8th March 2018 : Wem (brisk)

Today's ride is meeting at The Tea Rooms Café in Chirk so for me it was train assist. Setting off from home it was heavy snow, although too wet to stick but the forecast was to be a fine dry day after rush hour traffic!! Nonetheless I had donned additional clothing!! Mistake.

Gathering at the café were an equal number of riders for the Mods and Brisk groups. I had circulated a route to Tilley and visit to The Raven Inn. Four brisk riders, John, Nick, Steve and myself set of down Chirk Bank taking the right turn over the canal and to Western Ryn. The road side along this stretch was covered in snow, so it is lucky we are here this week. Up and onwards towards Hengoed and then the top of the hill, before the downhill stretch into Oswestry.

We skirt the town via numerous streets to join B5069 passing through Morda and crossing the A483 and continuing along the B4396. The route along this narrow lane suffered heavy snow recently (see photo). Passing through Ruyton X1 Towns then towards Baschurch, we pass through the small but pretty village of Burlton where Nick has a click from the wheel and stops to inspect it; meanwhile we continue UP hill before realising we had a tailer! Back down the hill then to find Nick getting ready to call home. Up again and onwards to Loppington taking the route towards Tilley and Wem.

Arriving in Tilly and the Raven Inn, we are met with a closed pub!! Oh well, we continue to Wem where we are advised to try the Castle Inn, a Joules house. Seating in the best and softest pews in the house, we are soon served with drink and lunch. The Yorkshire pud and sausage was very tasty and reasonably priced at £7.00.

We leave Wem via the usual route the B5063 towards Northwood and Welshampton and Dudleston Heath. While approaching a right-hand fork, we have a peloton cock-up culminating with Steve hitting a pot hole, curb and finally landing on the deck. This results in a front wheel flat. All the tools are out, and we are soon performing a precision pit stop repair stripping the wheel and inner tube out only to find Steve’s replacement as holey as the original.

A new replacement was donated and tyre refitted. Due to John's meticulous fitting of the tyre to the wheel, the fit was exactly as it came off. Once the inner tube inflated, we noticed the tube popping out of the side wall!! Off again, and emergency boot patch fitted. Thank heavens for these easy fit solutions.

Ready to roll onwards again through St Martins, we then negotiate the very busy Lord Morton roundabout to head towards Chirk. Passing the Poacher inn, we take the canal route passing over the viaduct into Chirk. We are beaten back to the café as the Mods are all sitting in the window seat awaiting our return.

A distance of 49 miles round trip with a 2087 ft of ascent at an average of 15.2 mph. A very enjoyable route covering some new lanes and revisit of old territory with good companions to ride with; plus a new lunch stop at Wem.

See route map and/or gpx file download

ID

Photographs by John M

11h May 2017: Tilley (mod)

There had been a desire amongst the moderates to schedule a few more longer rides. George had suggested meeting on Tuesdays, when we could, in order to build up to a hundred miles. Steve Haywood is leading a moderate riders 100 in August. Two days previous to this ride, Keith, George, Steve Tan and myself, had cycled from Waverton to Sleap and returned via Ellesmere. We had clocked up a very enjoyable 79 miles. I suggested that we could adjust and shorten this route, and still have the pleasure of exploring a lacework of lush little lanes in deep Shropshire. Fortunately, everyone seemed happy with the plan. Steve was stretching his legs with the fast lads, so the moderate group consisted of Bob, George, Keith, Andy W and myself.

