As you will have seen from Clive’s report on the brisk ride, today’s Special Ride (the third one this year!) was a re-run of the 2019 routes from Morrison’s supermarket in Market Drayton to The Hartley Arms at Wheaton Aston.
Eight riders had signed up for the mod ride – Fiona, Elwyn,
Ray B, Trevor, George, Neil, Dave H and myself. But, as I made my way across to get a
coffee, who should stroll across the supermarket car park, but Andy B, so a
quick text to the pub was needed to place a pre-order his lunch. The plan was
to leave at 10.30 prompt, but it was never going to happen. Getting CER members
together is like herding cats – left your water bottle in the car, Trevor?
It was nearer 10.45 as we departed under grey clouds, although
the day was very warm and humid. Making our way of town past Market Drayton
golf club, we made a left at Sutton to join the A529 for a mile or so before
spearing off to the left on a long, straight road. There followed a few miles
of narrow, smooth and very empty roads leading down to Sambrook.
We often remark on how quiet the roads are on Shropshire. I
looked up the population to find that the whole county comprises less than half
a million souls. The population density, at 1.01 persons per hectare, compares
to 4.34 per hectare for England as a whole. That’s why it’s quiet – nobody lives
here!
We then picked up another straight road, this time two miles
long. The OS map shows it to be a legacy of the Romans who were very active around
these parts. The road ran gently downhill to Sutton where we crossed the A591.
Continuing south-east we passed though more villages, arriving in Wheaton Aston
just before 1pm, having ridden 24 miles. The food had been pre-ordered and was
served reasonably quickly and was commented on favourably by many folk,
although the cutlery was a bit late coming.
After the traditional group photo had been taken, it was
time to set off again. Crossing the canal next to the pub, we headed north out
of Wheaton Aston, we now had the wind behind us. As we reached Church Aston, Neil
decided to press on and left us to get home early. We carried on along quiet,
narrow lanes to Gnosall Heath, where we crossed the A518.
Going along an even smaller lane, the road went sharp left
into a very dark tunnel – under an aqueduct carrying the Shropshire Union Canal.
As I went through a car horn sounded and I yelled out a warning. Fortunately,
all was well and we went on about a mile to a second tunnel which went back
under the canal. We crossed the canal again at Norbury Junction, this time over
it using a bridge. At up-market Norbury we crossed the A519.
All day, the mod group tended to split into two, with Neil,
Fiona and Elwyn and me off at the front and the others a little behind. So, at
key junctions, the front group would wait to ensure we didn’t lose anyone. This
should not really have been necessary as I’d circulated the gpx route file
beforehand, but old habits die hard. Shortly after leaving Norbury we took a
very small road leading to Shebden. I’d stopped to look behind for the others
only to see them whizzing past the end of the lane. Fortunately, my loud shout
alerted them to their mistake and they soon turned around. Trevor admitted he’d
been chatting rather than looking at his Garmin!
Onward through Shibden, where we crossed the canal yet again
(that’s five times!), we were soon through Adbaston and Chipnall. We got back to Morrisons in Market Drayton at
about 4pm, having covered 46 miles, having enjoyed warm, dry weather, some
sunshine and some superb quiet lanes.
So, thanks are due to Clive for re-working the 2019 routes
and to the mod group for sticking with me on what turned out to be a really ‘special’
ride.
ST
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