31st October 2019 : Norton in Hales (brisk)

Asked if I could provide a route from Rose Farm, I consulted the CER bank of past routes, looking for somewhere to the south, so that I could cut across to Tilston on the return leg. So, Utkinton to Norton in Hales was duly selected. The choice was narrowed when I found I couldn’t download pre-2018 routes. However, it proved to be a good choice, even though the brisk riders were down to just two, me and Ken.

We opted to take the A49 road crossing along Heath Green to cut around the back of Tarporley, as opposed to negotiating the car madness of downtown Tarporley. The route took us along the quiet and scenic lanes past Beeston Castle, through Bunbury to Audlem, where we corrected a missed right turn.

Commenting on the strong headwinds, coming from a generally south direction, we were feeling smug in the knowledge of a return tailwind. While keeping up a good pace we were relieved to get to the Hinds pub in Norton in Hales. We arrived at about 12.15 when it was quite empty, but pretty busy when we left. Food was good, as was the beer, but an even better looking white IPA came on tap as we were leaving.

The return leg took us along very quiet and fairly direct lanes to Adderley, Aston, Wrenbury and Bickerton. It was fortunate it was dry because the roads around Adderley and Aston were covered in a smooth, dried mud road surface (resulting from farm vehicles cutting of the maize crop), that in the wet would turn into an ice rink. Staying upright still required concentration, especially with the odd kamikaze pheasant and stoat.

At Bickerton, I left Ken to negotiate Harthill and the very lumpy road surface of Wood Lane (Utkinton), and instead turned left at the church. After a small climb, three miles of blissful downhill landed me in Tilston. We had a great day out on an excellent route covering 57 miles. We completed this at an average of just over 15mph. Oh, and that tail wind of course never materialised!

See route map and/or gpx file download

NH

9th May 2019: Norton in Hales (mod)

Our start today was from the Ice Cream Farm, though the turnout was limited by a forecast of continuous, steady, persistent, interminable, endless rain. Dave M was out but not riding with us, which left Ken, Clive, Steve T, Bryan, George, Dave H and myself. Bryan was using today to try out his new very fine looking Canondale Synapse(?) e-bike.

I suggested a route towards Market Drayton.  If conditions improved, we could go all the way, if they worsened, we could stop at Audlem, and if they stayed the same, we would stop at Norton in Hales.  We headed out past Beeston Castle and through Bunbury and Haughton, before crossing the A534 at Brindley.  Here I shed the heavy burden of leadership, and Ken led us on through Ravensmoor and Sound to the outskirts of Audlem.   We’d been speeding along at a distinctly brisk pace and here we paused to consider our condition.  Ken, unsurprisingly not dressed for winter conditions was feeling the cold, and the battery assistance on Bryan’s new bike was cutting out (as the law requires it to do) whenever our speed went above 15.5mph. Believe it or not, brisk riders, these speeds were reached quite often in the absence of any real inclines and any adverse winds. I took the lead towards Norton in Hales and remedied both these problems by finding a series of long hills as we climbed towards Norton Wood Farm. Then we had a short speedy downhill to our destination.

The Hind’s Head has been visited by us several times before. We shed our damp clothes and settled down to some well-earned food and drink. As usual many topics were discussed, but we also ventured into the forbidden territory of Brexit. Be assured, no punches were thrown and no voices raised.

Soon it was time to move on. We headed past Shavington Park and northwards by the Bhurtpore. Then it was on past the Cotton Arms and the Dusty Miller, before crossing the main road by The Cholmondeley Arms. At Bickerton Ken left us, and we then climbed up to Harthill. The rain had become noticeably heavier as we approached the later stages of our ride. A fast descent followed by that annoyingly short but steep second climb brought Dave H to a halt as his chain came off. He and I caught the rest up by the entrance to Bolesworth Castle, except for Steve T who had sped ahead.  We turned right and made for the Ice Cream Farm.  No Steve T, but we didn’t have to worry as he soon arrived having taken the long way round via Tattenhall centre.  Despite the heavy rain at the end of the ride, the rest had been quite pleasant – you have to accept that cycling in the rain can be pleasant.  We had completed a round trip of 50 miles.

See route map and/or gpx file download

SH

26th July 2018: Norton in Hales (mod)

This was forecast to be the hottest day of the year, with temperatures in the mid 30’s in the south and east, while our local forecast was predicting highs of 28 degrees.  Not that this deterred the moderates who again were out in force, but no brisk riders were to be seen.  We sat on the wasp-plagued terrace of the Ice Cream Farm as riders assembled: Bryan and David M were only out for the café; Andy W was only going part way with us because of another commitment; the rest were up for the ride: Ian trying us out for the first time, Neil, Andy B, Dave H, Mike G, Clive, Dave P and myself.

