Just six plus one members turn up at The Gallery Café in Hawarden, which has had a great re-furb and also has some very pleasant staff. Ivan and Nick were off to Rhyl; Alan, Chris and new boy Ronnie were headed to Landegla; that left Keith and I to choose our destination. I’d brought a route to the Courtyard Café at Brimstage which Alan had lead a few years ago, but had not expected to use it as Ray B had sent an email round during the week including a route which would lead to lunch at Meadow Lea. But Ray was nowhere to be seen, nor George, Trevor or Jim.
So, Keith and I set off in light rain for Brimstage even though
I hadn’t studied the route in detail beforehand. The lack of preparation would
lead to some confusion and wrong turns in due course. We whizzed down Gladstone
Way to the roundabout and picked our way over using the overpasses that Alan
had shown us. This is where I made my first mistake Alan’s route had gone to
Shotton , over the river using the Hawarden Bridge and then on to the Greenway.
I’d took Keith across the New Jubilee Bridge and into Garden City. Not surprisingly,
I didn’t recognise my surroundings and at one stage, we found ourselves on the
wrong side of the A494.
Back on the correct side, we negotiated Deeside Interchange
and eventually got onto some quieter roads. Fumbling my way past Capenhurst and through
Ledsham, I began to feel more confident that I was now on the right route. This
was short lived as we soon found ourselves on the A540 heading towards Neston.
I’d missed a turning up a track that lead directly to Willaston. My computer didn’t
show the error as it had picked up the homeward leg of the route through
Burton and wanted me to that way!
Eventually reaching Willaston, we got back on track past Raby Mere. At one point, the road had been dressed with chippings; this is a practice I don’t like as it doesn’t do much to remove potholes and it makes cycling more difficult. However, one of the road signs was worthy of a photo (below)
I wonder what the Cat’s Protection League would think of
that?
Having gone around the edge of the housing estates in
Stanton, we crossed the busy B5151 at Bracken lane. This is notable due to the
very steep hill as you approach the main road and the very sharp descent at the
other side. Pressing on towards Storeton, we doubled back on ourselves along
Brimstage Lane. At this point my computer told me to turn around and re-trace
my steps. Then the penny dropped! This was the ride we’d done after some heavy
rain and the road under the M53 was flooded. So, we’d had to turn around and
find another way to Brimstage. Today we were able to pass under the M53 and
go on to the café in Brimstage
Before we’d left The Gallery, I sent a text to Clive (who
had a hospital appointment in the morning) to tell him where the various rides
were heading to. He’d phoned me back to say that he’d meet us at the Courtyard Café.
Keith and I had just placed our orders when Clive showed up, just as it started
to rain.
It was still raining as we set off on the return leg through
Thornton Hough and Raby. I’m more familiar with the roads round here, but was
still happy to have Clive with us, thus ensuring that there’d be no more
navigational errors. Pressing on through Willaston and Burton, we were soon on
the cycleway at Burton Point where Clive pointed out the site of an Iron Age
fort.
Arriving at the end of The
Greenway, Clive left us to head home and Keith and I moseyed on to Hawarden Bridge,
where we took the path alongside the River Dee. At this point, the wind got up
and heavens opened. Of course, I’d just taken my rain jacket off and had to
quickly put it back on! Crossing the river, we were just getting into Queensferry
when we saw Alan coming the other way. He’d had a good ride and remarked that Ronnie
is even faster than Chris! Keith and I fumbled our way around the busy
roundabout and started along Gladstone Way. After a short distance, we took a
left turn which took us to Mancot and a (slightly) easier route to the top.
39 miles covered on a ride which
sometimes seemed like it was being done by Fred Karno’s Circus. My thanks to Clive
and (especially) Keith for their company and navigational assistance. I must
make a note to study the routes more carefully in future.
ST
