The 2027 season · Four days
Wales, from border to coast and back again. A curated journey through some of the finest driving country in Wales: sweeping mountain roads, monumental dams, remote valleys, high passes and dramatic lakes, stitched together into one unforgettable Valenza Privé experience.
13 to 17
April 2027
4
Days
4
Nights
1
Country
The tour
Wales has more good road per mile than anywhere else in Britain, and almost nobody on it. The Dragon Run strings the best of it together in four days, close enough to drive from home, and runs in April, before the summer traffic, when the valleys are green and the roads are empty.
Why April? Do not be put off by its name for showers. In our experience, when the weather breaks the roads empty and Wales is at its most beautiful; we may even see the odd snow-capped mountain.
Itinerary indicative until dates are confirmed. Priced per person, two sharing, released with the 2027 dates to members first.
The dams of the Elan Valley, above Rhayader.
Where the tour gathers, where it spends each night and where it finishes. The roadbook carries every turn.
The day by day
Arrival at the Celtic Manor Resort. Welcome drinks, a sit-down dinner and introductions, with the directors taking everyone through the week ahead. Radio kits are handed out and Johnny gives the communications briefing. A restful night, with the whole hotel and spa open to every member.
Cross the Severn. Black Mountain. Pure theatre. The party gathers at Newport, just over the bridge, and heads west for the Black Mountain, the finest stretch of tarmac in the south, before the first night near Llanwrtyd Wells.
Dams. Moors. Mountain roads. The Elan reservoirs above Rhayader, the open moor above them, and the mountain roads north to Bala.
Llanberis. Ogwen. Eryri. The heart of the mountains, then down to the Conwy coast at Deganwy.
Berwyns to the Wye finale. Over the Berwyns and south again, to finish at Llyswen in the Wye Valley.
The roads
Named here because they are the point. Each one driven in full, in season, before a member sees it.
The A4069 over the Black Mountain from Llangadog, the finest stretch of tarmac in the south of Wales: open, fast and empty, with the whole of the Tywi valley falling away below it.
The reservoir roads above Rhayader, the great stone dams and the water on one side and open moor on the other, and almost nobody on them.
The A4086 up from Capel Curig and over Pen-y-Pass beneath Snowdon, the mountain road of north Wales, taken early in the morning before anyone else is on it.
The A5 from Capel Curig past Llyn Ogwen, under the face of Tryfan, and down through Nant Ffrancon, the valley the glaciers cut.
The high road over the Berwyn mountains on the way south, the last of the big country before the Wye.
The river road down the Wye to Llyswen, where the run ends.
Lake Vyrnwy, in the Berwyns.
Included in the price
One price for each car and the two of you in it, with all of this included.
Chosen and stayed in by us first. Every night of the tour, with breakfast, and secure parking for the car.
Exceptional food, carefully chosen and tasted by us beforehand.
A drink waiting in the bar on the first evening, once the cars are parked and the luggage is up, and the party introduced.
A tour leader with the party from the first morning to the last, setting the pace, running the day and settling the small things before you notice them. Every car is given a radio, so the party stays in touch on the road and the team can see where each car is.
Designed for the club, for the drive rather than the distance, and driven in full by us before a member sees them.
The roads and the evenings are professionally photographed and filmed as they happen, and shared with the party in the members' area afterwards.
A printed roadbook and route cards for the car, with each day's route on your phone in the members' area, and a discreet club decal for the car.
Hotels, timings, parking and the day's changes handled behind the scenes, with the team on call for the whole of the tour.
Good to know
The things members ask before they book, answered here rather than by return of email.
Booking
Membership comes first. Ask to join from the membership page; once you are a member, every tour is booked from your own members’ area.
A reference is issued, the price and the deposit are fixed as they stand that day, and the place is held for the deposit until a date printed on the booking. The deposit goes by bank transfer into the club’s trust account.
The balance is due by the date on the booking, into the same account. Then the insurance declaration, and the roadbook arrives before you do.
Fuel, tolls and vignettes, ferries and tunnels unless listed, lunches on driving days unless stated, recovery and parts, and your motor insurance, which must be valid in every country visited. Other meals are at your leisure. Members drive and insure their own vehicles. We do not and cannot verify anyone’s cover, and an insurer may treat an organised event as excluded, so confirm with yours in writing before you book.
Every payment you make towards a tour is held in the club's designated trust account, separate from the club's own money, until the day the tour departs.
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