24th June 2010: Whitchurch

Where shall we head for today?  “I haven’t prepared a ride”, says Bryan as we sat outside of Bellis café in the near sunshine (post a small recent rain shower).  Everybody else i.e. Graham and Jane, Dave and Liz P, Ivan and newcomer Kate (welcome!) are in sheep mode, so I suggest a gentle ride to Whitchurch, cognizant that last week’s special ride was a 113 miler.  Bryan asks me to keep the pace down so as to ensure a sparkling pace does not intimidate Kate.  I don’t think we needed to – was it for you Bryan?  Off we go via the back lanes on the Welsh side of the Dee in the direction of Bangor.  Ivan and I cannot resist the Bangor straight and we hit 30mph before slowing down for the cobbled stone bridge into Bangor.  Up and out up the hill to Worthenbury darting down Mulsford lane towards Tallarn Green.  Nothing special to report except quiet lanes and improving weather.  Down “The Lane”, I decide against Lower Wych and head for Higher Wych but take the wrong turn out towards Agden rather than a right to Iscoyd Park.  Never mind, there is a rough track to cut back to the correct road but we all take a look and decide we can live with the diversion into Whitchurch via Grindley Brook.  Bryan leads us to a pub he knows in Whitchurch – the White Bear– we lock up the bikes in the courtyard and start ordering drinks only to find out that there is no food until tomorrow. Apparently the new landlord has just taken over the pub.  What to do but to sit in the sun nursing our pints whilst Liz and I research the High Street.  Ivan has suggested the Old Town Vaults and we are in luck.  So having paid the “parking fee” at the White Bear, we leave the bikes there and walk the 50 yards across the road. There are seven draft beers on offer, a £6.95 senior citizens two-course menu, and a very decent youngsters menu as well.  We sit in the “garden” at the back, out of the sun and the food comes up promptly.  Glasses are refilled as we start to talk about a way back.  A smile from the landlady would have topped off a very pleasant lunch stop.  A route via Marbury, No Man’s Heath, and Tilston is plotted as we set off in the sunshine through some delightful English countryside.  At the Wetreins Lane turn, Ivan and I decide to go back via Carden, Tattenhall and Waveton to Chester, while the rest set off downhill back to Bellis’s. Kate is still smiling and will have notched up 38+ miles round trip on her new Trek 1.2.  With the 26 miles round trip from Bellis to Chester, a respectable 64 enjoyable miles of English and Welsh countryside have passed us by.
See route map and/or gpx file download.
CA