5th September 2024 : Montford Bridge ( Mod+)

I arrived at the Castle Bistro around 1000 after completing my customary warm-up ride through Chirk castle grounds. A gaggle of CERers were already esconsced with coffees and tea cakes. Steve T, as the gentleman he is, had allowed my proposed ride to hold sway over the prospective brisk and mod+ riders. So I ended up with Diane, a guest rider from Frodsham Wheelers, Roy, Nick, Alan, Elwyn and Fiona, and Steve T opting for a 47 Mod+ ride to Montford Bridge.

We started off on a loop of the town to access a fast descent down the Glyn Ceiriog road before slogging up hill into Weston Rhyn. Already there were complaints about hills but not from Elwyn who powered passed me into the distance - he must surely have a hidden battery drive on that bike! Together again and with the promise on nearly no more hills to lunch, we access the tiny lanes via the ancient Iron-Age hill fort that bring us out into Oswestry.

We endure acres of modern housing exiting Oswestry on a long quiet lane out over the A5, and after Aston Square, we cross the said ancient highway again heading for Maesbury and its marsh bound for Knockin via Woolston Bank. I can’t resist the photo opportunity outside the shop, which has a very good yet small cafe. After a piloting error, we eventually take the correct road to Kinnerley.

No comment!

We now have 6 miles of small lanes running either side of the extensive army training camp at Nesscliffe before Shrawardine village turns us east then south to Montford village then east again and over that A5 once again to Montford Bridge.The bridge was Thomas Telford's first bridge design and although now reinforced, still spans the River Severn. Charles Darwin’s parents are buried in the local church.

To get to the Montford Bridge cafe, we have to ride a half mile of the busy A5 before slipping off left and round and under to the cafe. I have been to this cafe several times and notice that they have added inside seating to complement the covered outside seating. I also notice that the smoking sign which stated “Please use the ash trays when the floor is full” has disappeared. The cafe has a 4. 3 stars over 800+ reports on Tripadviser and I think all of the group were happy with their luncheon repast.

The tricky bit is now to ride back along the A5 and then cross the road back into Montford village. It’s only 21 miles back but the route is unfortunately into the strengthening wind but deep lanes and high hedges ameliorate the experience. It’s a long run up to Ruyton XI Towns were I note the pub is open for lunches again. The way out is via Grug Hill  - a long lane ever upwards but not especially steep. Alan has a gearing misfunction that needed sorting which he successfully fixes.

We kiss by Queen’s Head before the long drag up the old A5 into the wind and into Whittington. The advance party pull up half way along here to allow the rear party to catch up and zoom by - guess who was leading that 3 rider peloton. Our group eventually catches them up in Gobowen as we ascend the bank onto the last part of the route parallel to that which we took on the way out. I always favour the aqueduct option back into Chirk where we arrive at around 1500 with 47 miles ridden.

So a cool, overcast and windy day which did not deter this octet group from sampling a lot of excellent Salopian lanes and a quick lunch at a very good transport cafe. Many thanks to the long suffering group for allowing me to indulge my love of the Shropshire countryside.

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

Photo AO

12th August 2021 : Montford Bridge (brisk)

Back on 29th April, Ivan lead a ride around the hills of Wales to Montford Bridge. We ended up at a biker's cafe just off the A5 at Montford Bridge. With this in mind, and an urge to remove the Welsh hills, I crafted a 62 miler basically running SSE of Chirk through the glorious Shropshire countryside. I only had two takers for this ride, John M and Nick, but they were up for a flat ride in the August sunshine. 

Getting out of Chirk, we first go up to Weston Rhyn then down to Gobowen cycling along the busy line of Wat's Dyke then heading for the orthopaedic hospital to enter Oswestry from the east. We slide around the town through acres of housing where the quiet lanes start at Maesbury. I can’t resist a route taking in Knockin and its large satellite dish, nor the eponymously named shop. 

Knockin Shop -they were in and out in 5 mins!

We now have a long list of tiny village names to cycle through around the edge of Nesscliffe army training area. I have to re-plot on the fly as the planned route turns out to be a rough track; so we head for the River Severn then turn west to get back on route to go over the Melverley bridge into Wales again at Crew Green.

The wind was supposed to be SSW but it was more westerly which didn't help most of the day even on the return, but Nick was keen to take the front as we go up and down along the B road to Alberbury. We slip off to the right now going down lanes anew for the next 18 miles. Through Stoney Stretton and tiny Edge and Hinton, we are soon at Lea Cross. After Shorthill and Annscroft, Hook a Gate bring us into the SW corner of the burgeoning Shrewsbury metropolis. The tack NW takes us through acres of established and new housing estates before ending up at Montford Bridge. 

To get to the cafe, there is a half mile contra-directional dash along the busy A5 then wheeling off left, down and under the road to the cafe. As before, the food is wholesome and of good value as we refill our liquid reserves after 40 miles of delightful countryside. Back on the A5 re-tracing our route to Montford Bridge, we then take the NW long lanes to West Felton going via Ruyton -XI-Towns. Here Nick is keen to push on so goes off on his own route back to Chirk at apace. John and I meander up Grug Hill and near Eardiston, Nick appears at a crossroads behind us! He shoots off again towards Queen’s Head.

The route to Gobowen via Queens Head is the old A5, and it's a long straight drag to Babbinswood and Whittington, but up ahead we see Nick battling on in the distance. After Gobowen, we sidle passed Hennle Golf Club and head straight for Chirk via the canal side at the Poacher pub.

