Rally GB's route uncovered

Days don't get much better than this. The early autumn sun's just peaking over the trees, the Discovery 4 is fuelled and Rally GB co-ordinator Andrew Kellitt's sitting alongside. With breakfast behind us, we've turned left in Staylittle to find 19 of the nicest miles in the world waiting for us.

This is Hafren, where it's unlikely we're going to eclipse Sebastien Loeb's sub-19-minute effort on the identical route two years ago, but our agenda is different to the Frenchman's: we're here for a look at the first ever Rally GB to run entirely in Wales' top half.

We're trying to run through the stages at the right time, which is why we start with the first morning stage rather than the day one Gwydyr, Penmachno, Clocaenog night-time loop. More of those later.

Hafren's slightly different from last year in that it's not combined with Sweet Lamb, meaning we get the full glory again. The spectator entrance to the stage will take you up the west side of the Llyn Clywedog reservoir and into the heart of the woods, where there are an inordinate number of opportunities to watch the cars.

If you're up for a bit of a walk take the northern side of car park F and walk in from the hairpin left (junction 9), a corner which has plenty to offer given that the entry comes after a fast left-hander. There's a footpath all the way and with the trees cut away, you'll be able to see the cars coming from quite a distance.

Sweet Lamb 2008, and Mikko Hirvonen rolls his Ford © XPB

Hafren remains a classic: lovely quick and flowing from the start, it gets more technical as it progresses towards the finish. And all too soon we're over the line - although Loeb could have driven back to the start and come through the stage again and still beaten us!

Out through the gate and into Sweet Lamb. Nothing changes in this stage. Why would it? This is one of rallying's real gems. And it's an absolute doddle to get big numbers of spectators in off the A44.

The stage layout's the same as 2011, which means the big-balls dash down the hill, through the water, past the scene of Mikko Hirvonen's 2008 misdemeanour, through the water again and up and over the finish.

Crossing the A44, the third and final Saturday stage awaits. Myherin has become a permanent fixture of the mid-Wales Rally GB offering in recent years, but this is the first time that it will run in its full, undiluted form. It was scheduled to run to this length when it made its 2008 return, but the early arrival of winter rubbed nine of the intended 20 miles out. Since then it's taken a shorter route, until now.

The start is the same: it's a little bit of Colorado Springs right here inland from Aberystwyth. Through the hairpins now known as Pikes Peak and up over the fast, open section through the wind farm, the road then turns south-west and into the main spectating area.

There's an open 90-left at junction 16 (from car park H) which runs into half a mile of great viewing. The road flows beautifully, and the cars will carry speed, but they'll rarely be in a straight line. Today, our Land Rover's in a very straight line.

We head straight up the A470 and into Saturday. The second full day of Rally GB will be the longest of the season after the FIA granted dispensation for a 61-mile loop, 11 miles longer than is normally permitted between fitting fresh rubber or a visit to the service park.

The route through Gartheiniog has been tweaked to make it easier to get spectators in and the result is fantastic for you and me. Follow the signs through the telephone box junction (which no longer has a telephone box...) off the A470 just south of Aberangell and drive as far as you can through the car park - get up early, it'll be worth getting in there first.

A tight left hairpin awaits at junction four of Gartheiniog

This takes you right next to the start of the stage, so you can stand and watch World Rally Cars being launched off the line and straight into a hairpin left.

If you're super-keen to see one driver, it's just about possible to see them leave the start and then sprint to junction four, a relatively tight hairpin left.

For the even more keen, walk into the stage to the square left at the top of the hill then keep going for about a mile and you'll get to junction eight, where fabulous and far-reaching views of the stage are on offer.

This stage has been lengthened slightly from last time and now includes the fearsome run down what is known as the ski slope and into the fast right-hander at the bottom.

This is where Matthew Wilson crashed his Ford heavily on the 2005 Rally of Wales. With that shunt in mind, Kellitt's planning a chicane on the way into the corner.

It won't please the purists, but it will hopefully keep cars out of the trees. Regardless of the artificial addition, the last section will be a remarkable end to a great, great stage.

A quick liaison section through the woods takes us due south to Dyfi. And another classic, which is back to its best.

The surface is perfect - a similar make-up to Garth, but if anything smoother and potentially quicker.

"The Plains [Rally] was here in mid-May," says Kellitt. "But nothing has been in since. The road was worked on straight away and then left to bake through the summer, which is why it's in such good condition."

And it really is. Car park J offers a relatively unremarkable right-hander, although it does have a fantastic backdrop looking back up the valley.

But it's further into the stage that the best news comes. You'll notice that there's just one Dyfi stage on the menu for this year - that's because the resident in the middle of the test has granted permission for the cars to pass competitively past the bottom of his driveway.