We set off from the Ice Cream Farm, with Dave Matthews joining us for a few miles on his road to recovery. Brown Knoll was followed by a fiddle around Duckington before crossing the A41 and skirting Edge Hall, hitting the Roman road near Kidnal, then climbing towards Malpas. We swept down through the village, passing the cross and following the B5395, before taking the quiet lanes off to Higher Wyche and Iscoyd Park. The estate buildings here go back to the 17th. Century, and the impressive Georgian Hall is used for wedding receptions. We turn right down a narrow lane through a green glade. Then, pass a track at Whitewell which leads to St. Mary's: a little white church by a brook. We are soon heading south, crossing two main roads without fuss, and making good progress on the largely flat roads between Fenn's Old Hall and Waterloo. Here I try some delightful unknown lanes around Paddol Green, before heading down the B5476 into the centre of Wem. Left at the church, and right before the railway bridge brings us, hungrily, to Tilley. As we swing right we see the attractive Tilley Raven pub, with people sitting outside in the sun. Perfect! It was my first time here, and it was friendly with really good food. Clive had approved my lunchtime venue choice, so it should be on Stephen's list.

Particularly on these longer rides, the lunchtime stop is not necessarily the furthest point from home, so a second planned stop well before four o'clock is desirable, otherwise the return journey can be a bit of a long cafe-closed slog. It can feel particularly unremitting if you find yourself having to make polite small talk with Andy for over forty miles. Stage two then was to end with coffee and cake on the side of the Mere at Ellesmere. Our route took a sweep west along quiet, easy lanes, threading through lots of little villages including Loppington, Cockshutt, Bagley and Hordley. Somewhere on the way, a lasting image was of a smiling woman approaching us on a magnificent grey horse, controlled as in a dressage event. We then headed north to Ellesmere via Tetchill. Passing the college, with young people sporting in the sun on the cropped green turf, made me wish that I was fifteen again. Sitting on the side of The Mere with a drink and a thick slice of bara brith was just smashin'! Stage three was about twenty six miles, beginning with a climb past Sandyhill and on to Penley, Holly Bush, Worthenbury and Shocklach. Leaving Ellesmere late reminded me of a traditional mid-summer long ride led by Bryan a few years back. After slow service at a late lunch stop we were somewhere the wrong side of Shrewsbury, and it was late afternoon with many miles to go. A break at the Black Lion in Ellesmere led to a discussion as to a choice of routes back. I remember being assertive with Ray Hardman in ascertaining the shortest route home, and arguing that this was the only sensible option! We duly returned via Penley and Holly Bush, arriving back around Chester late enough for your mum to have the police out looking for you. These days I am more used to enjoying the last leg of a longish ride, rather than just feeling trepidation. Mind you there is nothing wrong with 40-45 easy miles, and I feel that the need to contest the last few miles home at a very fast pace is also becoming a bit of a tiresome normal expectation. You can make a moderate rider go faster and longer, but you can't stop some of us wanting to be very happily, very moderate at times.

At Crewe-by-Farndon, we turned right for Stretton, Barton, Coddington and Chowley before reaching Tattenhall with 66 miles on the clock. Steve Tan had had to ride home to Runcorn, as when I rang him from Ellesmere he had already finished his ride with the fast group! Andy still had to get back to Upton, so probably clocked up around 80 miles. It was a great group to be out with, and those smoothly surfaced, quiet, little Shropshire lanes were an absolute treat.                      

DH

22nd January 2015: Tilley (brisk)

Riding out from home with Ray the temp was 5˚C and it was chilly. Clive was sailing today so someone else needed to lead the ride and I had a ride prepared in case needed.  Arriving at Hildegard’s John was already tucking into his tea and tea cakes and soon the cafe was full with riders taking advantage of an expected dry day with little wind, albeit cold.

The Brisk team today would consist of Ray, John and Ivan with new riders Sarah and Martin.  A big welcome to both new riders, they are long distance cyclists and very fast with Sarah demonstrating her speed sprinting up all the hills and today we covered 791 meters!! on a route to Tilley (Where!!).

The road from the river bridge at Farndon to Holt is under resurfacing and pretty bumpy so leaving the cafe we departed along the Wrexham Rd to the main road for the chosen route out via Crewe by Farndon and Shocklach. We are soon enjoying the frost free and relative quiet roads and soon rolling down hill at Sarn Bank. 

