At last! A beautiful day’s weather was forecast. Five
moderate riders gathered at Cleo's in Holt: myself, George, Jim, Dave H and John
B taking his annual ride with CER (good to see you back John). I proposed a
ride to Ye Olde Boote Inn at Whittington, largely because I’d passed it several
times but never visited.
We struck out aiming to follow the lanes to the west of the
Dee, but having seen the floodplain higher in water than I can remember, some
of these were likely to be heavily flooded.
Instead we took the B-road and then the quick dash down the A525 into
Bangor-on-Dee. From there it was lanes to Cloy Hall and then into Overton,
where unfortunately Jim succumbed to cramp in his legs and decided to make his
own way back.
We headed southwards through Rhewl, taking small lanes I’d never
travelled over, some of which I wouldn’t want to take again: a very steep
downhill on a surface that had almost broken up with mud and water a-plenty to
cross Shell Brook and enter Wales. The skies
may have been clear blue, the sun shining and the breeze moderate, but under
our wheels we often met deep mud and fully flooded carriageways. We passed
through a ford that was less wet than some of the lanes. Dave and George were
regretting not fitting mudguards, so was anyone caught behind them.
We cycled past Dudleston Hall, through Hindford and into
Whittington to arrive at Ye Olde Boote Inn just after 1230. We placed our orders
and they were speedily delivered before the crowds arrived. Conversation
flowed, though what topics we covered I cannot remember, and soon it was time
to go. The consensus was positive about
the pub, and I think we would each be happy to visit again.
We completed a loop back to Hindford and headed towards
Dudleston Heath. Close to Welsh Frankton
I got a puncture. It was just as well it was warm and dry, because the first
replacement tube failed to inflate due to a dodgy valve, and we had to repeat
the procedure, aided by John being able to fit a Gatorskin with ease using only
his hands.
With the odd exception, the lanes back were in better
condition and we enjoyed riding though the excellent spring weather. We crossed the A525 at Holly Bush and made
for Worthenbury. Here we diverted into
the village and into the churchyard for some photos to capture the beautiful
conditions. The parish church of
Worthenbury is St Deiniols. It is said to be the best example of a Georgian Church in Wales and has a complete
set of boxed pews.
 |
| Photos by John B |
From Worthenbury, we took the usual fast return to
Farndon. As were approached the old Dee
Bridge we passed the brisk group heading home from Cleos. We also paused there for a drink and some
calories. An excellent day’s cycling
which covered 44 miles.
SH
A marvellous day's riding in truly excellent company!
ReplyDeleteSteve Tan and absent friends were ever in our thoughts, especially as we aquaplaned and cycle-crossed over many smelly, muddy, massively potholed and much flooded country lanes.
Ye Old Boote was a choice selection and one of the best hostelries I've ever visited on my (infrequent) CER rides!!! While Cleopatra's did us proud with fine brews, speedy service and not a murmur of complaint about our gaggle of ill-dressed MAMIL(s)!! Or is it OLD-AGED MIL (OAMILs)????
It is ALWAYS an adventure riding out with CER - from busted seat posts, to wife's car collections and the odd fall off, to a plethora of punctures, but the conversation is always offbeat and never PC (thank goodness!), ranging from Jury Service and Sam Quek, to wive's weights, past careers, foreign holidays, lazy (?) retirement and, inevitably, Carol Kirkwood's mighty charlies!!!! But always and ever in the best of humour!! :)
Steve's leadership was, as ever, quite magnificent, ably assisted by Dave's wet maps and backed admirably by the loss of his reading glasses!!! (ARGH!)
All in all, a capital day, in capital company and thank you for putting up with me!!