26th October 2017: Caerwys (mod)

Six Easy Riders gathered at The Gallery in Hawarden on a grey, overcast morning. Brian Mac was in civvies, as he’s come back from Oz with a bad knee, which needs replacing. Bryan W was intending doing his own thing, so that left four of us to carry the banner. But where to go? In the end, a type of democracy prevailed; Dave H said we should go to The Piccadilly at Caerwys (unanimously approved), Steve H found the route on his phone (we last did this only in July) and Steve T undertook the write up. Andy B provided all-round support.

So off we set, following the usual route out through Ewloe and Buckley. After a brief respite from climbing as we ran down Buckley Mountain, we crossed the A5119 at the traffic lights at New Brighton. Dave had been concerned that his brake blocks were almost down to the metal and was being ‘gentle’ with their application. This is the only explanation Andy and I could give for the fact that he ran a red light here! On reaching Mynachlog, we started some serious climbing. It’s only a short distance up to Rhosesmor, but you certainly know about it when you eventually reach the top.

Running along the ridge towards Babell, we pass close to Licswm. Andy says that, according to the locals, this is so called because miners from Cornwall settled here when they came to work in the lead mines during the 19th century. When asked what their place was like they said that it was ‘likesome’ which, in their dialect, meant ‘pleasant’.

Arriving at the Piccadilly Inn, we were greeted by the manager and his staff. One lady said to Dave ‘You look hot’, to which his instant reply was ‘All the girls say that’!  Some good-natured banter with the staff followed throughout our meal, a real pleasure in this day of political correctness gone mad. The food was excellent and the service first class, further cementing the Piccadilly Inn as a favoured lunch stop.

Over lunch, Steve H was looking at his map to see if there was a bridge or underpass in the road which crosses the A55 at Pen-y-cefyn. We decided to take this route only to find that neither are there, so we had to cross the busy dual carriageway on foot – not to be recommended! On reaching the crossroads at the A5151, another problem presented itself in the form of a ‘Road Closed’ sign. On the basis that most times, such roads are passable on a bike, we decided to press on. Our optimism was well-founded as the obstacle was merely a van and some workmen installing new cables – easily passed on our bikes.

Our route back took us on NC5 via Whitford, Gorsedd and Pantasaph, where we resisted the temptation to stop for tea, past the golf course at Calcoed and over the Halkyn Mountain. Crossing our outward route we speared off to Northop and then followed the usual route back to Hawarden via Ewloe. 41 miles and 2444 feet of climb on a day when, to quote Smokey Robinson, there was ‘no wind, no rain or winters cold’ which, appropriately, comes from the song titled ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’.

See route map and/or gpx file download

ST