Sometimes it is easy to forget how Wild Wales can be! Here on our doorstep is a landscape of mountains, moss and lichen filled forests of oak and pine as well as peat bogs, all of which are more often than not very sparsely populated by people with tracks that are good to drive and sport the occasional “tough” bits to test you and your cars off road prowess.

This picture gives a good idea of the immensity of one of my favourite areas of Wales, Nant-y-Moch. This translates as “Stream of The Pig” but has been transformed by an enormous dam not far from the village of Ponterwyd into a vast wild lake that has filled the valleys of the mountains.

It used to be possible to spend a week deep within its tracks and hollows some of which had names that gave some indication of their difficulty – Paramedic was one to test your mettle. There were many more which unfortunately have now been declared Bridleways or Restricted Byways, a shame I think and completely unnecessary but I am one of the very fortunate ones who has in the past spent a week off roading in this part of Wales without more than a mile or two on tarmac.