On behalf of rally fans around the world, I'd like to thank him. He's done us - and the drivers - a great service.

Heading into the Dyfi forest

So, the famous Dyfi hairpins in the middle of the test will be driven at speed, before a cracking quick stretch into an open square left.

From where you'll be standing, you'll hear them coming, largely on the limiter, before they burst into sight. Great spot.

This comes from car park K, just south of Corris. Try and keep right at the fork just past the caravan park and, if there's still space, drive as far as possible (getting there early means you'll have less of a hill to climb...).

Then get out, stretch your legs and remember why we love rallying. The stage goes down to a hairpin left and winds its way back into the heart of the forest.

Nearing the finish, there's been some logging done. None of this caused Kellitt any concern, as the levelled tall trees will be here on the recce and it's up to the crews to note them as a hazard. But, when we emerge from the wood stacks, there's a quick left which does raise an eyebrow in the passenger seat.

He's not happy. We back up and have another look. Opposite the apex of the corner, there's nothing. Like nothing from a long way. The drop's not Alps big, but it's big enough.

"We might put some bales along there," he says.

Out of the stage and south on the A487, the satnav develops serious levels of fever spotting the source of the River Severn, which is just over a hill and in the middle of Hafren - you'd never think you were so close. Kellitt, of course, knew that all along.

"If," he says, ever so slightly wistfully, "we were making a linear route, we could make an incredible day linking up all of these stages."

In fairness, the day's not too tough: we're off to Dyfnant, while super-snapper Colin McMaster relaxes between stages with a bit of back-seat telly. Discovery 4 is definitely the way to travel...

If the sun's shining at lunchtime on Saturday, the view on the way into Dyfnant will be stunning. But good as this one is, it's still no match for the entrance to Penllyn.

Where it had been rolled, the surface in Dyfnant's not quite as hard-packed as Dyfi, but it's still lovely. And, in an effort to help drain the roads, the roller has gone into some of the ditches, positively encouraging drivers to drop a wheel in to hook the car through.

Junction 8 of Dyfnant

Car parks L and M have stacks to offer. The easy option is Junction 8, which is a straightforward hairpin left with a fast approach.

The hardcore option involves getting as far into M then walking to the crossing point at junction five. Once over the road walk through the trees alongside the stage and you'll find yourself at a double junction where you'll see the cars on a brace of right-handers.

From the spectator areas, the cars head north, with the vegetation becoming slightly more confusing as the stage progresses. This stage is less wood factory and more country park in places, no more so than in what will be a leaf-less hairpin left near the finish.

This stage is the last gravel test on Saturday and the first on Sunday morning. So, we've moved into our final day and follow the roadbook (we don't need one - Kellitt is the roadbook) to Penllyn and that mesmeric route crossing the county line from Powys to Gwynedd.

Kellitt's kicking himself when we get into the next test; technically, it is Penllyn. For rally folk, it'll always be Aberhirnant - a place not used by the world championship for almost 22 years to the day.

On Monday November 25, 1991, Colin McRae was fastest through the then nine-miler. This year, the stage is running in the opposite direction - which means the achingly quick downhill stretch towards the end will be taken on the incline soon after the start and straight out of a hairpin right made famous by that genius rally filmmaker Barrie Hinchcliffe.

We're further north again now and up towards open moorland, which means there are more sheep on the road. But not in the spectator area, which is set around a big, open square-right.

The reason the sheep are steering clear is the noise. It's two-stroke heaven here as the chainsaws slash through lower branches and machines chip the results to make sure you get the best possible view of what will be a great corner with big skids and long drifts.

Colin McRae in full flow in 2001 © LAT

The nature of this stage is quite different to where we've been, with some of the narrowest sections of the route and a great, log-loaded hairpin to finish with .

Talking of places we haven't been for a while, we've gone back in time. It's Thursday night now. More than that, we've swung into the Sixties - that is how long it's been since rally cars have been through this section of Gwydyr.

The complex itself returned for the Cambrian Rally last month, of course, but this is a first for the modern day world rally watcher.

Starting just outside of small town of Llanrwst, the bottom half of the stage is busy with recreational forest users, dog walkers and mountain bikers - this is indicative of the northernmost woods which are much more about leisure than making paper.

The surface is rock-hard and absolutely solid, as you'd expect for something which has had so long to bed in. Soon after the start, we're through a hairpin right in a scene which definitely has the feel of a Grizedale or Lake District stage.

"That's the first corner of the rally done," says Kellitt, reminding us that we're in the first competitive stage.

Furthering the Cumbrian connection, Kellitt adds that geologically the two areas aren't a million miles apart; heading around 50 miles north and east a fraction would probably have you slap bang in the middle of Whinlatter.