Our route is direct to Hanmer and passing the Hanmer Arms Hotel I advised the group that this is where the moderates are heading for their lunch, it was 11:20 so we carried on. The lanes passing Bettisfield and Nortwood were excellent and a pleasure to be cycling along.

We arrive at Wem and the Garmin did not let me down, following a path in the direction of a dead end car park supposedly, we got to a gate that required we had to lift our bikes over if we were to go through so we about turn back into the town.

Photograph by Ivan Davenport

It didn't take long and we were on Tilley lane and approaching lunch at our lunch venue the "Tilley Raven" last visited 8th September 2013. As then we were made welcome providing a big table for 5, although all tables were shown reserved, and our lunches were ordered. As per Clive’s write up of this inn nothing changes, we had arrived at 12:05 and lunch arrived 13:00 but it was worth the wait enjoying good cask ales and Ray selecting a Rump steak to build his stamina up for the return ride home. No puddings today!! so we rejoined our bikes and returning via Wem town and turning right for Creamore Bank we are again enjoying some lovely tarmac. The only dirty road was experienced at Welsh End and a single track taking us over the Shropshire Union Canal via a wooden drawbridge.

We were fast going down Shothill and trying to read the route on the Garmin at speed in sunshine I call a wrong turn and bring our down hill roller coaster to a halt only to advise the group we are carrying on - Sarah and Martin lead us up the hill but if any of you can recall this bank it is a long steepish climb.

Once over the brow we are then heading for Malpas with a good view of the church from this direction then on to Tilston and Stretton where our new riders leave us heading for Pulford. Prior to arriving at this juncture we had an altercation with the BMW mentality driver. We were running at 24+ leaving Tilston and just as you approach the right hand little bridge the idiot overtook us and nearly took a car out approaching in the opposite direction. He then slowed and held up his two fingers but kept far enough in front of John otherwise he would have found them elsewhere in his anatomy (he did take note of the number plate!!).

The trio arrived back into Chester and all departed for home after completing a 72 mile journey from home although from the cafe it was probably a 49 mile round trip.

A good day out for January at an average of 15.4 mph. 

ID

8th September 2011: Tilley

The weather promised to behave itself, and it did, with only a few spots of rain in the morning and a warm afternoon.  Eleven of us (Ray, Bryan, Brian, Trevor, Alan, Janet, Dave & Liz P, Mike G, and I along with newcomer Peter) set out from Holt heading for Tilston by way of Wetreins Lane.  The first hurdle came on the main road to Tilston that was closed due to hot tar operations; and hot it was, as we walked by on the grass verge.  This was one of a few such closures as various lanes were being surface improved.
 Photographs by Brian MacDonald

Out via Horton Green to Oldcastle Heath, we snaked our way to Big Arowry and into Bettisfield Park, and through the “blink and you will miss them” hamlets of Wolverley, Noneley, Rue Wood and finally into Tilley just south of Wem.  The Raven in Tilley is a real find; the landlady was friendly but warned of a 30 min food delay because “everything is cooked freshly prepared” – true to her word the food arrived as predicted and very tasty it was.  Coupled with a wide range of guest beers, it is worthy of a return trip at a later date for sure.  Brian was back briefly from Scotland and the Orkneys and selflessly played the 11th man role for a good part of the day. 

Photograph by Alan Jeffs

As we left the sun came out and we set off via Wem town for lanes anew and yet more hamlets, in a figure of eight in the English-Welsh badlands intersecting at Tybroughton.  I have to confess I like this tripartite area of Cheshire, Shropshire and Wales – there are lots of lanes and few hills to worry about.  There were mutterings of an afternoon tea stop so we ended up quite early back at Hildegard’s for tea and cake.  Peter did well on his first outing, and promised we would see him again.  A 49 miler from Holt, but 70+ miles for those Chester bound.

CA