11th December 2025: Manorwood Cafe

Rose Farm was the venue for this week’s anticipated event, after what can only be called a wash out at last weeks’ Walk Mill event- more about that later-Lol.

 

There were 14 by my head count and a few of those with no intention of riding. Clive pitched up with one hand in bandages. He apparently trapped his fingers in a mangle while doing the washing at home- ok ok; it sounded much more interesting than a small operation on his hand, the day before -Lol. As for DH, he was also still recovering from his hip operation, but is now able to drive, which means that is the end of the 6+ weeks of sublime insubordination enjoyed by all, due to the lack of supreme leadership. 

 

Just realised that sounded like I was writing about the Labour Party- Lol.

 

I believe two groups formed, with Steve T leading a small Mod group and yours truly with the usual Mod+ rabble-oh! And ‘the very nice man’ aka Kev, who had clearly recovered from his honeymoon at last, although his excuse for not attending for a month or so was in  fact moving house and now lives in Handbridge- Lol. Trevor and Jim were doing their own thing along with DM, not necessarily together.

 

My posse for the day, although in some cases, should read pussies, were the CB’s of course, Shane (complete with cleat covers-Lol), Toby ( replete with new shiny Rapha rain jacket, after the thorough soaking from last week’s event- apparently it took 5 days for him to stop shivering- Lol). My final group members were Rapha Ray and Kev or at least it was when we started - all will be revealed.

 

After waiting an extra 10 mins for ‘last minute.com’, aka Chris, who didn’t turn up, which is becoming his raison d’êtra, despite calling us to say he would make it. BTW, I can’t claim to have given Chris his designation, which is so apt for him that I couldn’t ignore CB2’s witty retort.

 

After a rally charge from said CB2, we set off left and immediately into a soaking wet lane and a misbehaving Garmin again! It had dumped my route, which needed a reboot (it was fine during coffee, honest Gov.) After the reboot, I realised we should have gone left almost immediately out of Rose Farm and so I proposed we retrace in order to complete the planned loop to Eaton, but I was overruled by CB2, for the second time in as many minutes. Far be it for me to point the finger, but it wasn’t me who decided we had waited long enough for ’lastminute.com (I think I heard “flippin heck old boy, it’s time we got a shufty on” or something similar with a few f’s and ings-Lol)

 

So, now passing McDonald Portal golf club, having taken the short cut across the A49 via Heath Green, which surprised a few of the group (needs must) We quickly descended Cobblers Cross Ln into the bottom of Tarporley for another crossing of the A49 (this time not on foot). We were heading for Brassey Green and Beeston beyond. My route was a typical ‘wind whispering’ effort, in order to negate some of the stiff south easterly wind, which was pretty chilly as well.

 

After a fairly brisk few flatter miles we started to climb up towards the Pheasant Inn, which prompted somebody to ask if the Poffee cafe was somewhere nearby. Sure enough, just as he said it I turned left, right on top of it-Lol. We swung downhill towards School Lane and our prize of the infamous Harthill (for once we were doing it the hard way). After a brief pit stop at the top, next to the old cookery school, which caused me to comment that “the giant whisk had gone”, while everybody caught their breath of course. I then remarked to Shane about the very stoic houses opposite. We postulated as to how many Hammer horror films they may have appeared in, as they do look a bit gruesome. Next time you’re up there, have a good look and you might understand where I am coming from-Lol.

 

We quickly zoomed down to Brown Knowl and another ascent through the village above. Once down the other side, heading towards Hampton Heath, we turn right and again enjoy a slight descent into the little roundabout of the A41, right on top of the Forts of India restaurant, which has apparently been closed down, according to local gossip-say no more.

Soon after I point out the Farm shop on the left that appears to be extending next door. I did coincidently and subsequently hear, the next day, that they are expanding into becoming a cafe bistro as well. A very interesting development, as most of my southerly loops go through that area. The Fire Station cafe, in Malpas, although good, is not exactly convenient. Like DH, I prefer to avoid riding through Malpas.

