I had spent the previous week cycling the Wales End-to-End so I was determined to get out with the Easy Riders this week, despite the forecast of 27 degree heat, just so I could check if my legs were still working. Actually, considering the temperatures we had been experiencing in the early part of the week, 27 degrees was relatively cool but still too hot to be doing a ride with a lot of climbing. So I devised a route which was fairly flat, would get us to Net's Cafe for lunch and was flexible enough to be anywhere from 30 to 45 miles.
Armed with this idea I made my way to Meadow Lea where I found a number of members (mostly of the faster variety) sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. When I went inside I found Dave H, poring over his maps, trying to find a route with the same criteria that I had used. Needless to say, as soon as I mentioned my idea his maps disappeared and my route was adopted.
Mike D arrived soon after. We haven't seen him for a long time. He has been off travelling the world and is just back for a few weeks before he jets off again. Dave P also arrived but he doesn't like cycling up the Wirral and declined to join us. So it looked like just three of us for the trip up to Net's. By the time we had finished our coffees the faster group had departed, but leaving Elwyn and Fiona behind. They had ridden in from home and since the fast group were heading out along the same roads that they had ridden in on they decided to do their own thing. 'Their own thing' turned out to be a cycle up to Net's and so three became five.
We turned right out of Meadow Lea, passing
through Mickle Trafford and on towards Picton. Turning right after crossing the
motorway we cycled past the rear of the zoo up towards Backford and across the
A41 towards Mollington. Before reaching there we turned north to find the cycle
path alongside the railway which would take us to the southern end of the
Wirral. Then it was along familiar lanes through Capenhurst and Ledsham before
accessing the 'missing link' near Inglewood Manor. Our first stint on the
Wirral Way took us to Hadlow Road Station where we turned north again passing
through Willaston and Raby to reach Thornton Hough. We were now as far up the
Wirral as we were going to get as we turned towards the coast. All the height
that we had gained getting this far was soon lost as we sped down towards
Parkgate where we enjoyed the delightful cycle along the front.
At the far end of Parkgate we stopped for a short comfort break and took the opportunity for a photo before a second stint on the Wirral Way, this time a short blast to the outskirts of Neston. From there the cycle route takes a twisting tour of a local housing estate to get us down to the estuary and a short distance along the edge of the marshes gets us to our lunch stop.
The breeze coming off the marshes kept the temperature cool enough to dine alfresco without roasting in the sunshine. A thin blanket of cloud helped too. I explained the choice return routes back to Meadow Lea. Going via Kinnerton and Eccleston was rejected as being too far while returning along the river was not popular with the majority of riders because of the headwind, although this seemed to be Elwyn's favoured choice. However majority prevailed and the Greenway route won the day.
All three routes required us to cross the marshes. Most of it is on tarmacked footpath but there is a short section of boardwalk across the worst of the marsh. We lamented the state of it as we rattled across. Patched in several places with many more boards showing signs of rot, it will not last very much longer without major repairs. After so many people campaigned for so long to get installed in the first place it would be a great shame to lose it.
After crossing the marsh and passing through
the industrial estate Elwyn made one last-ditch attempt to coax Fiona onto the
river path. However, she was having none of it and we all followed the Greenway
back towards Meadow Lea. Elwyn and Fiona left us at Blacon to find their own
home while the rest of us carried to complete just over 34 miles.
TC
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