The weather was good today - crisp, sunny and clear. Just ideal for 60 miles of Shropshire lanes and countryside. Ivan had offered a ride to his favourite bakery in Shawbury and Johns M and W accompanied Ivan and myself as we rode down the hill out of Chirk and up to Oswestry.
I was mercilessly ribbed for not bringing my brand new Giant Defy bike out for its inaugural ride. However, as a student of Shropshire's often agricultural lanes and the fact that it had rained the day before, my decision was vindicated on several occasions today. Maybe next week then.
After Oswestry, we motor through Maesbury and its marsh, right through Knockin and its shop and immense satellite dish, to cross the A5 at the end of the Nesscliffe bypass. The lanes narrow as we pass through Little Ness, then round the back of Adcote girl's school with senior year school fees per term costing double my Giant Defy's “reasonable” cost. We power on through new lanes riding north of Bowmore Heath and into Hadnall.
Shawbury comes up at 31 miles. I think CER first came here on a Special Ride back in October 2015. We dined at the “Elephant and Castle” pub on that occasion but today we are next door at the bakery. This was just what we needed with a good selection of grab food and an inside table as well. It has been sunny quite a lot but as we left at around 1300 there were dark skies around.
We head due north, passing by the Norman and Elizabethan relics of Morton Corbet Castle which we have visited several times in the past. King John's William Marshal (Earl of Pembroke) besieged the Norman part in 1216. We now head East, up a long hill, then passing through my eponymously named village with its fine spired church and onwards towards Myddle and thence to Baschurch.
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| Three musketeers plus an ear. |
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| Neat and tidy |
The next stretch is northerly in to the wind and then turning south westerly to meet the Mods cycling towards us at Rednal. This is the long straight road to Queen's Head where the Mods had just finished lunch. There are more castles at Whittington as we work our way back to Chirk ( with its own castle).
So 61 miles at 16 mph thanks to those long quiet B roads and a moderate 2800ft of climbs. No incidents and quiet weather – a perfect combination for early autumn. So thanks to Ivan for the route and for leading for a good part of the day, and for the two John's for keeping me up with the peloton.
See route map and/or gpx file download
CA
Photos JW
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