2021, however after a very disrupted 2 years due to the pandemic and related Government restrictions, it has now been postponed until May 2023.
Will you be on the start line?
It dawned on them that the Great Welsh Walk would be a fabulous ultramartahon. Thus the GWU was born.
The original date for the inaugural GWU200 was to be in May 2021, however after a very disrupted 2 years due to the pandemic and related Government restrictions, it has now been postponed until May 2023.
Will you be on the start line?
MACHYNLLETH
Machynlleth is an historic market town in the Dyfi Valley, at the western extremity of the old county of Montgomeryshire.
The town itself developed during the medieval period. An important early date in the town's history was 1291 when Edward I granted a royal charter to Owen de la Pole, Lord of Powys, allowing him to hold a weekly market every Wednesday and two fairs a year. Over 700 years later the Wednesday market is still thriving.
Machynlleth occupies a special place in Welsh history. It was here in 1404 that Owain Glyndwr, a rebel against the English crown, was proclaimed Prince of Wales in the presence of envoys from France, Scotland and Castile.
Glyndwr held a parliament, a gathering of representatives from across Wales, possibly at the building now known as the Owain Glyndwr Centre. In 1406 he issued his famous Pennal Letter from the church at Pennal, just a few miles to the west. After his rebellion faltered Glyndwr went into hiding in the Machynlleth area.
On the basis of hosting Glyndwr's parliament Machynlleth is billed as 'the ancient capital of Wales'. Each September the Glyndwr Festival celebrates Owain Glyndwr's legacy and marks the beginning of his rebellion against the English in the 1400s.
The town itself developed during the medieval period. An important early date in the town's history was 1291 when Edward I granted a royal charter to Owen de la Pole, Lord of Powys, allowing him to hold a weekly market every Wednesday and two fairs a year. Over 700 years later the Wednesday market is still thriving.
Machynlleth occupies a special place in Welsh history. It was here in 1404 that Owain Glyndwr, a rebel against the English crown, was proclaimed Prince of Wales in the presence of envoys from France, Scotland and Castile.
Glyndwr held a parliament, a gathering of representatives from across Wales, possibly at the building now known as the Owain Glyndwr Centre. In 1406 he issued his famous Pennal Letter from the church at Pennal, just a few miles to the west. After his rebellion faltered Glyndwr went into hiding in the Machynlleth area.
On the basis of hosting Glyndwr's parliament Machynlleth is billed as 'the ancient capital of Wales'. Each September the Glyndwr Festival celebrates Owain Glyndwr's legacy and marks the beginning of his rebellion against the English in the 1400s.
The Wynnstay Arms Hotel, in view of the Clock Tower, Machynlleth
CARDIFF
Cardiff (Caerdydd) exists as both a city and a county within the Welsh unitary authority system of local government. It is located within the historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg) on the Bristol Channel at the mouth of the River Taff. The origins of its name are a point of debate but are widely believed to have come from an English corruption of the original Welsh title Caer-Taff (Fort on the Taff)
Cardiff’s expansion stemmed from the development of coal and iron ore mines around Merthyr Tydfil, to the north, beginning in the second half of the 18th century. In 1794 the Glamorganshire Canal opened between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff, and in 1798 the first dock was built at the canal’s Cardiff terminus.
The railways arrived in the mid-1800s and connected Cardiff with the industrial and mining hinterland. Additional docks were completed in 1859, and the developing iron industry in the hinterland brought more traffic to Cardiff, which was designated a city in 1905. Cardiff’s port was repeatedly expanded, and by 1913 Cardiff had become the largest coal-exporting port in the world.
Cardiff was proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955. Although the city hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1958, Cardiff only became a centre of national administration with the establishment of the Welsh Office in 1964. Cardiff is also the home of the devolved Welsh parliament.
More recently the Millennium Centre was built - the end point of your 200km journey from Machyllenth.
Cardiff’s expansion stemmed from the development of coal and iron ore mines around Merthyr Tydfil, to the north, beginning in the second half of the 18th century. In 1794 the Glamorganshire Canal opened between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff, and in 1798 the first dock was built at the canal’s Cardiff terminus.
The railways arrived in the mid-1800s and connected Cardiff with the industrial and mining hinterland. Additional docks were completed in 1859, and the developing iron industry in the hinterland brought more traffic to Cardiff, which was designated a city in 1905. Cardiff’s port was repeatedly expanded, and by 1913 Cardiff had become the largest coal-exporting port in the world.
Cardiff was proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955. Although the city hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1958, Cardiff only became a centre of national administration with the establishment of the Welsh Office in 1964. Cardiff is also the home of the devolved Welsh parliament.
More recently the Millennium Centre was built - the end point of your 200km journey from Machyllenth.
The Millennium Centre awaits your arrival in Cardiff
There will be 7 checkpoints on your journey from Machynlleth to Cardiff
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