Well the first ride of February for CER was well attended. Often this starting point can be a low attendance or populated with riders who have ridden out and then ride home. Today we had enough for two groups, a mod and mod plus group.
Alan had tweaked the classic Wirral route to take us to the Ferry Hotel at Egremont / Wallasey. This was a new venue to me and we were well catered for with food and drinks being served promptly. Today's group consisted of Alan Shane Steve T and Steve Hu.
Following a delayed start at Ness gds where Steve T wrestled with his tethered bike which had been surreptitiously locked to Trevors. During this entanglement we were harangued by the mods for our striking athletic poise and looks. LOL
From Ness we skirted Neston and proceeded to cross the usually busy Chester High Rd. Maybe through good fortune or traffic light phasing but the roads were empty. The quiet lanes took us through Raby and then to the charming village of Thornton Hough.
Next stop was Brimstage road, if we would have taken a right we would have found ourselves at a favoured lunch stop at the Brimstage tea rooms, however Alan's route continued to skirt Heswall via Irby road.
By now it was clear we had navigation issues as myself as back up pilot was on Version 1 of Alan's route and Alan was on Version 2. So I was cheerfully saying left and we would go right, a real winning solution. Despite the differences in the mapping we successfully crossed through Saughall Massey and onto the coast by Meols. The tide was so far out it was barely possible to see, however we found a lighthouse and stopped for our obligatory photo opportunity.
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| Photos by Steve Hu |
However our sea views were not to last as Alan had discovered the Birket Trail (part of the Wirral Circular Trail) a cracking cycle route that takes you north of Moreton and into Bidston. Taking our lives in our hands we braved the golfers on Bidston Golf course and followed a tortuous route out to Egremont.
At Egremont we were treated to the spectacular views of the Liverpool waterfront and the new Everton stadium which is progressing well.
Following lunch , we took the time honoured route around Seacombe docks and the ferry terminals, stopping only for a second group photograph. Soon we were heading into the lovely village of Port Sunlight hot of Lever Bros, a previous employer of both myself and Shane. The disused railway line provides a great alternative to the more urban nature of this leg.
Eastham village and Rivacre road soon allowed us to whizz into Childer Thornton and Heath Lane. Alan had left the best till last putting in a cyclocross section of mud linking up a farm road which provides a good shortcut to the busy Chester High Road. A quick plunge into Burton on what were now tired legs brought us back to our start point whereby Steve T and Shane left to meet Dave at the car park.
An added bonus was as Alan and I approached the entrance to the marsh we were joined by Andy B, Mike G and Trevor, all heading over estuary.
Big thanks to Alan for leading a very chilled ride of appx 42 miles at a nice pace on a day with no wind/rain/ice/snow so quite unusual from our January rides :)
See route map and/or gpx file download
Steve Hu
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