12th June 2025: Church Minshull (mod+)

 There was only subject of conversation at Meadow Lea Cafè “when will the rain start”. The wind whisperer had taken the extreme measures of booking a family holiday in the Lake district to avoid today.

 During five minutes of preparation the previous evening, I had downloaded Steve T’s ride from June last year. Steve T also had a ride to Malpas, however the apprentice wind whisperer Alan spoke of favourable wind direction on the return leg if we ventured to Church Minshull, so that sealed the deal.

 An Octet of riders set off consisting of Fiona, Elwyn, Kevin, Shane, John M, Steve T & H and Alan. The long road drag along Warrington road to Bridge Trafford certainly had the blood pumping. However, a right turn and Morley lane provided a more CER in keeping lane to circumnavigate Manley and Mouldsworth.

 The descent of Dark lane and the sharp turn into Ashton road always signals two to three miles of uphill to Hatchmere and Norley. Steve T and John M left the group at this point to return home via their own routes. The road from Sandiway to Church Minshull was nose into the wind and I was grateful to Alan and Shane and later Elwyn who all took turns on the front.

The Badger exceeded our requirements with “surprise” chips for some of our riders who haven’t yet managed to read the menus correctly :) Replete with food we were delighted to be rewarded with a brisk tailwind from Cholmondeston to Wettenhall. Here we turned slightly south skirting Tarporley and following Utkinton road then heading towards Walk Mill. By now the wind was from the side and passing gates by Walk Mill was interesting!

 Shane and F&E left us to return home leaving the trio of Alan Kevin and I to head towards Waverton and latterly to Meadow Lea.

 Did we avoid the rain? Strictly speaking yes, if you count the conclusion of the ride being Meadow Lea, however everyone had ridden from home so there were a few “moist” riders rocking up finally at home.

 The route was approximately 40 miles with a non-too shabby average speed of 14.5 mph , so thanks to the folk who ventured out against their better judgement and for the humour and company on the day.

 Steve Hu 

See route map and/or gpx file download

4th July 2024 : Church Minshull (Mod+)

What a good turnout at Meadow Lea today. A great mix of riders and members. It was good to see Steve Ha following his self-inflicted confinement in the beer tent at Kelsall Show. It was great to see he had escaped such thirsty period relatively unharmed. 

The mod+ group had three rides: Steve T proposed Church Minshull,  Neil T had a subterranean ride to the Elephant at Parkgate and last, Clive had a circular route to Honey’s in Caergwrle. On realising the Church Minshull ride would entail riding into a headwind for close to twenty miles, Neil T dropped his spinnaker and defected to the mods to embrace George’s route. 

So the merry quartet of Clive, Alan, Steve T & H set off from Meadow Lea. Leaving the estate roads of Mickle Trafford, we headed on the busy Warrington Road through Bridge Trafford before turning right onto quiet lanes to Manley. Here we joined Ashton road a popular parking area for CER’s Delamere starts. Soon Hatchmere and Norley were quickly despatched as the full effect of the tailwind could be felt. 

The small lanes through Cuddington and Sandiway gave way to the slightly more built environs of Winsford. Steve route took us right through the centre which today was remarkably traffic free. The fast - flowing Swallow Lane soon welcomed us into the village of Church Minshull and the lunch stop of The Badger pub.

Sitting outside in one of the Alpine Huts, we quickly digested our wraps and varied poached egg meals. Within metres of restarting, we felt the brunt of the headwind. However due to the route Steve had chosen which passed through Cholmondeston and Wettenhall, we seemed to be shielded by the high hedges. 

Courtesy of AO International Photos Inc

The drag through and up out of Eaton was just that, a combination of headwind and uphill that challenged even the mighty Clive. Now as we crossed Tarporley Road, we were on Neil T’s “flat ride” from last week. The plunge down to Utkinton road and the short lanes brought us to the welcome sight of Walk mill, where it was unanimously agreed we needed a coffee stop. 