After a gentle climb the road curves into a tightening, open left, which is where you'll be standing if you come to watch here. If you do, bring a torch and be careful where you stand - there are disused lead mines everywhere!

The stage is lovely - a little green in places, but a great surface. There's a significant change near the end of the test, where a mile-long loop has been graded with some pretty big rocks, sourced from the side of a hill near the end of the stage.

It will have settled by now, but there was definitely a hint of concern from Kellitt.

High in the hills of the Conwy valley, we nose our way out of SS1 and into SS2, Penmachno. The return of another giant. The surface in here is great as well. Yes, there's the odd muddy section, but this causes no concern.

"We don't need to grade this," smiles Kellitt, "this is bedrock. This is planet earth."

Navigating the logs on Penllyn

The stage flows beautifully with only a couple of hairpins in the second half of the test slowing the tempo. The road surface nearer the end isn't quite as nice, but we are definitely splitting hairs here. Spectator wise, use car park D for a pretty unspectacular 90 left.

Or go to Clocaenog.

Which is what we've done. Our final gravel stage is the final Thursday night test.

We're on the east side of the forest close to the hamlet of Clocaenog. And this one is really out of character with the others, with square junction coming after square junction.

That said, it's a rapid run into the spectator area, a nicely cambered 90-left with a surface change in the middle of the corner. In the dark, it'll be a special place to be.

Access is off the B5105, west of Clawddnewydd. One of the most interesting sections of the stage is a half-mile straight where a fully committed and totally confident driver could pull some serious time.

I struggle to describe this one and leave Kellitt with head in hands when I mark the note as 'jinky'. Whatever it is, I'll bet somebody overshoots the 90-right at the end of this section. We did.

Corner turned, it's my turn to be floored as Kellitt and McMaster engage in a Foxglove-based discussion.

And then, we're done with the woods.

Discovery well and truly dirtied, we head for the hall and castle to run through Kinmel and Chirk - both of which are a great addition for the WRC newcomer and those after some gold old Mickey Mouse retro fun.

After that, it's time for a lap of the Great Orme. Except we can't really enter into the spirit - and pictures are pointless - as the competition takes the drivers the wrong way down Llandudno's most famous one-way toll road.

The half-mile Clocaenog straight offers potential gains for the brave

Running it towards the town's pier does ensure a lovely finish picture underneath a very old looking archway with the Irish Sea in the background.

If you're going to the Orme, you really do need to get in there early - parking is very, very limited and it's still a hike to the side of the stage.

Also, don't forget the parking is on private land, so even with your GB stage ticket, you'll still have to have a fiver handy for the fella on his gate.

Parking in town and walking in is an option, but only for those who really like walking. Don't forget to take a waterproof. You'll be a long way from the car and the weather can change in the blink of an eye.

Andrew Kellitt made the route for this year's Rally GB. So, where would the man in the know go?

It's been a while since I went and spectated on a rally, but if I was heading out to watch this week, I'd go to Llandudno for the pre-start holding area.

This is outside Venue Cymru at 1700 on Thursday afternoon. The cars and the drivers will be in one place for an hour; it's a great chance to get some pictures and some autographs before the action gets going.

Or, if you want to see the start, you could go for Conwy, where the ceremony is going to quite literally light up the castle.

After that, I'd be on my way to the spectator area in Clocaenog. It's not a difficult place to get into and the atmosphere in the woods will be great.

Kellitt says Saturday comes down to a choice between Gartheiniog and Dyfi

Clocaenog is famed for its long straights into tight corners and the noise of the cars coming through the stage will be one of the features here. Night-time rallying is all about the ambiance and there will be plenty of that.

Friday has to be Sweet Lamb. It's the easy option and the best option for watching rally cars in their own environment comfortably. With this one being a RallyFest stage, there will be plenty of facilities offering food and shelter if the weather turns wet.

Once you've parked up, there are lots of options of where to watch the cars in Sweet Lamb as well - and don't forget one of the national rallies follows the international field here. Between the two runs of Sweet Lamb, you will be watching around 200 rally cars.

Saturday is a tough choice between Dyfi and Gartheiniog. It depends what you want to watch - if you wanted to see the cars going off the line or into a tight hairpin right then you'd go to Garth, but if you want to hear and watch the cars for quite a long time then probably better to get up on the top in Dyfi.

Either way the spectating will be great, but for me it would probably be Dyfi - the noise of the cars will really carry up there.

And, don't forget, on Saturday there's no service between the loops, so the gap between the first and second international runs will only be around half an hour. And you'll then have both national events, which means another 100 cars coming your way.

I'd make an earlyish start to Sunday morning and get into Dyfnant, where there are lots of options from the car park.

After that it would be a drive back to Llandudno and the decision of whether to go to the Great Orme to watch the cars in action or to the finish to watch the winners celebrating.