21st April 2022: Llangollen (brisk)

Meeting at Alison's café today in Tattenhall, John W and I were well outnumbered by at least 16 other CER riders out today enjoying the April sunshine. As Brisk rides go, it was just the two of us!!!

John had cobbled together a route from Chester via Tattenhall to Llangollen and I slightly amended the route. Attached GPX file gives you a ride that could test your stamina but the roads and vista are well worth the effort and enjoy the ride. We experienced reasonable roads and the only Strava classified climbs were where you would expect them i.e The Horseshoe Pass .

Lunch was at the Llangollen canal-side café and the food was "ok" and no problem finding an outside table to dine in 19 degree sunshine. We were riding in shorts and sleeveless vests for the first occasion this year. The ride up the pass is much easier than fighting up steep gradients from Castell Dinas to the Panorama cafe and once over we made good progress against an easterly wind via Llandegla and Pennyfordd. 

Llangollen Canal Cafe

Llangollen Canal 

Although the ride should be circular to Tattenhall we headed back into Chester and completed a 70+ mile round trip with 4180 feet of ascent and many enjoyable down hill descents. Mileage covered at just under 16mph average.

Thanks to John for another enjoyable day out in sunshine

See route map and/or gpx file download

ID

Photos by ID

1st August 2019 : Llangollen (brisk)

There were going to be four us of starting out on this route, but Clive saw some significant climbs in my route so went with the mods. Turned out a good choice considering I had meant a much easier climb out of Ceiriog; I had plotted the wrong road up but hadn’t noticed! I was asked about the lunch stop, (the Mill at Llangollen), but John keenly recommended the Special Welsh Rarebit at the canal-side tea room.

So myself, Ken and John set off in improving weather towards Chirk via the familiar route of Bangor on Dee and Overton. Passing the A5, we skirted Chirk by going to Weston Rhyn and along a delightful lane taking us into the scenic valley of the Ceiriog. Taking turns at the front due to a headwind we soon arrived at Pontfadog. A sharp right turn took us straight into double digit gradients, with some sections between 20 and 25%. A mile later and 800ft higher, we topped out with an impressive view of Llangollen and the limestone escarpment leading to our next climb, at World’s End.

To John’s relief, after bigging-up the proposed lunch, the rarebit in Llangollen was indeed excellent and spot-on cycling fodder. Soon, in increasingly hot sunshine, we set off up to the Panorama road. At the ford at the base of the climb, we chatted to a cyclist who said he had walked across due to the slippy algae on the concrete, so of course we rode across. I crossed first but then heard a splash behind to see Ken lying in the river with his bike on top! Naturally, when you see an accident like that, the first thing you do is get your camera. Fortunately un-injured (bruises perhaps?), Ken managed to pick himself and bike up before I was ready. I requested that he go back in and lie, with bike, in the stream, purely for accurate photo-journalism and the benefit of you good readers. I missed what he said, but I think the gist was a No!

After the rigours of the earlier climb, the climb out of Worlds’ End didn’t seem too bad, and we were soon flying across the moors above Minera with Llandegla Forrest to our left. On descending, John split off and turned left to go to Chester to pick his car up, we turned right then 2 miles later left down a very rough track to yet another ford. This was quite a deep one, so an easy decision to walk. 

We then passed down a beautifully wooded valley following the River Clywedog and Nant Mill. Abruptly emerging at the bypass, Ken navigated us through Wrexham, himself then to Gresford, me to Tilston.

An excellent days cycling with good banter aplenty, my route (Tilston to Tilston) was 58.5 miles with 3,850ft climbing, averaging 14.4mph. This route is 53 miles.

See route map and/or gpx file download

NH

Photos NH and JW

7th September 2017: Llangollen (mod)

There were only seven of us at The Gallery cafe today, and as Bryan W was just out for coffee, this left six of us for a ride to Llangollen. Steve had prepared a ride to St Asaph, but I convinced him that my proposal was a “flat” ride of only 3500ft of ascent! So in pleasant but cool conditions, Johns W and M, Steve H, Trevor, Tom and myself, set off bound for Wrexham via a mixture of back lanes and quietish main roads.