Our destination was the Hinds Head in Norton in Hales.  After some delay due to binding mudguards on Clive’s bike, we set out through Beeston, Bunbury, Haughton and Ravensmoor, to skirt Audlem via Kingsley Heath.  The route so far had been very flat allowing a good speed to provide the wind chill needed to keep us from over-heating.  As we approach out destination the land became more undulating and it was a relief to arrive at the pub. 

We thought about sitting outside, but with tables and chairs bolted to the floor we couldn’t sit together.  Indoors was comfortable and we were quickly fed with most choosing the baguette or wrap options at £7-8 each.  Dave H’s attempt to call a plumber led to a discussion of planned obsolescence and the non-repairability of so many household items. Before setting off on our return, multiple water bottles were replenished, and the all-important group photo taken, with Dave H revealing his artistic temperament.

Photo by Dave H

We travelled west through Adderley and around Shavington Park, before passing through Aston and stopping at the village shop in Wrenbury.  We sat outside consuming coffees, ice creams and other refreshments, while Dave H got into discussion with a local character. Finally extricating himself, our route continued, sometimes at ‘brisk rider’ speed, past Cholmondley and Bickerton.  We took the less demanding climb past Bolesworth Castle, where the 2018 Carfest of the North (www.carfest.org/welcome/welcome-to-carfest-north-2018) was gearing up for the coming weekend, and it certainly looked a massive event. 

Photo by Mike G

From there is was a short ride back to the Ice Cream Farm.  No-one suggested stopping: it was the first week of the school holidays and the place was teeming. On what is my last ride for quite a few weeks, we had covered 50 miles, in fairly demanding weather conditions, but on lovely lanes with good company.  Ian will be back for more.

See route map and/or gpx file download

SH

23rd March 2017 : Norton in Hales (brisk)

With a few members enjoying a cycling holiday abroad, briskers were in a minority despite a big turnout at the Ice Cream Farm.  Ken, Paul R and Andy B quickly agreed to set off with me bound  for Norton in Hales as I had the route on my garmin from a previous Easy Rider outing. Having climbed to  Harthill we cruised along uneventfully enjoying glimpses of warm sunshine. These were interspersed with chillier temperatures when dark clouds blocked the suns rays and the effects of the cool headwind  were felt.  In fact this weather pattern of sun, cloud and wind was set for the rest of the day. 

Our only minor hiccough came about south of  Wrenbury when garmin failed to signal a right turn which would have taken us through Aston.  We decided to ignore the eventual “Off Course” warning in the belief we would pick up the route a bit further on  Well we did but in fact it was the return route!   So it was that we headed north east to Ravensmoor rather than south east to Adderley .  At Ravensmoor we corrected course by heading for Audlem and from there on to Norton in Hales with 3 or 4 extra miles on the clock.

The sun was shining as we arrived for lunch at the Hinds Head where we rapidly warmed up in the conservatory.  We spent 10 minutes sorting out our return route deciding to ride initially to Adderley which we had failed to visit  on our outward leg. Over an enjoyable lunch we heard a bit about Kens recent holiday in Tasmania which sounded great although he seems to have been overwhelmed with DIY since arriving home.

From Adderley we swept west for a few miles along some very pleasant lanes, then roughly north crossing the A525. We continued to the A530 near Aston where Ken headed straight on to find a direct way home. We remaining three turned right along the Nantwich road. With Andy moving up front to take the role of  brisk “domestique” leading us all the way to Bunbury. As a result, we made fairly short work of the long run via Broomhall Green and Ravensmoor and  had a welcome pit stop at Tillys in Bunbury . 

With about 56 miles since leaving the ICF we decided not to return there and instead returned to Chester via  Beeston  Castle, Huxley, and Waverton.  I had 78 miles under my belt on arrival home. I suspect Ken had done similar and both Andy (to and from Mold) and Paul (with a 20 miles warm up pre ride!) had a much bigger totals. We can take satisfaction from riding most of the planed route even if not in the expected order!

A good day out with the definite feeling that winter is at last behind us.

JM

8th September 2016: Norton-in-Hales (mod)

I’d been very tempted by the write up from the brisk group for the Hinds Head at Norton-in-Hales a few weeks ago. It was a place that demanded a repeat visit, and starting from the Ice Cream Farm it was a manageable a ride of around 50 miles. I had copied most of the brisk route but reversed it.

Our group included both brisk and moderate riders: Steve T, George, John M, Andy from Mold, Ray, Tom, Paul, Dave P, Dave H, myself and Bryan who was only joining us for the first few miles. The early rain had stopped as we left and troubled us no further. We started through Tattenhall and over Harthill, before passing by Cholmondeley, Wrenbury, Aston and Adderley. Lovely quiet lanes were traversed under a little cloud and some sunshine, and by 1230 we had arrived at the pub.

