8th April 2021: Ironbridge and Shifnal Special (brisk)

I was out with Ivan on Tuesday battling the strong NW winds when riding around Wirral. I mentioned that the original Rides Calendar for 2021 had today’s ride down as a Special Ride. Neither of us fancied another Wirral ride, so I suggested an out-of-area Brisk ride starting from Newport, Shropshire. Ivan was keen on this and produced a superb 62 mile circular route taking in new countryside and a re-visit to Ironbridge and a lunch stop in Shifnal. 

This found six of us ready for the off at 0945 in the Mere Garden Centre carpark, which is just off the A41 Newport Bypass. Ivan was leading John M, John W, Nick, Ray and myself down lanes anew as we headed due west out of the town and into a strong westerly wind. Although only around 10C, the sun was out and the fresh green countryside vista was good to behold. At Higher Ercall, we now head due south passing through Longton-on-Tern and the Tayleur Arms pub, which we have club visited in Oct 2016 and August 2017.

Uppington is true to its name as we steadily climb around the shoulder of The Wrekin. Once at Leighton, it was a pleasant fast downhill run towards Ironbridge. The former power station chimney comes into view. Ivan waxes lyrical about his train driver days delivering thousands of tonnes of coal to the now defunct power station (now looking for redevelopment). Passing the road up to Coalbrookdale, the town centre is relatively busy with tourists as we stop (longer than envisaged) for a coffee.

All the shops and food establishments are champing at the bit for April 12^th grand opening. Time to go again, so we run along the river eastwards heading for the delightful Jackfield and its Tile Museum (worth a visit says Nick). On the opposite bank is Coalport with its chinaware museum.

The Ironbridge

River Severn at Ironbridge

Coffee (after a long wait)

Aiming for the Jackfield and Coalport Memorial Bridge, we have to ride a short section of the Severn Valley Way to access this bridge. Crossing the bridge, Ray remarks that there is now a kilometre of a 12% hill to get up and out from the Severn river valley onto the top by the Telford golf course. After this, it is relatively easy to get to Shifnal, which Ivan recalls that there is a hight level train viaduct running straight through the town – and he was not wrong. At 33 miles out, Shifnal was chosen as the only place locally where we could buy a lunch for al fresco partaking. The high street had an array  of food shops which served us well. 

"Al fresco in Shifnal" featuring The Viaduct

After lunch, we rode a very pleasant north easterly track through Church Easton to Haughton. Long lanes now with a welcome wind assist. After Haughton, we start an anti-clockwise track back into the wind via Ranton towards Woodseaves. It’s then into the wind again to Weston Jones via Foston to skirt Aqualate Mere back to Mere Garden centre car park. It was nigh spot on 100km or 62 miles at a 15.4 mph. I was surprised that it was not faster given that a lot of the lanes were at 20 mph but I guess the 2900ft of climbs had something to do with that.

We all felt refreshed by riding in a new area with our cycling club friends. Interestingly, the roads and lanes were in just a bad shape as those around Cheshire that we are used to. Many of the countryside lanes were in a very poor state often with a lot of debris. I was glad it was a very dry day otherwise the bikes would have been caked up with mud.

So, many thanks to Ivan for a truly enjoyable route and for those riders who took the front during the windy road sections.

See route map and/or gpx file download

CA

Photos JW and ID

21st April 2016: Yarnfield Special Ride (mod)

A good turnout of a dozen riders met at Waitrose Café for a run out in pastures new, thanks to Clive’s initiative.

The moderate group, consisting of Bryan W, Brian Macca, Dave H, Mike McC, Trevor, Petar and Jim set off on a slightly shorter route than the brisk group in good sunshine and clear skies, though with a fairly chilly breeze. Heading north through the town centre we skirted Chetwynd Park, crossed the A41, and continued northwards on well-maintained, quiet lanes, through Knighton, Adbaston, Fairoak and Charnes before turning into the wind for a few miles eastwards. The landscape was undulating but not unduly so, though a couple of disrobing stops were deemed necessary as we began to warm up. The villages were typically representative of the Shropshire rural countryside, and we were regarded with occasional bemusement by heifers and several horses as we breezed by. The pace was steady, enabling us to maintain a reasonable level of conversation, one of the pleasures of ‘Easy Riding’.

