12th August 2021: Melverley, Edgerley (mod)

Today’s ride started from the Castle Bistro in Chirk – always a welcome opportunity to get outside our usual Cheshire territory. There were seven moderate riders: Dave H, Dave P, Andy B, Alan, Steve T, Steve Hu and myself. I had in mind two possible destinations – The Old Hand and Diamond at Coedway and the Royal Hill at Edgerley. In truth both of them offered similar rides as the same route leads to them, you just need to travel a little further to Coedway. Incidentally, the proper address of the Royal Hill is Edgerley, though on the map, Pentre or Melverley seem the more obvious locations.

Photo by AO

Our way out was familiar: over the busy A5 roundabout, out to Hindford and then to Welsh Frankton. The Hindford to Welsh Frankton road has been awful for ages, but today we were mainly contending with thick gravel and potholes, and not the thick mud that you can meet there. Things seemed to be going fine as we descended from the junction with the A495, until we heard the unmistakable crunch of a bike hitting the tarmac. Alan had suffered a nearly calamitous jammed chain leading to him tumbling off his bike. Fortunately, Alan himself only had minor scratches and bruises, so we pulled into the driveway of a friendly local villager while we assessed damage to the bike. The main problem seemed to be that several links in his chain had become twisted, though not so badly that he couldn’t ride. We carried on cautiously

We arrived in Bagley where we took the turn to Stanwardine-in-the-Fields and travelled through some lovely countryside on quiet and smooth lanes.  After Stanwardine, came Baschurch, and then Little and Great Ness before we crossed over the A5. Here we could see a densely packed herd of sheep on the opposite hillside. Though as we approached their movements looked unnatural, and it was only as we got closer that we could see they were in fact a flock of white geese! We continued, passing by the army camp and arrived at our destination.  

The Royal Hill is in a delightful south-facing location on the banks of the River Severn looking towards the distinctive Breidden Hills on the far bank. Atop the main hill is Admiral Rodney’s Pillar, erected to commemorate his victories in the American War of Independence. Obviously, his battles went better than the rest of the war. 

Photo by SH

We sat on benches outside. It was warm, quiet and relaxing in the sun. The Severn was close by, though we had to look over a hedge to see it. A chap came over to talk and ask whether we were from Shrewsbury.  He had arranged to meet members of a cycle club there for lunch and was checking to see if we were them. We admired his car, a classic open-top maroon Mercedes. Food arrived quickly and was enjoyed. Before long it was time to leave.

Our return took us to Melverley, where previously Mike Gilbert (I think) had shown us to the church, an ancient half-timbered structure on the banks of the river.  Today, we passed by and made for Maesbrook, then Maesbury and into Oswestry from the east. Negotiating the back streets we emerged by Old Oswestry Hill Fort, and took the road to Weston Rhyn. Avoiding the busy main road, we dropped down to the Ceriog Valley and climbed back up to our starting point. 

We covered 43 miles in some lovely weather and pastoral scenery, and with good company.  An excellent ride.

See route map and/or gpx file download

SH

6th February 2020: Melverley (mod)

There had been a heavy frost, though a sunny day was forecast, when CER members assembled at the Castle Bistro in Chirk. Ivan and Nick made up the brisk contingent, and we had six moderate riders: Bob, Steve T, Trevor, Mike G, Andy B and myself. Over coffee, Andy was sharing a few interesting facts about working in the nuclear industry: in order to test radioactive contamination, some staff had to provide 4 litres of their urine, in order that it could be reduced down to a concentration where alpha particles could be counted!

In choosing a destination for today’s ride, I remembered that on other rides we had often passed an interesting-looking pub on the banks of the River Severn.  So it was that our destination became the Royal Hill Inn, midway between Melverley and Pentre. We set off on one of our regular routes from Chirk, through Hindford and Welsh Frankton. Caution was in order as we came across patches of ice which we passed gingerly, and sometimes dismounted and walked around.  We hoped these would disappear as the day progressed. We cycled on through West Felton and Knockin, past the radio telescope dishes and beneath the helicopters always hereabouts due to the local military base.  Before long we were seeing signs to our pub.

Photos by Mike G

I can’t explain why it’s called the Royal Hill Inn as the locality is fairly hill-less, but maybe it is connected to the Civil War battles in the Shrewsbury area. The pub itself has an ideal location looking south over the banks of the River Severn towards the Breedon Hills in the distance. The interior retains a collection of small rooms - a servery, a snug and an old parlour. We sat basking in the sun shining through the windows and chose our refreshments.  The main courses are all under £10 and quite adequate – we were told that more chips could be provided if we wished. My pint of Three Tuns was in very good condition. We were discussing rides we had done in the area, when someone turned over a beermat to reveal the fact that the River Severn is 72,355 canoe lengths long! This brought the discussion round to canoe trips.

Soon it was time to move on.  Mike G suggested that we should visit St Peter’s Church in nearby Melverley.  This is a delightful timber wattle and daub structure, built in the early 15th century after Owain Glyndwr burnt down the previous one. In the early 1990’s a major effort succeeded in protecting it from falling into the River Severn.  As a result Melverley was given a “most motivated village” award.

From here we headed north through Maesbrook and Maesbury to join the road through Whittington to Gobowen. Before entering the town, we headed west, past the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, very familiar to Steve T, and then picked up the lanes to Western Rhyn and the Ceiriog valley.  From here we climbed up into Chirk and back to the Castle Bistro.

It had been an exceptionally good ride. The weather turned out to be excellent once the frost lifted. Apart from some muddy lanes around Chirk, the roads were generally clear and there was little wind. The route held plenty of interest, especially the church, and the pub was a notable find to which we will return. Total distance travelled was 42 miles.

See route map and/or gpx file download

SH