 

It didn’t take long before we turned right into Mates Ln, after a short uppie bit. This meant we were finally heading with the wind and also not far from our lunch stop. Just as we approach Simmonds Green, CB1 pulled up along side and I just knew he was going to ask how far it was to lunch. To be sure, he did-Lol. This prompted me to tell him a story about the turkey that nearly took me out on that lane, a few years back. It was massive and just as scared as I was. I assume it had escaped the adjacent farm.

 

Now we were on the best bit off the ride, the long descent into Tilston. Once there I decided to wing it up to Carden Park, after a prompt from Toby, which meant we would regain a mile or two. This enabled us to enter Carden Park via their back entrance, at the top of Stretton Mill Ln (only accessible by bike) . CB1 came along side again and reminded me of my kingfisher sighting at the bottom of Carden Park, so we rode through in anticipation, but alas, no sighting this time.

 

We cross the Nantwich to Wrexham road into Mill Ln and we are now only a mile from Manorwood cafe, which I remarked to the gang was under new management and that I had not been there since they took over. We arrived and found it very quiet and a subtle make over, with a few comments about what a nice spot it was beside the Mere.

However, just as we were sitting down, in came ‘Last minute .com’- Lol-Lol. So it was no surprise to find conversation revolved around what happened to him, especially as his hands were covered in black oil, which as most of you are probably aware, cycling with Chris is always an adventure / disaster- Lol.

 

Anyway, everybody got their orders in and Chris tucked into his usual egg roll. He then explained why he didn’t make it to Rose Farm on time. And what a surprise, he had a fairly typical bike problem. His derailleur hanger fell apart and he nearly lost a jockey wheel. Fortunately he stopped immediately and found the bolt hanging out of a dangling cage, but the wheel still there. He managed to cobble it back together and ultimately managed to short cut his way across country to meet us at the Manorwood - I was impressed.

 

Service was quick and our food arrived just as fast, although expensive. Shane and I had beans on toast at £12:50! with pot of tea. However, it was the best beans I have ever had, made up of kidney beans and butter beans in a chilly sauce. 

 

Can you believe there was at least 2 minutes of discussion about wet cycling shoes that hadn’t dried out from last week, I mean come on guys - my shoes were dry, but then I was the sensible one who didn’t ride- Lol. However, I did turn up at their lunch venue, just to rub it in- I mean to support their efforts-Lol.

 

We got going again, eventually! This time it was me at fault, forgetting to fill my water bottle and a bit of faffing about. At least we knew who was departing  or carrying on . Shane only lives a half mile away from the cafe and apparently needed to pick up a Christmas tree, so he left

 

The rest of us set off for Tattenhall and my home of course, but I continued on after losing the CB’s and Toby at the junction to Huxley, on the other side of Tattenhall. 

Those three took the canal road to Waverton and I lead ‘the very nice man’ to Brassey Green, where I said goodbye, after making sure he could make it to Rose Farm (another 2 miles) I then turned back for Beeston and the Shady pub, for a headwind finish to Tattenhall.

 

I got home with 50 miles on the clock and an AS of 14.8 mph, which was the same for the group, but the actual route mileage was 37 miles and a very respectable AS considering the hills. It was a lovely day of camaraderie and sunshine, if a bit windy. We had some great laughs, especially with and at ‘last minute.com’. He never fails to make us all laugh.

 

I have to say that leading this somewhat dysfunctional bunch of cyclists was a pleasure-Lol.

 

Till next time ladies,

 

the Wind Whisperer aka Neil.

See route map and/or gpx file download

July 6th 2023: Manorwood (mod)

An excellent turnout gathered at Rose Farm, Utkinton in the sort of weather that makes it tricky to know how many layers of what thickness to wear and whether to pack a rain jacket.

 It was good to see John W out and about and hopefully starting to come through the other side of his recent travails.

