Six mod riders turned up at Alison’s in Tattenhall - David M, Andy, Ray, Dave P, Neil and myself. I had a route to Whitchurch, so we set off into a grey and cool morning.
Our route ran through Clutton, Tilston and Threapwood. David M was only riding partway with us, and here we left him. We continued through Tallarn Green to Whitewell and Fenn’s Bank. Here we met our only problem on the ride. Andy’s front wheel had clipped a sharp edged stone which had torn open a slit on the tyre. We gathered round and between us found a tyre boot, and were relatively quickly on our way. Unfortunately to stop on an already cool day had chilled us and we were keen to press on to our lunch stop.
We entered Whitchurch on the Alkington Road and rode round by the church to the Black Bear, one of our regular haunts. We usually leave our bikes in the yard at the back, but today the gates were locked. We asked at the bar and they were soon opened, and we were ushered into the best table in the pub - which meant next to the open fire! The pub had changed hands since my last visit. It’s now owned by Jerry Brunning, ex of Brunning and Price, who also owns The Swan in Marbury, and more recently The Hare in Farndon. There were some small signs of the change of ownership, but the service, food and drink remained excellent.
Our lunch had warmed us up, and the weather had taken a turn for the better when we left. The grey skies had cleared to blue and sunlight brightened the afternoon. We left Whitchurch and climbed the hill to Wirswall. We paused on the edge of the escarpment for a photo opportunity, looking down on the sunlit plain with Marbury Church, Big Mere and Quoisley Meres all before us. A downhill dash led on to Bickley Moss and Cholmondley Deer Park, although no deer were in view, there were some fine looking longhorn cattle.
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| Photos by RB & SH |
We passed by Bickerton Church and left Neil to make his climb up to Harthill, while the rest of us rode through Brown Knowl and took the easier gradient by Bolesworth Castle. On our way we had an enforced stop and watched a procession of dairy cattle making the way to their milking parlour. Soon we were back in Tattenhall with 37 miles completed and looking back on a good day out.
See route map and/or gpx file download
SH
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