7th July 2016 : Holt to Horseshoe Pass (brisk)

Cleopatra’s looked very quiet when I arrived with only Tom sitting with his drink. However, within minutes others arrived and by 10.15 a small band of CER members were all clustered around the tables discussing the days routes and options. Clive  decided to lead the Moderate group out towards Whittington for lunch but  I fancied a trip up around the new Horseshoe Pass and convinced Steve T and Tom to join me. Dry roads  and the mid-teen temperature  made the first few miles through Borras  very pleasant  and  gave us time to warm up ready for the challenge ahead.

Crossing the dual carriageway, we weaved our way through Acton, under the railway, and out of Wrexham on Stansty Road towards Pentre Boughton. From this point  the only way way forward was up and Steve attained ‘King of the Mountains’ points by cresting every hill in first position. On through Minera, we passed the old lead mines and made our way west towards Llangollen. The lovely quiet lanes above Rhos provided great  views across Cheshire and contributed to making the morning very pleasant. The route then see-sawed steeply up and down the whole way through Pen-y-Cae, Garth, and past Trevor Hall Woods with Steve pulling further ahead with  KOM points at every opportunity. Finally, we started our descent via the Panorama path where we had a brief picture stop and this also gave us the opportunity to put on waterproofs as insurance against the rain clouds that  were building up ahead.

The Panorama panorama view

We entered Llangollen, in drizzle, after a steep double chevron descent and passing over the canal to arrive by the town bridge. According to the road signs the Eisteddfod was supposed to be in full swing although the town appeared very quiet with only an ambulance and police car attending to an incident on the bridge providing any action. We turned right  to start our ascent of the Horseshoe  and saw a sign indicating we had 4 miles to go to our  lunch stop. Fortunately  for us about a mile into this stage  the roads dried and the sun came out so we were able to stow our coats in readiness for the climb.

The combined strain of the increase in road gradient  and the duration  of the climb started to tell  and Steve  slipped from his familiar first place to the back of the pack but Tom,  invigorated by the prospect KOM points or lunch,  showed his hand and took off for summit leaving Steve and myself to struggle on to the top.Lunch consisted of pie and chips for Tom and Steve, and baked potato for myself. During the break we reviewed our return route in order to ensure Steve reached to Holt by 3:30pm.

The morning was was predominantly uphill but the afternoon was going to be a blast along well surfaced roads and mainly downhill; bliss. So we took the main road and headed to Bwlchgwyn where we turned left  freewheeling down past the Ffrwyd pub and into LLay. A left and then right turn took us through  Hope and  at the junction of Kinnerton Road, Tom left us to make his way home while we continued and turned right down through Rossett  and back to Holt.

A super day out, with 83 km(52 miles) covered and 1224 metres of ascent and a maximum height achieved of 426 metres - according to Strava. Most of the hard work was confined to the morning, thankfully the afternoon was easier, which is just how it should be and even the rain held off until after we had ordered our  final coffee at Cleopatra’s.

KP

Photograph by Ken Page

11th July 2013: Horseshoe Pass

For Hawarden there were a lot of riders today viz; Brian Mac, Ivan, Ray, Steve, Roy, Paul, Dave P and his son, Dominic, and myself. Dave M was there in civvies nursing "you know what". It was going to be a hot one - weather-wise, hill-wise and rider-wise. "Where are we going then Clive? Up and over the Horseshoe Pass with lunch at the Abbey Grange Hotel complete with its "Llangollen" brewery attachment". No dissenting voices as we head out and over Buckley bound for Nercwys and Eryrys hills. After Llong, Roy breaks a link and quickly repairs it. Off again, we meet the local sheep farmer and his flock.  

Photographs by Brian MacDonald

The slog up to Eryrys is rewarded with a long swoop down to Llanarmon-yn-Lal. Here we briefly view the remains of a Welsh motte and bailey castle as we head out bound for the top of the Nant-y-Garth Pass. The slog up to the Ponderosa is rewarded by panoramic views of the hinterland. A text from Brian Mac confirms that he is not feeling too good, so he takes the Llandegla road back presumably to the Penyffordd railway station. We all enjoy the 3 mile helter-skelter ride down the new Horseshoe Pass, and passing the Britannia Inn, we stop at
Abbey Grange Hotel. The in-house brewed ale is judged to be good and the meals appear one at a time as we sit in the sun outside. I cannot elicit a serious discussion about blog writers (ref Brian Mac's email), so I settle for a generously provided second pint, and hence know I shall be writing the blog tonight!


Photographs by Dave Pipe


At 14:00, we set off for what turns out to a 29 mile return against the 22 mile outward journey. We take Old Coach road for a while, then up onto the A5 for a 100yds, then back down on a parallel lane with a very steep turn back to the A5. The original idea was to go back via the Llantysilio mountain road, but I judge the ascent to be too steep and terrain too exposed in the hot afternoon sun. So we motor along to


Carrog where some of us top up on fluids. We then take a long climb out and back up to the A5140 at Bryneglwys. Nipping off to the left we run parallel to the main road with fine views over the Vale of Clwyd. The route back was straightforward from here on the A5104 via Penyffordd to take on more fluids. We have ridden 51 glorious miles and "bikeroutetoaster" calculates 3560ft (1085m) of ascents. Not quite up to the Alpine lads sojourn, but exceptional on a very hot summer's day (at last!). With five of us returning to Chester, we will have cycled 70 hot miles, with Roy probably notching over a 100!

CA