 Pre-ride talk featured Neil describing the challenges of DIY carbon fibre repairs, a comparison of C2C routes and collective gasps at the recent exploits of Roy's younger, fitter, madder cycling colleagues. Roy also provided a comedy moment when he couldn't remember which of his 30+ bikes he'd ridden here today.

 About half of attendees had their own things to do and departed, whilst Neil led a small group on a Mods+ ride which sounded a bit too challenging for some of us. That left Trevor, Roy, Ever-Ready Ray and myself (Matt the Trike) to come up with a plan. As nobody had a better - or indeed any - alternative to my suggested 80km/50mi ride to Barton, we agreed to set off that way, albeit with a few minor tweaks ...

 Dave M, although not riding with us, suggested that Manor Farm would be a better lunch stop than the "posh" Cock O'Barton, a shortcut lopping off the Wettenhall leg was agreed to placate Ray's fear of too many miles, a quieter route from Bunbury to Beeston was suggested by Trevor, and we abandoned the entire Farndon/Lavister section in favour of a more direct path to Waverton, with the net result of reducing the ride to an easy-going 58km/36mi ... apart from all that, we stuck rigidly to the originally planned route!

 It's traditional for CER rides to start in a farcical manner and today's was no exception. Before setting off, Roy had to fix a puncture, having packed inner tubes with insufficiently long valves for his aero-wheels, and then I missed the first turn due to computer lag, forcing us all to u-turn past a bemused lady in a Mercedes who'd been waiting patiently for an overtaking opportunity.

An easyish pace allowed for plenty of conversation, which included the state of the roads (as always), Roy's cycle projects and tales of past glories, Trevor's grandchildren, how to get the best photo of Beeston Castle, and the latest sports-washing plans of Ineos billionaire sociopath Jim Ratcliffe.

Lunch was taken indoors at the campsite cafe of Manor Farm, where the four of us must have looked slightly out of place amongst the young families of campers. At least Roy's dad jokes helped give us a little family authenticity. The food was good and unexpectedly vegan-friendly, and the water lillies provided a pleasing backdrop for our group photo.

It was at lunch that Trevor suggested short-cutting through Waverton which, amongst other benefits, would avoid me escorting Ray back to Utkinton. So it was that we doubled back towards Tattenhall then endured the crater-strewn Pump Lane to Churton. A downhill dash through Aldford on the main road followed by a tailwind-assisted scoot through Saighton brought us to Waverton where we bid good afternoon to Ray, slightly alarmed at the prospect of navigating for himself. Having checked that Ray could manage three instructions all at once, we left him to solo back to his car at Rose Farm and headed off in the direction of Guilden Sutton. I peeled off at Christleton for home, whilst Trevor guided Roy to Mickle Trafford and his route back to Ratcliffe's Runcorn.

 The weather gods treated us to a little bit of everything throughout the ride but it was decent enough to be labelled "good cycling weather" as we managed to dodge any significant headwinds and all but the lightest and shortest of showers. A short but satisfying ride in the end and one in which Ray finally earned his "cycle navigation" cub scout badge! (@Ray, you did actually make it back didn't you?)

 MT

See route map and/or gpx file download

15th April 2021: Coddington (mod)

At last! Some semblance of normality today, with more cafe’s & pubs open, if only outside service. However and more importantly, the Welsh mob were finally allowed to join the English Mob (relaxed pandemic rules). Meadow Lea was the venue & a quick head count, as I tried to get my group together, revealed 18 all told and there wasn’t the usual fast crowd, although Clive was there. Anyway, after some confusion on departure, we finally get 3 groups in order, as Jim & his good lady were doing their own thing, which prompted Dave M to realise he wanted to do his own thing as well, which we later discovered, was to go back home, as we road past him on his driveway, 30 mins later - Lol. 

So, Clive led off with the fastest group.

Steve H led off with George and Peter. 

