There was a fine turnout on a bright and blowy day at Cleopatra's. The Fast Lads sorted their own plan out, with the minimum of fuss, as usual. The moderate group had a choice between Neil's route to “Chocks Away” at Hawarden, or my Malpas-free suggestion heading for Hanmer. Neil had planned his route so that the stronger winds that he was anticipating in the afternoon would be blowing the group home on the return leg. There was an amicable split, which had the advantage of keeping the groups to a more manageable size on the road. Unfortunately, a quick call to ensure that the Hanmer Arms could accommodate 'my' group, ascertained that a very large walking group were already booked in for lunch. The Dickin Arms at Loppington seemed an attractive alternative, even if it was a bit of a stretch, hopefully not too ambitious for the tandem. George, Dave and Liz, Roy, Mike, Andy and myself were on board.
Both moderate groups rode out together, before splitting at Stretton Hall. We rode south through Tilston and along the Roman road before turning right at Kidnal for Chorlton Lane, Cuddington Heath, Oldcastle Heath and Lower Wych via Bishop Bennet Way. Roy popped into my favourite garage with me at Peacock Farm Yard, Cuddington Heath, where we briefly viewed a very smart, and increasingly rare, mid-engined ClioV6. I could have done with a V6 for the next climb! The tandem had the next best thing, with Dave's impressive fitment of a powerful electric motor aiding uphill progress very effectively. James Dyson's design teams would have been proud of this result! Climbing from Lower Wych we took the second left, passing Strift House, because I wasn't sure how viable first left would be. We then navigated the quiet little lanes to Whitewell with its little whitewashed chapel in a small green field. I could live here, but how far would I have to go for a bottle of 19 Crimes? After crossing the A525 and A495, we swished down nice and easy lanes from Fenn's Bank to beyond Dobson's Bridge, and then cut across to Wolverley. At Spenford Bridge, I chose another very narrow lane, rather than turn into a headwind for a short while.
This was a mistake! On paper, it was a nice back route through the small village of Loppington, but, on the day, was very muddy and rough for a while, and took longer. So, we arrived a little late for lunch, but we received a warm welcome, and enjoyed their lunch menu, which once again was outstanding in its quality and presentation. We had covered about 25 miles at this stage.
The route back needed to be as direct as possible, so we headed for Northwood. Unfortunately, George had a thorn puncture. My long-nose pliers, and the very efficient expertise of Roy and Dave Pipe meant that George was up and running pretty quickly. I was a bit concerned, because we were still well south of Hanmer, and really needed to crack on. As it happened the wind was not a problem, the sun was mainly out, so we soon warmed up again and made consistent good progress north, all afternoon. At Bettisfield we came across an attractive conversion of a former railway station nestling down on our left. The former railway line appears to have linked Whittington to Whitchurch via Ellesmere. A stretch of rail with a locomotive engine has been installed as feature in the grounds of the station house (see Roy's pictures). Bettisfield was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1066.
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| Photos by Roy |
After climbing past The Hanmer Arms we crossed the A539 and passed through Little Arowry, before crossing the A525 and tackling the steep bank at three Fingers. The route from Threapwood is pretty quick, even if the faster members of our group were not giving it full throttle. Cleopatra's closes at four, and we arrived as an apologetic Helen was locking the door. I think she was having to dash off for a parents evening. Never mind! We had covered about 45 miles in relaxed company, and with the deeply rural territory covered, and Dave and Liz alongside, it was a steady paced sunny day that seemed to capture the essence of Easy Riders from years past.
DH
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