11th April 2019 : Wheaton Aston Special Ride (brisk)

It was one of those days where you didn’t know what to wear; the forecast was good but I had to scrape ice off the car before driving to picking Nick up and heading to Market Drayton. Arriving in good time, we found  the rest of the riders  assembled in Morrison’s cafe discussing the two routes that were planned for the day. A moderate ride, led by Clive, and a brisk ride led by myself. 

At 10:30 we assembled for the grand depart, when Clive announced he had a minor problem, his i-phone had stopped working.(It later transpired Clive had inadvertently turned off the phone’s backlight !!) To minimise any delay, Steve was quickly appointed the new leader of the moderate ride. Both moderate and brisk rides followed the same route out of town past the golf course as far as Salisbury Hill which was where we parted company.

Our route bypassed the delightfully named Hungryhatton before passing through the lovely quiet lanes of Ollerton, Great Bolas, and Kynnersley prior to entering the outskirts of Telford. Here I had planned a detour taking us to the east of the urbanised area to rejoin the original route near the M54 at Tong but John’s Garmin indicated that the route through Telford and Shifnal should be straight forward  via a cycle path. 

We took the cycle path which separated us from motor traffic but the state of the cycle paths left a lot to desired with uneven surfaces which were littered with hedge cuttings. John picked up a puncture at the Limekiln roundabout where Watling Street (an ancient trackway later upgraded and paved by the Romans) enters Telford.The puncture was caused by a paper staple not hedge cuttings! The punctured tube was soon changed but then changed again,with one borrowed from Nick, as the tube John carried did not have a long enough valve body suitable for his deep rimmed carbon wheels.

Setting off again, we  turned off left back into the countryside via Woodhouse Lane, passing through a wood yard. This lane quickly deteriorated into a dusty stony farm track (Clive had warned me earlier that he had not checked the route out in detail…). Fortunately it was dry and we soon rejoined the tarmac road and continued on, crossing back over Watling Street once again before reaching our lunch destination The Hartley Arms at Wheaton Aston.

Two of the Three ( and a half) riders

Proof positive of lunch venue

The Hartley Arms sits on the outskirts of the village by the side of the Shropshire Union Canal and a full compliment of ‘moderates’ were already sitting enjoying lunch as we arrived. I teamed up with Nick for  a ‘two for one’ lunch which was very good value; our total bill for 2 mains and 2 lime and sodas came to £11.The  lunchtime chatter was limited as the ‘moderates’ were ready to leave shortly after our food arrived. This meant  Steve had a very rushed lunch as he joined the ‘moderates’ for the return trip.

Lunch over and under sunnier skies we left.Turning right out of the carpark we weaved our way through quiet lanes to the villages of Milton and Bradley, the hillier terrain now giving us a better appreciation of the surrounding area that we were cycling through.With only two more brief forays off-road we finally arrive at the village of Ashley to reach the highpoint of the ride at just over 200 metres. 

With Nick leading out John and I, the last 10km were ridden at a fast pace back to Morrisons. After a quick catch up with the ‘moderates’ in the cafe, we opted to forgo coffee  and make our way home, hoping to beat the rush hour traffic. Clive, thank you very much for putting together a superb day out. The route of 63 miles took in some lovely quiet lanes, pretty villages and a good lunch venue.

See route map and/or gpx file download

KP


Photos : JM

11th April 2019: Wheaton Aston Special Ride (mod)

The first special ride of the year, and Clive had devised a brisk and a mod ride from Market Drayton to Wheaton Aston, a few miles north of Wolverhampton. We were to meet in Morrison’s café in Market Drayton and here assembled the mod riders: myself, Clive, Trevor, Dave H, Keith, Andy B and Steve T who was unsure whether the join the brisk group.  We had all parked in the store car park, except for Andy, who had cycled down from Malpas, considering a ride from his home in Mold as a little too far.

It was cold.  The forecast was for a dry, cool and sunny day with little wind, but as we set off clouds were covering any sun.  Clive had a problem at the start, insofar as his iPhone had stopped working.  However he had taken the precaution of sending me the route, so we headed out, minus Steve T, past Salisbury Hill, before crossing the A529, passing through Sambrook and then joining a lovely straight Roman Road towards Sutton.  Here we climbed the hill to admire the view and take photos  from the entrance to Fernhill House, “an impeccable restored Victorian country house” according to Savills.  See how the other half live...
https://assets.savills.com/properties/GBWMRSTES180043/TES180043_TES18001356.PDF 

Photo by TC

Next we continued south eastwards, warming up under now clear skies plus a one chevron hill. We took a quick dash along the A5, before turning off towards Wheaton Aston and the Hartley Arms. We were surprised not to see the brisk riders already ensconced in our reserved tables, given they had only a little further to travel than we had.  The welcome was good and we took advantage of the pensioners’ special of two meals for the price of one and a few of us enjoyed the Banks’s Mild. Decent food arrived and so did the brisk group having been delayed by a puncture and route finding in Telford.  We noted that the pub sat on the Shropshire Union Canal, which could have provided a traffic-free, hill-less route all the way back to Market Drayton. During lunch Clive resolved his iPhone issue and led the route back.

We were joined on our return by Steve T who was playing fast and loose with his group loyalties. We headed northwards through Church Eaton and Gnosall Heath, then towards Norbury.  En route at Shelmore Wood we passed BIFoR, the Birmingham Institute for Forest Research Free-Air Carbon Enrichment Facility. This studies how forests will respond to future increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Extra CO2, equivalent to concentrations expected around 2050, is being delivered to undisturbed patches of woodland. https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/building/bifor.aspx

Travelling on through Adbaston and Cheswardine, after 49 miles, we arrive back at Morrison’s for tea and cakes.  Reflecting on the ride, we are impressed by the quiet, generally smooth country lanes and considered revisiting this area for future special rides.  Many thanks to Clive for devising this one.

SH

See route map and/or gpx file download