While I lead off with the remaining 5, which included our ‘senior man’- Dave H (minus his paper Garmin - Lol), Mike & the Welsh contingent, Elwyn & Fiona (to be fair, they only live 200mtrs over the boarder, but rules are rules-Lol.

We were heading for Manor Wood, lakeside cafe (roughly 42 mile round trip with 500-ish mtrs of assent- so flat, although Dave didn’t think so- Lol). We set off to the North, unfortunately on to the A56 for a mile, to get around the myriad of brooks & streams to the east of Meadow Lea (no other choice to be fair). Fiona & I decide we need to warm up, so I tapp out a pace until the right turn for Great Barrow and on to a good stretch of smooth B road. I then lead the group on a slight detour and get us into a few lovely lanes, in order to point out the fabulous Blue Bell cafe to our senior man (the best cakes in the land and lovely food in general, popular with the “blue rinse” brigade and “wives that lunch”). The detour also allows us to get across to Oscroft, where we say hello to Dave again- Lol.

Still finding it a little chilly we head on past Okells, which provided a point of ref for Mike, who now knew where he was, although apparently Okells is a tricky place to find, according to Dave. This made me chuckle, as Okells sits right on the mighty A51, can’t miss it (probably owns a car without sat nav- Lol). At this point I take a few lanes I don’t usual ride, but the roads were so good thus far, I thought we better throw a few rough ones in for Dave’s benefit. This also allowed us to ride past my favourite pond, with it’s resident black swans. We push on past the 50p shop and on towards Beeston and the section of the route with a few light hills. This allowed Elwyn to stretch his legs and show us all how to do it with ease, for those who were still close enough to see him - Lol.

We take the easier route, around Harthill toward Duckington, down Brown Knowl and right, onto a cracking lane to Tilston (now a favourite of Fiona’s it seems, as I catch her up, knee out, enjoying a couple of quick switchbacks -Lol). It was shortly after, much to Elwyn’s delight, that I get discovered watering a shrub (What a lovely lady, not sure what she was laughing at though). Only a mile or two later, I get a cramp in the groin, luckily we were close to the cafe.

We arrive at Manor Wood and proceed to soak up the sun for an hour, which was lovely and gave me time to stretch out my cramp. Some interesting conversations ensued, especially the one about what could possibly be the missing ingredient in the cancelled the x3 Welsh Rarebits ordered. Dave proceeded to asked the young girl “ how can you run out of cheese in a cafe” to which she said “oh, we have cheese” - no bread then? - butter? Can’t remember who guessed it, but it was of course Worcester Sauce. Anyway a great cafe stop apart from the inexplicable; ‘let’s have a go at Tanner’. Totally uncalled for, something you’ll never see me doing, so unfair; it’s definitely WaVerrrrrrton by the way- Lol.

Anyway, at this point I decide I shouldn’t ride back to Meadow Lea, as it would mean at least another 20 miles back home and my groin was not feeling good, despite the stretching. Fiona and Elwyn head off home to Lavister and I ride to the other side of Tattenhall, in order to  make sure Dave and Mike are on the right road to Waverton, before turning back home myself. I had exactly 50 miles on the clock, once home and a fraction under 500 mtrs assent.

What a gloriously sunny day, if a bit chilly at the start. Good day out, enjoyed the company and again sorry to Dave and Mike for having to bail on the finish & hope you guy’s made it back ok.

NT

19th December 2019: Barton (mod)

(I've had reported that the smiley emojis :-) in the report below are not showing and appear as "J"s instead - please read accordingly - SH)

What do you mean, I have to write the blog for the day's ride? That was not part of my plan when I volunteered to lead a route. Don’t blame me for the following illiterate diatribe:

So, there we were at Rose farm café, pondering the threat of heavy rain coming from the south (due after 1pm), on top of already flooded roads all over the countryside; Dave H – Steve H – Peter- Bob – Steve T – Dave M – Trevor -Clive - Elwyn – John W and yours truly. We were clearly minus a few regulars, one  notable was Fiona. However, Elwyn informed us that she had a better offer and was riding with MGVC- ooh! “Get her” J J