Photo by John M

The key question was whether the Hinds Head would live up to the reputation of the earlier visit. We had a friendly and efficient welcome from an Aussie barman, who served us good quality beer and lime & soda at 60p a pint.  The food followed and was good: my steak and ale pie was full of tasty meat and accompanied by excellent chips and gravy. The group’s collective view was positive and so the Hinds Head will find its way on to our list of favourite lunch spots (an updated version will be on the blog shortly).

Photo by Steve T

The benign weather continued as we cycled back on more fine lanes. We skirted Audlem and then passed through Sound, Ravensmoor and Brindley, to emerge in Bunbury for an obligatory stop at Tilly’s. Then it was the usual route by Beeston Castle, where George left us, and on to the Ice Cream Farm. A total of 49 miles in good September weather.  Let’s hope we have a good many more days like this before winter.

SH

18th August 2016: Norton in Hales (brisk)

In the absence of the usual ‘brisk’ ride leaders, there was a certain amount of indecision, even chaos, before Ken came up with a ride down to Audlem – a nice steady 50 miler, or so it seemed. Mike G offered to help with the navigation and so Ken, Mike G, Andy B, Tom, new rider Garnett and yours truly set off – but not before we’d spent 15 minutes trying to fix Tom’s loose head…I mean headstock... on his new bike. After various CER members had offered allen keys of various lengths and sizes and opinions on how to eliminate the wobble, the bike was no better, so we set off anyway down the road towards Tarporley. From there we took Birch Heath Road and Crib Lane out to Beeston and then on to Bunbury Heath and Bunbury, crossing the A49 as we did so.

From there we followed Long Lane down to Brindley and across the A534. By now, we were fairly whistling along, since Mike G had taken the lead and had his foot down. He explained that he’s usually the slowest of the brisk group, so he’d decided to take the lead and set the pace so as not to hold the rest of us up. Personally, I think he was on something! So on we sped, crossing the Llangollen Canal at Swanley Hall and then on to Brindley (where we crossed the A 534) and Ravensmoor to Sound. Taking in the sights and sounds of the countryside on a beautiful summer's day, we zoomed along the lanes epitomising all that is great about CER. After a mere hour and twenty-five minutes, we arrived at the boundary sign for Audlem, only to turn right and skirt the village. Unbeknown to me, our leaders had decided that our destination should be modified and we would press on towards Market Drayton. Ah, I thought it must be the Joules Brewery …

So we pressed on via Swanbach and Kinsey Heath and ran down into Norton-in-Hales, arriving just after 12.30. The Hinds Head in the village has been a point of call for CER in the past and reports had been good, so it was decided to stop here for lunch. As we trooped in, the landlady was just taking lunch orders for a group of 9, so we ordered our drinks and food, expecting to wait a considerable time for the grub to arrive. Incidentally, the lime and soda here was but 60p a pint, putting The Hinds Head at the lower end of the price range we see. In the end, the food came in about 40 minutes and was unanimously considered to be of a high standard at a very reasonable price. Perhaps Steve H would consider adding this hostelry to the CER list of ‘favoured lunch stops’? (www.hinds-head.co.uk ).

Resting in Wrenbury

After lunch we rode through the village, a really pretty spot, turning up the bucolic lanes of North Shropshire to Adderley and Shavington Park. There was a park at Shavington as early as 1577. The current house was built in 1685 for the sixth Viscount Kilmorey and the landscape park was extensive by 1752. The park was expanded to around 1500 acres by 1851, but it had fallen into a dilapidated 'wilderness' by the 1890s. Although the site is now administered by Parks & Gardens UK, sadly the park is not open to the public.

As we went on towards Aston, Mike G was again setting a cracking pace (who said anything about a nice steady ride!) and we soon found ourselves in Wrenbury. We stopped at the Llangollen Canal partly because the bridge was up, but mostly for a breather…and a photo. Then it was back into the saddle and on towards Cholmondeley Castle Gardens, crossing the A49 as we passed the Cholomondeley Arms (expensive!). Thence on to Bickerton and up Harthill. Reaching the top, we were rewarded by the long downhill stretch into Tattenhall, where Tom, Andy, Mike and Garnett peeled off to head back to Chester; Tom was intending to take his bike into the shop to get his head fixed today if possible.

Ken and I then meandered back to Utkinton via Huxley and Clotton, arriving back at Rose Farm in time to get a cuppa before they shut up shop.

This ‘steady ride’ turned out to be 58 miles at an average speed of 16 mph. Thanks go to Ken and Mike G for guiding the rest of us so ably on a lovely summer’s day.

ST

Photograph by Steve Tan