“And then there were none”
The team were greeted by some festive music on arriving at the Delamere café, and a good sized group set off for a steady moderate ride to Bunbury. A short stop in Kelsall gave Dave P the opportunity to ring ahead to the pub and check that they were happy for the group consisting of Dave and Liz on the tandem, Dave H, Steve H, Bob, Fiona, Andy W, Neil and myself to arrive at lunchtime. Having cleared that hurdle we set off along Willington Lane, and past Willington Hall. If you’ve ridden this bit of road you’ll know that the surface is as rough as anything Clive takes us on, so the last time I went down there I filled in a repair report for the Cheshire Highways. Some days later I got a call from the local engineer to inform me that he’d looked at the surface and it didn’t fit the criteria necessary for a repair! Perhaps they need to lose a few local Range Rovers in the holes before action can be taken. However, the next section has been re-surfaced and a pleasant downhill took us to the A51 where traffic was briefly absent allowing us a quick crossing onto Corkscrew Lane.
The farmers had thoughtfully sprayed most of the surface with a fine layer of post-glacial mud, which makes a change from the usual blackthorn I suppose. The rain that was forecast for 3pm made a preliminary appearance but generally we stayed dry. Past the entrance to Beeston Castle - not many visitors there on a gloomy December day - and on to Bunbury and the Nags Head. The open fire was a welcome sight and we were soon perusing the menu. The meals were good quality and well –priced, but it was soon time to head back out into the gloom.
Dave and Liz set off to retrace the route out, Fiona and Neil felt the need to add on a few extra miles, which left the rest of us to head back to Beeston. Andy then peeled off direct for Chester and the remaining 4 continued down to the Ice Cream Farm and over the twin peaks by Tattenhall Marina. Here Dave and Bob took a right up to Huxley and back to Delamere. Steve and myself continued along Greenlooms Lane where we parted as Steve went right to Tarvin and I continued left to Guilden Sutton. The wind was beginning to pick up now with twigs and leaves blowing across the road, so I was quite relieved to get home to a mince pie and cup of tea. Just 40 miles for me, perhaps a bit less for the group, but a pleasant ride well up to moderate standards.
See route map and/or gpx file download
JD
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