Other missing notables were, most of the fast boys, so Elwyn and John elected to join us (rumour has it that they wanted to experience a real ride, instead of all that macho speed stuff, I could be wrong of course, but rarely am J)

As I discovered, I wasn’t the only one  interested in a mud free ride for a change, with the hope of relatively dry lanes (in the grand scheme of things of course) Hence, It was quickly decided to follow my route ( Dave H & Steve T that is - something about being tired of always carrying the group and getting no recognition for all their efforts or did I miss hear the chuckle brothers J)

Our destination was Manor Wood cafe, not visited before by some of the group, but a favourite of mine, especially in the summer with its outside seating, beside a quaint landscaped Mere and strange looking folk, in camouflage gear, dangling poles in the water   (almost as strange looking as us lot of course J)

Again, to be different. I head out right from Rose Farm and immediately we were in trouble with confusion over the number of riders, as I thought we were 11, however, Dave M did his usual and went the other way. Steve H was also missing, to which I was then informed, by one of the chuckle brothers, that Steve was suffering a bit and decided to head home. So, after a bit of a discussion we head off again with 10 in tow- well 8 and a couple of fast Klingons J

With the first 2 losses under our belt we head toward Oscroft on a few fast open lanes and quickly spread out with Peter doing the duties of “tail end Charlie” on his E-bike. The ride was going well (nice and mud free) until Clive decided to hijack the route and lead us down the back lanes of Aldford. This was shortly after I had stopped to admire the lovely wild meadow noted on the left, just before Aldford bridge. So it may have been that the group was temporarily rudderless and that Clive used his initiative (what a load of crap J)    

On we trot toward Churlton, where we lose Trevor, who headed off toward Coddington and home. No sooner had we lost Trevor, when John decided he needed to head home, something about dropping his bike off at AJ’s however, we all knew the real reason, as he was spotted at the rear, somewhat flagging, chatting to the green party (clearly his legs had gone - totally underestimated the pace of this group JJJ)

Anyway we make it to the café (at Barton) with no further losses. On arrival I discover that I hadn’t paid for the bag of coffee beans, I thought I had paid for on my last visit – oops! Clive commented, at our table, that we had only completed 20 miles, which didn’t stop the majority ordering the “full monty” ( 33 miles for yours truly J)

The lunch conversation seemed to revolve ostensibly around property and in particular our 1^st mortgages. It was then we discovered how old Bob was, as his thatched cottage in Oxford cost him £1000 can you believe, back in year dot- well, maybe a bit more than £1000 J

The rest of the conversation was about how useless Elwyn was with electronics and bikes- to which Clive then demonstrated how easy it was to plot a route home on his Garmin (think Elwyn said “show me again and again” JJ)

So we finally get going, after the “last supper” and still with no rain, but the worst of the lanes, in order to get across the A41. At Tattenhall, I decide to change the route slightly to avoid the really mucky marina area, due to the building site. This also provided a much needed tailwind for some. So we head out to Beeston castle and down to the Shady Oak pub, once I had corrected Clive on his poor sense of directionJ

At Brassey Green, with 4 miles to go, I leave the remaining 5, and head home, they turned right to Tarporley and on to Rose Farm. I got home after 45 miles with only a bit of drizzle in the last 2 miles. Hopefully everybody else made it the last few miles to Rose Farm (33 total for the ride). I kept my fingers crossed as I rode home, as up until that point Elwyn had not fallen off his bike – still getting used to those clippie things on his pedals  J   

So, all in all a pretty good day for all, to which we all have to thank the ride leader for stepping up with a fabulous route with very little mud (as predicted) - exceptional lunch stop - and finally, amazing leadership.

Yours truly – Alias; lies R us JJJJ

PS;  Merry Xmas to you all and a Happy New Year 

See route map and/or gpx file download

NT