18th July 2019 :Trevor (brisk)

A usual ride from The Gallery tea rooms at Hawarden would be out towards North Wales but today Clive suggested a ride to Trevor with lunch at the Sun public house.

So, the brisk riders today loaded up their Garmins with the route and, led out by Clive with Ivan, John W, Nick and Ken in tow, we head out of Hawarden for the rough ascent to Bilberry Wood. Navigating the non-cycle friendly stile, we cross over the A55 and pass through Penymndd.

Hope and Caergwle are soon behind us before the continuous climbing through Bryneg and up to Rhosllanorchrugog. The route is still upwards heading for the Panorama walk. The lanes are good riding and not busy and when we pass the Prospect café, the scenery is breath-taking today looking over the Vale of Llangollen with Dinas Bran looking down over Llangollen.

Nearly at the top

We take an exit off the walk and head back down into town and join the very busy tow path with pedestrians and the barges and make our way to our lunch stop. The Sun Inn was as accommodating as usual. It was Ken’s birthday today (one off that well known Beatles track) so a celebratory round and a good lunch was had. Happy Birthday from the Brisk group Ken, and cheers.

Back on our bikes and onto the canal path, its towards Cefn-Mawr and the usual route for Ruabon and Bersham. Whisked through Wrexham by Clive with all his knowledge of tracks, we haul our bikes across the pedestrian crossing bridge over the A5156 and pass the Pant-yr-Ochain. This was a coincidence as it was in a conversation with our club leader at the start of today’s ride from Hawarden.

At Gresford, we stop for a coffee at Alf Jones cycles cafe. We say farewell to our birthday boy in Rossett as us four head on to Dodleston. Nick peels off to head back for his car at Hawarden. Clive, John and I continue to Ferrymans Lane where we go our own way home.

An excellent route and company. The route as a round trip would be 50 miles to and from the café but riding out from Chester an average of 60+ miles covered and 3317ft of ascent but it all equals out with the descents!! - as we’re so often told.

A good day out for the Brisk group.

See route map and/or gpx file download

ID

Photo by KP

6th September 2012: Sun Inn, Trevor

The Expresso Cafe, Gwersyllt is not the most popular of CER starting points.  Possibly the café itself, the distance from Chester, the hilly environs or a combination of the three.  So on a lovely late summer day only Ivan, Ray, Bryan, Colin, Martin & Lizzie and Liz & Dave P turned up at the café.  We were then joined by three Wrexham Cafe Hoppers - Bruce, David and Mike.  However the numbers were soon whittled down as Bryan was in less than good form and decided to do his own thing, the tandem arrived punctured and Dave & Liz decided to meet us at the lunch stop and the three Wrexham boys retired early on the initial climb up to Minera preferring a less hilly route.

Photograph by Ivan Davenport

The five remaining riders continued on with the winding climb through Minera towards Llandegla, past the MTB centre, briefly onto the A565 and then along the gated lane that emerges on the road halfway up to the top of the Horseshoe Pass.  We soon reached the Ponderosa Cafe and started down the steep Old Horseshoe Pass Road and the right to the bottom of Worlds End and up to the Panorama route.  This must be the most picturesque ride in our area and the road surface is now good but it is littered with rocks and debris that have been washed down from the steep slopes above.  Perhaps as a result, it is a frequent puncture site and true to form Ivan had done so by the time he had reached the Sun, Trevor.  The repair was a protracted procedure requiring 3 inner tubes taking place during lunch eaten outside in the sun with a lovely view over the Vale of Llangollen.  Dave and Liz then arrived after cycling over Worlds End - pretty impressive on the tandem.

The return was along the canal path to Acefair, Johnstown, Bersham, Wrexham and Gwersyllt. Ivan and Ray then continued back to Chester, Martin to Hawarden and Colin and Lizzie took their cars home.

A beautiful hilly ride of only 33 miles but 1,160 metres of climbing taken at a slow pace. The return journey to and from Chester adds a further 28 miles.

MD

3rd September 2009: Trevor & Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The good news was the rain forecast never wet us, it followed us all day. The bad news was the 18 mph wind never let up. Bryan is still out of action but kindly turned up at Bellis in Holt for elevenses and to suggest a route and wave us off. Thank you. Off directly into the South Westerly via Cross Lanes, Ruabon and the old iron/coal fields of the Dee Valley to the Canal Basin at Trevor. Excellent lunch at The Telford pub, including a dessert called ............. "Rumpy Pumpy". That's what I asked for and got.

Photograph by Brian MacDonald

After lunch it was over the "8th Wonder of Wales", now a World Heritage Site, Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte breath-taking Aqueduct. We discovered that, in high cross winds, cycling on it is inadvisable, due to the canal on one side and the 116 foot drop on t'other. Back along the Llangollen Canal towpath for 3 miles, we passed three more of Telford's viaducts before emerging from a canal tunnel in sunny Chirk. Then with the wind behind us, we returned to Holt via St Martins and Overton, completing an easy & very varied 38 miles.

Next week, it's another 38 mile historical ride from Ness Gardens, to see where the Victorians went to play.

BMac

30th April 2009: Panorama Route & Worlds End

Photographs by Bryan Wade

What’s happened to the sun? Just when we need good weather to enjoy the views from the Panorama Route it’s wet and miserable. So it was on with the waterproofs and off to Caergwrle to join the others for elevenses. I arrive early, despite trying and failing to find a new way over a roman bridge suggested by Ray. Ray and Mike arrive together, having discovered an “even better” route, which turns out to be the one I had been using for the last year! Graham completes the group of four for the day so we set off up “the steps” with Ray leading. The plan is to head up through Minera and then to take the back lanes south to Penycae before contouring round on the Panorama Walk. We make good progress with the only stops being to shed waterproofs and then put them back on as the weather changes: at least the rain wasn’t heavy. By the time we reached the Panorama Walk the rain had eased and we stopped to admire the view and take photographs.
Lunch at the Sun Inn at Trevor necessitated a long and steep descent almost down to the River Dee knowing full well that we would have to climb back up after. The Sun did us proud with a good choice of food (including a very satisfying chicken curry) washed down with Timothy Taylor. While discussing the benefits or otherwise of stainless steel chains, armadillo v continental tyres and other sundry cycling topics the rain bucketed down outside making us reluctant to leave. Leave we had to though, as the Inn was being locked up for the afternoon. Back in the saddle we used the car park to engage bottom gear and started on the climb back up the way we had come and then on towards Worlds End. Having done this section a couple of weeks earlier I wasn’t looking forward to the final climb out of Worlds End but we all made it in good spirits although I for one needed a stop at the top to recover! It just doesn’t seem to get easier. From here on the gradient was easier and we were able to enjoy the views over the moors before a fast descent returned us to Minera, Cefn-y-bedd, the Kinnertons and home.
The round trip from Caergwrle was just over 30 miles while Chester and back totalled 53 miles with a tiring 2269 metres of ascent.
BW