5th May 2022: High Legh (mod 1)

Another good turnout at Delamere Station Café, with 13 CER members present. Ray and Dave M were not riding as they were recovering from Covid (Ray) and going home to mow the grass (Dave). Ivan and John W were gearing up for a short (<100 miles) ride to Alsager and Neil offered to lead a shortish ride, which Steve Hu and Peter took him up on.

That left Dave H, Keith, Steve Ha, Trevor, Andy B and yours truly for a ride I had planned to The Bears Paw at High Legh, a venue we have not visited before, but where I had booked a table ‘outside’ for 12.45pm. 

We set off by the usual route to Hatchmere and Norley, whizzing down Norley Bank to Onston Lane, Acton Bridge and down the steep hill to the A49 and the bridge across the River Weaver. After the ‘down’ there’s always an ‘up’ and so we were soon puffing and panting up Willow Green Road and over the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Reaching the top of the hill in Little Leigh, we crossed the A553 and made our way along Cogshall Lane to Comberbach. A left and right put us on the road to Great Budworth where there’s another climb into the village. Leaving the village by Westage Lane, we soon joined Budworth Road, heading towards Knutsford.  At Tabley Brook, we fork left on Old Hall Lane which takes us over the M6 and then, using a bridleway, under the A556 and out onto the old Chester Road.

From here we took the rather rough and bumpy Moss Lane and then Green Lane to join Tabley Road for the run into Knutsford. Crossing the A50, we’re soon into the tranquility of Tatton Park, where the deer are resting in the shade whilst the sheep quietly graze. Leaving the park by the Rostherne entrance (exit?), we were soon in the village itself, where we turned left into New Road. 

At this point, we were about five or six miles from our lunch stop and looking good for an on-time arrival. However, the fickle finger of fate made an unwelcome appearance. As Steve Ha was changing down to tackle the climb out of the woods near Rostherne Brook, his chain came off. The ‘chain off’ cry ran forwards through the peloton most of us stopped at the junction of Cicely Mill Lane and Mereside Road, expecting Steve to appear in a matter of seconds. When this didn’t happen, Andy B and I went back to find Steve.

Getting the chain back on turned out to be a major job, requiring the combined efforts of all three of us, as the chain had jammed between the chainwheel and the bike frame. We eventually prised it out and got it back on the chainwheel. By now, we’d lost about ten minutes, so it was just before one that we arrived at the pub where Dave H and Keith had already arrived.

We were shown to a table which was outside, but under a plastic roof, which kept us very warm. The food was quite good with both sandwiches and small meals on offer. Unfortunately, they had no soda water and the gas for some of the beer pumps was out, so blackcurrant and water was the order of the day, although Steve Ha managed to get a pint of Guinness.

Photos by ST

Suitably refreshed, we headed off along Swineyard Lane and Barleycastle Lane to the B5356 and Appleton Thorn. Following this to Stretton traffic lights, we continued to Hatton, where we went left onto Pilmoss Lane and right onto Summer Lane. Rather than going straight on to Preston Brook, we hung a left up Newton Lane and then a right down Morphany Lane were we stopped briefly to visit the site of the old vicarage where Charles Dodgson, a.k.a. Lewis Carroll, was born in 1832. His father was the vicar of All Saints Church, Daresbury. Culture interval over, we pressed on along Higher Lane to join the A533 for a short stretch, before taking Aston Lane to Sutton Weaver and the dreaded A56.

The run down the hill to Frodsham was a pleasure only because it was downhill, as the traffic on this road is quite heavy. Trevor and Andy B stayed on the A56 heading for home as we turned into Fluin Lane and this week’s ‘sting in the tail’ – the climb up to Overton and Lady Heyes. The last couple of miles towards Norley and then along Forest Road took us to Hatchmere and back to our starting point

Forty-eight miles covered on a dry and pleasantly warm day. Thanks to Steve Ha, Dave H, Trevor, Andy B and Keith for their company

See route map and/or gpx file download

ST