7th July 2011: Graigfechan, Vale of Clwyd

Ivan, Dave M, Alan, Ray and Martin met at the Gallery Cafe, Hawarden on a day when heavy showers were forecast.  We welcomed, for the first time to my knowledge, a guest rider from abroad.  Marc is German, living near Frankfurt, and was taking a 4 week holiday in the UK.  In his first week he was staying in Little Sutton.  He had heard of CER and contacted Bryan W who invited him along to the ride.  CER has gone global!
We decided to cross the Halkyn and Clwydian hills, take lunch at the Three Pigeons, Graigfechan and then return over the Shelf.  After a minor hiccup when Marc’s light fell off on the Ewloe roundabout we rode on through Northop and then started the climbing up to Rhys y Cae.  Marc showed his climbing ability even matching Ivan.  Then on to Lixm and a fast descent to the Mold Denbigh road, which we crossed, followed by an immediate steep, short climb to Nercwys.  The climbing continued with a crossing of the Clywdian hills by the most northerly road that, I think, is commonly referred to as London Bridge for reasons that are obscure.  The descent down the other side into the Vale of Clwyd was steep, potholed, gravely, damp and in parts darkly shaded but none of this deterred Dave who went down as if he was still in the Pyrenees.  Others were rather more cautious and took it a slower pace.
We regrouped at the bottom and then headed south along the lovely lanes of the valley to Llanbedr D. C. and over the main road and on towards Graigfechan.  The sky was now darkening and clearly rain was on the way.  Consequently the pace picked up so we could make the pub before the heavens opened.  It became apparent that Alan was off the back and after a wait he did not appear.  Ivan rode back a fair way but no sign of Alan!  We could only presume he had decided to cut the ride short as he has good knowledge of the local roads.  (See Alan’s story below.)
We reached the Three Pigeons just as the rain started.  Lunch there was excellent in all respects.  Definitely worth a repeat visit.  Conveniently when we were ready to leave the rain had stopped.  From here there was a fast paced climb up the Shelf (one of my favourite climbs in North Wales) with Ivan in the lead as always.  A short rest at the top to repay the oxygen debt and then down to Llanarmon-yn-lal.  We returned to Hawarden via Loggerheads, Gwernaffield, Soughton, Alltami and Ewloe in increasingly sunny conditions.

Photograph by Martin Donaldson

After a stop at Martin’s house for tea and cake the others continued on to Chester.  We had covered 45 miles from the cafe with 1350 meters total climb.  The pace up the many hills had been fast and the day had felt rather more like the “Chester Proper Hard Riders”!  Marc turned out to be excellent company and a strong rider.  I think he had enjoyed riding the quiet, scenic road of North Wales, which he would never have found without local help.
MD

Alan’s story: …….. we headed south along the Clwyd valley aiming to reach a pub called the 'Three Pigeons' which was apparently near to the start of the 'shelf' road up to Llanarmon-Yn-Ial. I did not know exactly where the pub was, but just followed everyone else.  After going through Llanbedr D.C I was feeling a bit tired and started to drop back a bit, but could still see the others up ahead, till there was a bend in the road.  As I came round the bend, there was no sign of anyone and the road split in two directions.  Which way to go?  I knew that the left turn led up the 'shelf', so I went that way.  After a mile or two I couldn't see any sign of the others, or of any pub, so I turned round and went back to the junction and tried the other way along the B5429.  I still couldn't see anyone, or a pub, so I decided to head back via Pentre Coch and over the ‘shelf’.  I got halfway up and the heavens opened!  I scrambled for shelter under a small tree until the rain stopped, and then continued on till I reached the cafe at Loggerheads.  After some much-needed rest and refreshment, I finished the last leg back to Hawarden. I had told the others that I knew the area very well, so I hope they realised that I would not get lost!  All’s well that ends well and as Bryan has now given me a list of everyone’s mobile numbers it shouldn’t happen again.
AJ