Alan O kindly provided coffees for everyone; thank you for your generosity Al. Now with only five miles to go, we set off for Meadow Lea farm. Pausing only to bid farewell to Clive in Christleton who was returning to Chester. Steve T had a wind-assisted leg to Runcorn, and Steve H and Alan plodded home on the greenway dodging the wind. 

A very pleasant 42 mile route in excellent company and pleasant albeit windy conditions.

See route map and/or gpx file download

Steve Hu

20th July 2023: Church Minshull (mod +)

There was a huge turnout of CER members at Meadow Lea café on a warm and sunny morning. A cyclist from another club offered to take a group photo which can be seen elsewhere on the blog. The large number of riders brought its own problems, as managing Easy Riders is like herding cats!

I had brought a 42-mile route to Church Minshull and Trevor had a route to No Mans Heath, whilst Matt had yet another route to Buckley.  Ivan and Clive looked likely to form the first fast group ride for some time. To forestall a prolonged discussion about who was going where, I corralled Steve Hu, Alan and Andy to make up a foursome for a mod+ ride.

We set off at 10.30 whilst the others were still getting organised, heading north and west passed Manley Mere, up Sugar Lane and down Dark Ark Lane before joining the humpy road through Delamere Forest. The run through Norley took us along Bag Lane at the end of which we crossed the A49 before turning towards Sandiway. Crossing the A556 we followed Whitegate Road which took us to Winsford. Getting through there was fairly straightforward as there was only one of the towns infamous roundabouts to negotiate, which we did without mishap.

From there it was a straight run along the B5074 to Church Minshull and The Badger pub, where we arrived just after 12.00 having covered 23 miles. As we were early, the pub was quiet and we were soon served with lunch, the battered haddock sandwich being the universal choice – and very nice it was, too. Lunchtime conversation revolved around tourism and poverty in the Caribbean islands, the Tour de France and other topics. Andy gave us a physics tutorial on fissile materials and Steve Hu made us recite the Periodic Table (which he knows by heart, having been made to learn it at school as a punishment for an unspecified misdemeanour).

 Background St Bartholomew's Tower, dating from 1702 
Photo by by Steve T

As we set off from the pub, it became evident that our swift arrival at the pub had been at least in part due to the tail wind which we’d had the benefit of, but had not noticed. Our route back was north and west, directly into the wind. This became most noticeable when we left Wettenhall heading for Eaton.  We relied on Andy’s passable imitation of Wout van Aert to shelter behind, with Steve Hu taking one for the team at one stage.

From Eaton, we took the steep hill up to Portal Golf Course, crossing the A49 and heading towards Utkinton. Turning left into Wood Lane, we headed towards Duddon. Just before we got there, my bike computer showed me the chequered flag and declared that we’d reach the end of the route! Fortunately, we knew the rest of the route without needing guidance, so we pressed on towards Waverton, pausing only for well-deserved refreshments at The Walk Mill Café.

The familiar route through Brown Heath and Guilden Sutton took us back to Meadow Farm Café, where we arrived just after 3pm. 42 miles covered at an average speed of just over 14 mph on a warm, dry and sunny day. Classic CER riding!

See route map and/or gpx file download

ST 

15th September 2022: Church Minshull (mod)

Autumn beckons as could be seen by fewer short sleeves and bare legs as we gathered at Meadow Lea, though the day was forecast to be dry. A reasonable turnout of mod riders plus Nick, though David M wasn’t going to join the ride.  He was looking forward to receiving his new winter cycling shoes from Canada, suited to temperatures of -20 degrees! We were unexpectedly joined by John B, who we hadn’t seen for a couple of years. John’s attendance on our rides has been regular but infrequent. Before Covid he came out with us once a year, and we look forward to seeing him again in 2023. The rest of our party were Dave H, George, Dave and Liz P on the tandem and Alan.

