It was a bright, sunny morning when a large group of CER
members gathered at Rose Farm Café. The forecast was for plenty of sunshine and
very little wind, so ideal cycling conditions. In the end, there were four groups
(brisk, mod+ , mod and mod-) which set out for different destinations around the
Cheshire countryside.
The ‘mod’ group consisted of Dave H, Ray B, Trevor, George,
Keith and myself. Our destination was Overwater Marina near Audlem, as both
Dave and I had, independently, thought it would be good to sit outside the café there
for lunch.
So we set off down Wood Lane, heading for Clotton. This road
is probably the very worst in Cheshire, with lots of ruts and potholes and, in several
stretches, no tarmac whatsoever. On the other side of the A51 at Clotton, Corkscrew
Lane has recently been resurfaced and is now as smooth as a race track. Keith
suggested that we should roll it up like a carpet and re-lay it down Wood Lane.
If only!
Our route took us through Huxley, Brassey
Green and down past The Shady pub to Beeston Castle. From there we pressed on
south through Bunbury, Brindley and Chorley, arriving at Wrenbury soon after
12. Nearly there, I thought, but the six miles or so from there to the marina
took a while and it was nearly one o’clock by the time we’d got through
Wrenbury Heath and Sound to the Bridge 80 at Overwater Marina.
Keith was worried that it might be busy at the café and that
it would take a while for our lunch to be served, but in fact our orders were
taken quickly the food came in good time. There was some confusion about who
had ordered what which amused the ladies who were serving us. On the plus side,
the food was good, especially George’s vegetarian breakfast.
On the way down, George had been catching up on the
happenings of recent weeks, as he’d been away in the Far East. In particular,
the recent saga of Dave H’s dog slipping its lead and getting lost on Runcorn
Heath was news to him. Trevor suggested that George should follow the aphorism ‘Get
in the loop, stay with the group’ to avoid missing out in the news.
We set off back long Cool Lane now
with the wind (mostly) behind us. On reaching Nantwich, we avoided the town
centre by wiggling our way through the lakeside park to cross the River Weaver,
emerging through the houses on the north side, where we crossed the A51 and ran
past Rease Heath College.
Crossing the Shropshire Union Canal
(again) at the Venetian Marina, we continued north to Cholmondelston and
Wettenhall. Approaching Eaton, we had the choice of taking the long
steep hill up to the summit on Tarporley Road or the slightly longer (?) but
less steep route via Cotebrook. After taking a vote, we took the Cotebrook
route, where Keith left us to return to his car just outside Frodsham and the
rest of us headed for Rose Farm.
Just under 45 miles after a ride through the Cheshire lanes on a
sunny and warm day. Is thisthe start of a long, hot summer, or is there a sting
in tail of winter that is yet to come?
ST
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