Will be leaving Pembroke Dock and headed Manchester way but can’t use m4 a449 etc so will be going up through wales it’s self anyone know of any good parking places lay-bys industrial estates etc
Thanks in advance
Leominster is not a bad place to stop its sign posted for the truck park it’s a pay and display type one if your going across country.
Why can’t you go down to Swansea then across the heads of the valley’s road then up it’s the quickest way especially if your heavy??
Did I see you today ? Near Newport ■■?
Hirwaun Industrial Estate off the A465… nice and quiet…or is that not far enough up ■■?
Kate:
Did I see you today ? Near Newport ■■?
Who me?? If so no I’m on the south coast today back oop norf tomorrow 
If your going heads of the valleys you got Abergavenny where you can park in the town.
Further north you have the BP in Ross on Wye which has everything you need for a night out.
If the weather is as good as it’s been forcast then goto Upton on Severn 
Come off at jnt 1 on the M50 turn left on the A38 and go up there for a few miles and keep and eye out for a caravan place on your right then after that it’s the next left sign posted for Upton on Severn,over the bridge and turn right you will see the car park right in front of you.
It’s a lovely village and having a pint beside the river in the sunshine makes this job what it should be all about.
Hope this helps.
Edited to add that Upton on Severn ain’t in Wales and neither is Ross on Wye!! Before anyone asks!! 
Abergavenny very good, you can park in the bus station. Lovely pub just a few minutes walk up the hill (Hen and Chickens) where you can get a bowl of cawl with bread and a lump of cheese for less than a fiver.
Tbh dudes none of us who’re based down this far west would touch the m4, look at a map* and you’ll see how far east (and south) you go before you go north. You save an hour or so on the whole thing by going up A470/A483, as long as you’re not too tall for the 15’3" bridge at Newtown. However if you’re one of those fannies who’s so afraid of a-roads you think 40 is too fast then maybe don’t bother.
If I was going from Pembroke Dock (I live nearby in Haverfordwest) to Manc I’d go A477 and A40 over to Carmarthen, then up the A40 to Llandovery, take a left after the level crossing up the A483 Sugarloaf way to Builth Wells (watch the sharp left at Builth river bridge), then A470 through Rhayader (a bit tight, hang back at the crossroads til you can see there’s no wagons coming the other way) up to Newtown where you take the A483 to Welshpool and on to Oswestry and you’re finally onto dual carriageways to Wrexham-Chester etc. It’s hilly and twisty but literally 60 miles shorter than going M4-Heads-M50!
In terms of stopping places then it depends how far your hours will get you, but there are reasonable places in towns like Builth (used to be able to park at nights near the centre), and good off-road laybys dotted along the route. There’s an industrial estate as you go into Newtown on the right which I used to park in ok. It’s also very picturesque in daylight but beware on the narrow bits as it is fairly busy with us Welsh lorryists. You’ll get up by Oswestry in about four hours without going too nuts, just do what EVERYONE else does and drift up to 50 ish on the nice straight bits there’s a good chap
As for parking off the heads of the valleys, I don’t think I’d be brave enough unless you have drill-proof tanks and no nick-able lightbars on the cab 
(* if you are under about 35 you may not have seen one of these - google it)
Thanks everyone
Sime17 light bars and yes I’m 25 and seen a drill proof tank
Kate no it want me it was one of our other drivers hirwaun hadn’t thought of that but isn’t that occupied by our traveller friends at present oh and the motor you seen was my old one though I’ve now graduated to this
No sign of any Travellers at Hirwaun yesterday… straight over by the tea van…under the Bridge… quiet as a mouse.
dafpower:
Thanks everyoneSime17 light bars and yes I’m 25 and seen a drill proof tank
Kate no it want me it was one of our other drivers hirwaun hadn’t thought of that but isn’t that occupied by our traveller friends at present oh and the motor you seen was my old one though I’ve now graduated to this 0
I shouldn’t run Hirwaun down - it might not be that bad nowadays (Kate will know better than me if she stops there, I haven’t for years) but the industrial estate just before Hirwaun at the top of the big hill from Glynneath used to have a bad reputation, and Merthyr is still a bit rough in places. About ten years ago a mate at NR Evans parked in the carpark of the big Asda at Dowlais Top by Merthyr, and woke in the morning to find not just his diesel gone but the front low light bar and lights gone - they had it while he was sleeping
The mid Wales route is a lifesaver for us down here - it is literally an hour less if you’re heading for the North West or the M6 North from Pembrokeshire/Carmarthenshire. If you’re pulling 4.2 metre curtainsiders you have no probs with bridges as long as you follow the route I said above - there used to be a 4.1 m bridge just after Builth but it’s been bypassed now, and it didn’t bother us on 4m fridges. We used to leave Cross Hands (by Llanelli) about 1pm doing Scotch and we’d get to Lancaster Forton services on our 4 1/2, not sparing the horses but the roads were quiet at night! And guess what - no-one died, not on our fleet anyway.
You cant get on the asda now as goal posts been put up,as for hirwaun ind est we got yard down there so lock ourselves in whilst down there[midlands based]but i have seen trucks parked on there have been milked dry,me personally dont park up any where between glynneath and govillon/abergavenny by pass,ta,Pete
Hirwauns not too bad just one of out lads said there was company their on Monday night
i stopped for my break by the back end of asda today, waiting to load at st merryn, park there most days for my 45. you can park up around the back by the old allied carpets back door, i would,nt expect you to have any fuel in the morning though…
back years ago we were doing the old kwiksaves and a driver got stuck up at the gurnos store in the snow ( now its trade centre wales). as it was a friday he decided to get a lift back home with a 4x4 passing by.
come monday morning i went back with him and the 400 litres of fuel and the tank had dissappeared and somebody had decided they did,nt like tail lifts and the assemblies on the trailer as they had destroyed the lot. add to that the new port hole that had developed to the back of the dry box trailer just large enough for someone to look through and see there was nothing there.
when i spoke to the local copper who turned up he said this was one of 9 fuel thefts in the area that weekend with 18 inches of snow as well !!
One of ours got his Diesel ‘Liberated’ on Hirwuan a couple of years ago. I stopped over once after collecting from Eden industries & the Poisoned Dwarf/Welsh Dragon (black glasses) kept me waiting for about 6 hours. Didn’t have any problems though. As Kate says, nice n quiet.
Gotta admit ! I do usually try to get back across the border/Severn Bridge (away from the Wild West) before I bed down for the night.
Having said that, I stopped in a lay by on the A470 south of Llandudno the other night, nice & quiet & pitch black.
I always run up through the middle.
Builth Wells, Rhayader, Llanidloes, Newtown and Welshpool all have free lorry parks.
Then there’s parking at Ford by Dinky’s Diner and another lorry park in Shrewsbury plus many lay bys too. No hassle in any of them mate.
As said if you go either up via Wrexham or over to Shrewsbury and up the 49 it’s much quicker. I’d go Wrexham Chester for Manchester. I regularily run back from west Wales to reliad Nuneaton and I beat the lads that go M4 etc hands down by going up through Builth etc.
Can you still park in the sports centre car park in Aberdare? Used to park in there regular with no problems and with it being bang in the town centre it’s was great for the pubs and takeaways 
Hirwauns not too bad just one of out lads said there was company their on Monday
All sorted now anyways