In the absence of alternatives, we chose my route to The Badger at Church Minshull, a destination we’d visited for the first time earlier this year. We headed out past Manley Mere and turned uphill onto Sugar Lane, where Nick left us to continue his own ride. We sped down the curiously named Dark Ark Lane, and rode up through Delamere Forest to Norley.  From here we headed south crossing the A556 to briefly join the A49, turning off in polo pony country beside The Hollies Farm Shop – as Dave H said it’ll cost a week’s wages to buy anything from there. 

Joining Clay Lane, a regular outward route for us from Rose Farm, we passed through the Whitegate Way traffic lights and turned down the hill for the road into Winsford, where we stopped.  The road was jammed with stationary traffic, so we did some recalculating and turned back to join the Whitegate Way. Except the tandem and John didn’t follow.  After some time, they reappeared. The sole of one of John’s shoes had separated itself from the upper.  It was lucky Dave P was there with his bottomless paniers, from whence he found two straps to keep John in the ride. 

The Whitegate Way provided a smooth and quiet alternative route, though we emerged at the bottom end of Winsford and had to navigate the back streets to rejoin our route. It was now a straightforward, though rather long run along the B-road to our destination. The Badger is full of images of badgers and even sells Badger Ale. We ensconced ourselves into a corner and tucked into our refreshments, which included a bucket-sized pot of tea for John. 

Our return took us on familiar roads to Wettenhall and Eaton, then up the hill to cross the A49 by the old road. A strengthening north-westerly slowed us down, though we hadn’t had its benefit on our way out.  Before Utkinton we turned left to Duddon and then took the road to Waverton before stopping at Walk Mill.  Alan and John continued while the rest of us tucked into caffeine and cake. It was now a short distance back to Meadow Lea, with 49 miles on the clock. A good ride, maybe even a better ride with the forced detour. Let’s hope the Autumn continues to hold off for a while yet.

Photos by AO

See route map and/or gpx file download

SH

11th January 2018 : Church Minshull (brisk)

A very decent turnout today at the ICF with 11 riders turning up plus the tandem. Dave H had a ride planned that headed out towards Whitchurch which seemed to suit almost everybody. As the number of people were on the high side for a single group, I proposed a ride towards Nantwich.  Tom seemed interested so after coffee we turned right heading off in the direction of Beeston whilst the ‘moderates’ turned left.

We soon warmed ourselves up in the weak sunshine and with no cooling wind it felt quite pleasant for early January. Weaving our way through Beeston and Peckforton, we joined the A49 at Spurstow for a brief spell before turning off down Badcock Lane, a big mistake! Flooded potholes and mud made this road feel more like a bridleway than a  modern sealed road. At the end of this road we  crossed the main road at Faddiley and headed towards Ravensmoor and thankfully the roads here were a lot cleaner. 

My initial idea was to stop in Nantwich for lunch, but we arrived far too early as it was still only 11:30. So with a quick look at the map, a new venue, The Badger Inn at Church Minshull, was chosen. The journey from Nantwich was via Reaseheath and Worleston and we were soon sitting in front of the open fire waiting for our food to arrive.

This venue is not new to us and although prices are higher than other venues, it seems to remain good with tasty food, prompt service, and appears to have  regular clientele. With lunch over and our chat over bikes and Christmas concluded, we were back on the road by 13.15hrs.

For the  return journey, we followed a well-cycled route back through Wettenhall to Eaton, climbing Sapling Lane to drop down into Utkinton, onward to Duddon and then crossing the A51. Here we stayed on Rycroft Lane rather than returning to ICF and made our way back home via Chester.

The weather today was quite warm and benign for January on mainly dry roads with both of us commenting on how good it was to be out enjoying the quite lanes of Cheshire. Today's route returning back to ICF was 41 miles, but both Tom and myself probably cycled  another 40 to get back home. A very good ride for Tom who is still struggling with a back problem, hopefully today's ride wasn’t detrimental to his recovery. Thanks for your company Tom.

KP