Gathered at Manley Mere were Brian Mac & Dave Matthews, who had just joined us for coffee, and the rest: Dave H, Keith, Clive, Ray, Tom, Trevor, Steve T, Dave & Liz Pipe and Steve H. Dave H took the initiative to organise us, and I asked whether we’d ever ridden out to The Dog at Over Peover. That was enough to be elected as leader for the day; not that I’d ever been to The Dog, but it looked OK on the web.
We laboured up the hills over the New Pale, before enjoying the fast descent to Kingsley. We crossed the Weaver at Acton Bridge, then on to Great Budworth, Plumley and Lower Peover that gave us a misleading sense of closeness to our destination. The two Peovers are about 4 km apart, but wishing to avoid main roads and have a decent morning ride, we took a loop through Ollerton and Marthall to reach what the map said was Over Peover’s pub. But it wasn’t The Dog. The Dog is actually in Peover Heath, less than half a mile away.
The Dog was bustling with activity – there appeared to be a barbeque and a beer festival. Unfortunately the barbeque was a private party and the beer festival starting the next day. Still, we found a good range of real ales and food, which turned out to be of very good quality - a place to return to.
The return route took us through Goostrey and Lach Dennis, where Dave H bid us farewell. We then sped on to Davenham and Moulton to descend the rough track that allows the Vale Royal Cut of the Weaver Navigation to be crossed. Through Whitegate, after which we said goodbye to Tom, Clive and Ray who headed towards Chester. Then to Sandiway where Steve H left, allowing the others to make their way back to Manley. Overall 59 miles and just under 1,000m of climbing on a mild dry day which was much better for cycling than the hot weather of recent weeks.
SH
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