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Chester Easy Riders is an independent cycling club affiliated to Cycling UK. We cycle every Thursday throughout the year with moderate and brisk day rides of 40 to 80 miles.

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Friday 26 October 2012

Alternatives to Gwersyllt

A number of members have commented on the unsatisfactory nature of Gwersyllt as one of our regular meeting places.  Members will recall that Gwersyllt was chosen as the least unsatisfactory option when the café in Caergwrle closed.  Since then dissatisfaction has been voiced on a number of occasions.  David M has previously suggested Chirk as a possible alternative and more recently he has suggested Malpas.  Mold has also been mentioned.
To move the debate forward perhaps members would like to consider the options, suggest new alternatives or comment on the suggestions already made.  Please leave your comments below so that everyone can share your views and allow us to focus in on the most favoured/best alternative.
Issues that come to mind include the distance to the meeting place, the quality of the journey there, the range of rides accessible from the meeting place and the quality of the café.  You will no doubt have other considerations so let’s start the debate and see where it leads.
Bryan

18 comments:

  1. Having thought about this at some length and discussed it with other CER riders, my preferred option is the fire station cafe at Malpas. Good parking (if needed); rideable from Chester; good cafe; wide selection of excellent rides into Wales or Shropshire. DM

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  2. Comment from Martin
    I would not favour Malpas as a) it is too far from Chester: 30km by the shortest cycling route making for a high mileage day and early start - not ideal in winter b) it does not offer access to the hilly, scenic rides of North Wales which differentiates the Tudor and Expresso cafes from most other starting points. Can I suggest the Alyn Waters Country Park cafe which is off the A541 1 mile before Gwersyllt? It is run by the Wrexham council and employs learning disabled people. It is popular with groups that ride from the Eureka. I find it friendly, cheap and sometimes rather chaotic in an amusing way. Open from 9.30 to 4.30 but gates close at 4.45 which is a problem in the summer but probably not winter. I will investigate nearby parking. About same distance from Chester as Expresso Cafe.
    Martin

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  3. Alyn Waters is brilliant as a meeting place. You can get there easily without main road cycling. The food and drinks are good. There is an ungated parking area near the football club in Bradley which is 5 minutes by bike on a tarmaced track.

    Gwersyllt has its moments and you do feel they are not very happy to see us - Wrexham and Cafe Hoppers continue to use it despite leaving a few weeks back over a 'misunderstanding' with the cafe owners.

    I'm OK with Malpas for summer as it's a bit nearer Wrexham than Chester but you could say the same about Tilly's in Bunbury which is perfect for me but not Chester based riders.

    In conclusion, my vote is for Alyn Waters.

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  4. No here at preference as to where to go instead. However really support moving from gwersyllt. The cafe does not deserve our custom

    Tony

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  5. I hardly dare comment as I think I've only been out on one ride from Gwersyllt but that is partly because it is a pain in the **** to reach. I think we should give Alyn Waters a trial run. I will even do my best to get there to see what it is like - Martin makes it sound very entertaining and it would be good to support somewhere like this

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  6. Agree that while Malpas Fire station is good, it is too far, esp in winter.

    I'm for Alyn Waters Kitchen. See:
    http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/council/social_services/day_ops/alyn_waters_country_kitchen.htm

    Brian

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  7. Although I quite like the idea of Malpas I do agree that 16 miles each way would make for a long day especially in winter. I don't like Gwersyllt at all and think the ride out there from Chester is uninspiring to say the least.....and i like my gentle miles before we meet. So....for me if Alyn Waters means more or less the same ride out I guess I would be using the car (as many do for those rides)....if I'm doing that I'm quite happy to go a little further to get a truly ideal starting place....examples being Daves suggestion of Chirk....or perhaps Llangollen. Doing that once every 6 weeks or so wouldn't be a problem to me....and as I said most riders would probably be driving to the start anyway.

    Andy

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  8. Comment from Clive
    I am happy with the Alyn suggestion. It preserves the locale as a starting venue. I don't want to use a car to get to the start venue; and, I'd rather contribute my coffee money in supporting a good cause.

    Clive

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  9. I hope one is allowed a second comment---I rode to Gwersyllt from Chester last week through the Alyn Waters Park via Kinnerton, Burton and Llay. I found the route from Burton to have all the disadvantages of Gwersyllt---heavy traffic, poor surface and dreary.

    I wouldn't cycle there again and I don't like cycling around it---and I think moving the cafe a couple of miles just solves the cafe problem and none of the others. So it's a car trip for me---so we might as well go to Chirk (favourite) or Malpas or Overton or Ellesmere.
    Or, for a ride out---how about "double Hildegards"?
    On balance---my vote goes to car assist (or long bike ride in summer) to Chirk. David M

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  10. Comment from Martin.
    I would be happy with Chirk as it is a great starting point for rides in the Ceriog and Llangollen areas. We drive to most of the starts anyway so that would not be a problem. Not keen on Malpas, Overton or Ellesmere - dull flat rides.

    Martin

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  11. I don't have a problem with Gwersyllt as a location just with the cafe and the unfriendly welcome we seemed to get every time we turned up there. I am for Alyn Waters as a new venue and from my point of view doesn't require car assist as my other half Lois usually has the car on that day.

    Ray S

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  12. Comment from Ivan
    With regards Expresso i enjoyed the ride out there and did not bother about the attitude of staff. Tea and food were ok and cheap. Prefer to stay over this side and happy with Martin's suggestion rather than Malpas but as i am not regular riding at present, will ride out to where-ever is decided.

    Ivan

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  13. Comment from George
    As I have never cycled from Gwersylllt I am unable to comment on its advantages/disadvantages. I have been to the cafe at Alyn Waters country park a couple of times. The last occasion was a couple of years ago and my rather vague recollection of the service is neither positive nor negative.
    I use the car to get to all our starting points, apart from the Gallery coffee shop. I am therefore relaxed about the other possible venues being suggested and the need to drive to some of them. At the moment my longest drive is to Utkinton which takes me about 40 minutes. Being selfish ideally I wouldn't want to drive too much longer than that but will try and support whatever venue we choose.

    George

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  14. Having read most of the comments I feel that Chirk is worthy of a place on our estimable list.Alyn Waters does fit more closely into Bryan's original criteria but it would seem that most would drive anyway. Incidentally the Post Office at Penyford have put in a planning application to turn one of the outbuildings in to a cafe, but is this too near to Hawarden?
    Jim

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  15. I always knew that this wasn't going to be straightforward so how do we move this forward? Reading the comments it is clear that most members are unhappy with Gwersyllt but there is little or no support for a change to Malpas. The most popular alternatives are Alyn Waters and Chirk in that order. How would members feel about a compromise based on:
    Alyn Waters during the winter
    Chirk during the summer?
    We could make the switch when the clocks change so that those committed to riding from home could do so during the summer when British summer time would make it possible to ride to and from Chirk in daylight: albeit making for a long day.
    This would mean that in any single year we would start from Alyn Waters on two or three occasions and from Chirk on three or four occasions.
    Comments on this suggestion please.

    Bryan

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  16. Comment from Ivan
    If there is a thought for Chirk train service from Chester,
    Dep 09:26 arr 09:55 at a cost of £06.90 single without rail card.
    If there was no car assist !!

    Ivan

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    Replies
    1. Like the sound of that---Chirk with potential rail assist---maybe with concession to 10:45 start to allow the train people to get a quick brew in Chirk.

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  17. That's sounds like good idea its got my vote. I notice a day return to Chirk is only 40 pence more £7.30 so have the option of riding to Chirk or catching a train.

    Ray S

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