John informs me later on, that we had broken some previous Strava segment speeds on the route we had taken, which was surprising given that we had enjoyed viewing the new countryside. So thanks to both Nick and John for their company today and  for Nick taking the front on several occasions - is he in training for something I wonder? We rode exactly 100km!

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

29th April 2021 : Montford Bridge (brisk)

Ivan and John W had been out to the Welsh hills only recently, where the last 25 miles mainly consisted of most of the 6000ft of total climb. So I was surprised to see Ivan’s suggestion for today’s ride out of Chirk. The route was a modest 53 miles with 3000 ft of climb but crucially there was the 12% section over a third of mile up to Selattyn, and the 14% climb over a similar distance at Llanyblodwel. I had indicated to Ivan that "a nice flat route to Shrewsbury would be appreciated today" and this is what I got! So I was in two minds that I might have to detour these hills on the fly. 

So we set off to Weston Rhyn to climb the oddly named Station Road into the centre of Selattyn. So far so good. The downhill run onto Oswestry was restful as was the exit to Trefonen via a 8% climb to the B4396 towards Llanyblodwel. This surprisingly English village sits in the lovely valley of the Tanat River. There are timber-framed cottages and a pub. The church is stunning and we stop to photograph and admire its octagonal based spire which is topped out in curved stonework. 

It is Grade I listed so see here for more info. 

The only way out unfortunately is up and over the hillside. This means a double chevronned initial ascent followed by a longer single chevronned section. I decided that the valley was better viewed at a walking pace! In Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, I recognise the left turn towards Four Crosses. No major hills now Ivan assures me. 

The view in front  of us as we head for Crew Green is dominated by Breidden Hill (366m) and the tower on the top is known as "Rodney’s Pillar”. See here for more info.

Wikipedia Attributed: Dave Croker 2010

Back across the River Severn, we are bound for Shrawardine via Nesscliffe Training Camp. Here, Ivan relying on his Garmin routing, takes down a scruffy lane that ends up in half a mile of the Shropshire Way.  We were lucky the weather had been dry for a while, otherwise the mud would have been horrendous. BTW - I have used a perfectly good lane to avoid this in the past!

Montford Bridge comes up at 32 miles as we ride over the A5 and then a long a short section of it to access the picnic and rest area where there is a well-established truckers and bikers cafe with loads of outside space. We sit under cover by a radiant heat lamp where the helpful sign urges customers to "use the ashrays when the floor is full”. The food is plentiful and very much needed after the cold of the Welsh hills.

The route back is a near straight track NE through glorious Shropshire countryside down long lanes. No time to stop in Rutyon-XI-Towns as Ivan and John shelter me frorm the northerly winds as we hit Queen's Head. There is then the long drag towards Babbinswood and Whittington before hitting Gobowen. Ivan heads right round the roundabout as I shout out “Turn Left” - which is the way indicated as his route. Ivan and John catch me up as Ivan explained he wanted to go to St Martins. I said that was definitely out as it was an unnecessary “up”.

We are back in Chirk a little after three o’clock and decide to head homewards towards Chester only to enjoy a massive traffic jam on the outskirts of Chester due to an accident on the A55 by-pass. Nonetheless, I survived the day and rather pleased I persevered with the ride. So thank you Ivan for the route and John for the wind sheltering throughout the day, and all at a surprising 15mph average.

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

Photos CA and JW

27th August 2015: Montford Bridge (mod)

I was first to arrive at the Chirk Tea Rooms soon followed by Brian Miller on his second outing with CER. Later Paul, Tom, Steve T, Trevor, Liz & Dave P turned up, as well as John fresh from his Paris-Brest-Paris success. I say fresh; which was remarkable seeing that he told us he’d only managed one hour’s sleep a night through the whole four days.
Trevor intended to ride directly back home, which left the rest of us. I’d planned a ride based on Clive’s brisk group outing to Shrewsbury last month because it sounded an interesting route. However, instead of the full distance I intended to avoid the town itself by lunching at Montford Bridge. Reversing the route and making some other minor changes completed the plan.
Having promised a flattish ride, I felt a little guilty as we struggled up a single chevron gradient climbing from the River Ceiriog to reach Rhyn, although this was the exception. From then it was through Gobowen and Whittington, crossing the A5 to Maesbury, past the radio telescope at Knockin. The route was showing the effects of heavy rain in the week with some large patches of gravel and mud. So we initially missed Clive’s track leading down towards the River Severn because it just looked a muddy mess.  On closer inspection, it was a muddy mess, one that even he might have avoided.  So we continued by a more sensible road to the riverside, where we logged an appealing looking pub for future use, the Royal Hill near Pentre.
Continuing through Shrawardine to Montford Bridge where we stopped at the Wingfield Arms. A friendly welcome led to a very long wait for food, though when it came it was substantial, well received by many but not by all.
Refreshed, we headed back through Little Ness, Ruyton XI Towns and on to Queens Head. From here we chose to avoid the A5 making for Oswestry along minor roads. We soon heard the wail of emergency sirens, and a little later began to meet many vehicles and heavy lorries on our route – Oswestry itself was clogged with traffic – the A5 had been closed.  We eventually broke away from the congestion, headed north past Old Oswestry Fort, into Western Rhyn and finally over the canal viaduct into Chirk in time for tea and cakes in the café.
In all about 48 miles in generally fine sunny weather, though somewhat longer for John, Paul and myself who had cycled from our homes

SH