27th August 2020: Holmes Chapel (brisk)

This is my first CER club ride since March and was looking forward to seeing other club members at Delamere station café. I met up with John W at the Mickle Trafford end of the greenway for a leisurely ride to the café. Passing a couple of club members along the route, we arrive at the station and there is a good group of moderate riders as well as Clive who advised us that today he is not with the Brisk group due "too much beer since his holidays". So it was John and I riding for the Briskers today and we set off along the very rough road surface to Hatchmere.

We head towards Hartford and Lach Dennis and continue heading for Goostrey and Holmes Chapel. We have ridden these lanes many times and were on form with legs spinning, passing Goostrey and the intended Mod’s lunch stop, before arriving at our intended lunch stop Holmes Chapel. Its only 12:00 so John pops into Aldi for a couple of Chicken sandwiches and we decide to ride off-piste abandoning my proposed route home*.

A few more lanes and we are at Breton Green passing the Bears Head where in the 1970 I was lucky enough to be in the same pub as Sir Matt Busby and got his signature. Just wish I had saved it! Our route takes us along Davenport Lane which we usually pass en-route towards the Mow Cop direction. It would have pleased Clive as it was both narrow and extremely muddy, oh dear – dirty bike. Heading towards Alsager it’s a detour via Smallwood, Malkins Bank and Winterly and then towards Crewe via Maw Green

Since departure from Holmes Chapel, we are making the route up as we go along and its towards the train station and Gresty Lane and passing MornFlake Oats (home of porridge oats) we’ve opted for. Through Nantwich and we decide not to stop, but would decide on a Tilly break if the café not too busy.

The usual route taken out from Nantwich and we are at Bunbury for 14:00 and Tilley’s and it’s also raining so decide to stop for a hot cup of tea and cake. The café does not feel the same – has it changed ownership during lockdown? When we exit the café, it has stopped raining.

We arrive Chester and I bid John farewell until next ride and head home with 82 miles covered. Not enough for John as he heads into Chester and joins the Dee cycle way as far as the Blue Bridge then joining the Greenway back to his home completing a 100-mile ride and 4000+ feet of ascent.

John and I have ridden together for most of this year and enjoyed our rides. Good to be part of the club and to see the other riders who were out today and hope they arrived back drier than we did.

 See route map and/or gpx file download

ID

NB: *Route therefore not completely as described in the text above!

3rd May 2012: Holmes Chapel (brisk)

There were a lot of us at Rose Farm and since Dave M had planned a shorter moderate ride, the rest of us (Ivan, Ray, Tony, Dave P, Brian Mac, Andy, Martin, and I) set off bound for Swetenham.  Out the back of Tarporley and on to Ruston and Oulton Park we ride until we access the Whitegates Way to sunny Winsford.  We exit on to part of NCN 5 bound via my eponymously named hamlet, to access the canal towpath into Middlewich.  Here a local reports “thorns on the towpath” so, as Ray and I have had recent punctures, we abandon the towpath and quickly re-route around the town thanks to the auto re-route function on Martin’s Edge 800.  As we cross the M6 the clouds appear and the sun disappears.  The forecast is for rain.  At Brereton Green we ignore the NCN 71 signs, since we have been bitten before on this very rough farm track, and so skirt around it to access Ivan’s ancestral home (he wishes) and through the lovely Dane valley to pop up via The Quinta into Swetenham proper. 

Hockenhall Platts

Photograph by Ivan Davenport

 

The plan was to lunch at the Swetenham Arms but after looking at the prices on-line, I have decided to continue to the George & Dragon in Holmes Chapel.  Here we enjoy waiter service and a very leisurely Pensioners Special lunch as we gradually roast in the conservatory dining area.  Martin’s had enough and heads for home solo.  Taking the back rough lane north via Hollins Farm, the rest of us track towards Cranage and via Lach Dennis to Davenham.  Here I employ the Dave M route via Vale Royal golf course and through Whitegates, Cotebrook and back to Utkinton.  Here we briefly meet Dave H in his car going home, and as Brian climbs the hill back to his van, we fancy a coffee at Okells.  We finish off the route back to Chester via Hockenhall bridges with around 80 miles on the odometer.  Well it didn’t rain and the 50 miles round route turned out to be well worth the effort of cycling it.

CA