Just to the west of Stone we passed by what looked to be some sort of MOD facility on the map, but the lichen-encrusted sign suggested that either very little training had taken place here for a considerable time, or that it was very well camouflaged.  Shortly after passing the camp we arrived at our lunch stop, the ‘Labour in Vain’ in Yarnfield, a distance of 21 miles, and met up with the brisk group who had travelled a little further. The food was good, and reasonably priced, and the beer drinkers more than happy with the choice of refreshment.

Photographs by Brian MacDonald

After lunch we parted company once again, though Steve H also joined us for the run back to base. We meandered southwards through Great Bridgeford, and Seighford until we met the Shropshire Greenway just west of Stafford. We were a bit unsure about the quality of the surface for our road bikes, but our concerns were unfounded, and we were able to get into the big ring and maintain a steady pace, helped by the wind, now on our backs. The downside of finishing the day on a cycleway is the lack of visual interest as most of the route seemed to be in a cutting, but at least we had no traffic to contend with. Arriving back at the A41, we quickly crossed and took one of the local roads back to the car park. Apart from weaving between the departing schoolchildren, the route back to the café was uneventful. 

A total of just about 40 miles in really pleasant countryside. Thanks Clive.

JD

21st April 2016: Yarnfield Special Ride (brisk)

The weather was pleasantly spring-like as a dozen of us met at the Waitrose Cafe in Newport - and what a pleasant market town it is. Jim had organised a shortened version of my 52 miler, so I gathered up Steve H, Chris, Paul and John M for the brisk route out to Yarnfield and the “Labour in Vain” pub. The route out was NCN552 NE towards Cheswardine. Crossing the line of the Roman road at Camp Farm, we arrive at the mile marker plaque in Cheswardine installed for the Queen’s Jubilee, and not as I previously thought in the June 2014 blog entry, the distances on the E2E route. Onwards via Chipnall and Hales, we arrive at 700ft at the A53. Here at Blore Heath, in 1459, was the second battle in the Wars of the Roses, but I couldn’t find the commemorative plaque, so here is the photo ex Wiki. The Yorkists won apparently.

Photographs by John Mills and Clive Albany

We now plod into the wind and uphill to the “foolish” town of Loggerheads. Apparently Loggerhead meant “a fool”. There was a large TB sanatorium here from1920 to 1969. Up and over the hill, we turn off right to dive through Ashley running parallel to the A53. We soon back on it for a mile before turning right into the delightful village of Maer. We are running well now through the gentle hills of Staffordshire before heading briefly for Swynnerton, which was granted a charter by Edward I in 1309! We now have to circle the former Royal Ordnance factory site near Cold Meece, which employed 18,500 staff to fill shells with explosive in the early 1940’s. We arrive at the pub almost simultaneously with the Moderates. The ale choice is good, as is the menu, but my omelette could have been better cooked.

Suitably refreshed and energy levels refilled, we set off (minus Steve H) bound for Stone and “enjoy” its bypass before picking up the NCN5 rolling around Stafford. We exit the town passing by the 11C castle (the one you can see from the M6) and now we have 15 miles or so of tiny lanes ducking and diving around various hamlets before crossing the A41 just south of Newport. Close to the town centre we are buzzed by two large helicopters that came out of nowhere sounding like machine guns. 

We find the Moderates are at the tea and cakes in the Waitrose cafe and we reluctantly joint them, with 52 miles completed and a surprising 2,900ft of climbs. Lots of new lanes today, through the very pleasant Staffordshire and Shropshire countryside.

CA