In Penyffordd, John W pointed out Jemoley’s Cafe, which was to feature later in the day. So out and along the back lanes to Hope, we take the Alyn River park bypass then circle around Caergwrle castle - all hidden in the trees - but there is a footpath up to it I notice. Nearing Alyn Waters park, we take the steep climb up Windy Hill to Summerhill and thence the long run down into Wrexham at the Sainsburys roundabout. A whiz around by the hospital, finds us turning off at Bersham.

Here there is an idyllic Elizabethan house set by the Clywedog river that powered the nearby ironworks and water mill. It’s a pity that the A483 almost literally runs above it casting it into a shadow of its former picturesque glory. The lanes take us in to Rhosllanerchrugog. We now start the pleasant undulating climb, via Penycae, to the Prospect Farm cafe gates. Peaking at nearly 1000ft, the panorama of the “Panorama Walk” lane now comes into view.  We stop for a photo opportunity relishing the fact that it really is now all-downhill to lunch.

Photo by John W

Photo by John M

Sliding off the Panorama at Dinas Bran Castle, it is hard on the brakes for the steep drop down to the arms of the Llangollen Wharf cafe. The local delicacy of Welsh Rarebit with a bacon topping is a firm lunch favourite. Soon it is time to go back and we enjoy the long flat canal side ride back to the Aqueduct. There are quite a lot of canal boats on the canal today and a few fellow cyclists as well.

Rather than running back through the usual route of Cefn-mawr, we take the main road via Acrefair and thence towards Overton. As we leave Acrefair behind, we notice the heavy clouds amassing over the Berwyns behind Llangollen but, in the end, the weather behaved itself with only a few minutes of heavy mizzle.

At lunch, John W had asked where are we going to stop for “tea and cake”; so I suggested Erddig and he suggested Jemoley's. So the route is re-planned to take in a tour of Erddig. It is a bit too early after lunch when we get to Erddig, so we press on. In Wrexham, Steve and Trevor decide to head for home via Holt as we remaining four wiggle through Wrexham bound for Llay.

We are now heading for Jemoley’s at Penyffordd but John M decides to drop off at Kinnerton to go home. Jemoley's lights are on but they are “closed” so I suggest Hawarden Farm shop, so we head for this along the main roads. So we have ridden a very pleasant 51 miles and acheived 3500ft of climbs.

As we leave, Tom buys a very nice looking pie for his evening meal - if he can get it back home in one piece that is. John and I make our pie-less way back via Airbus and the ferry bridge to Chester environs.

CA

13th April 2017: Llangollen (brisk)

There was a smaller turnout today at Harwarden which we presumed to be because of Easter holidays. Whilst the moderate group  planned a ride to St Asaph, the brisk group (Tom, Paul,John,Nick and myself) chose a route comprising of a figure of eight loop involving the Horseshoe pass with lunch at Llangollen.

We departed via the usual route, along Wood Lane, which  led us out of Ewloe to zigzag through Buckley before dropping down into Llong. Once across the A541, we climbed uphill past the newly refurbished Recycling Depot and into Eryrys. It was during this ascent that Tom started to fall behind but once in Llanarmon we regrouped and had an enforced rest because two lorries  struggled to negotiate the narrow roads and tight bend. Finally, free of the traffic,we quickly sped on to the main road  passing the Gliding Club before  tackling the steep climb up to the the Ponderosa cafe where we stopped to catch our breath.  The cafe appeared very quiet with only a few cars in the car park and two ambulances whose signage indicated ‘driver training’.

We decided that  the Micro Brewery, on the outskirts of Llangollen, would be a good lunch stop so  Paul and Nick led the charge with a fast descent, myself and John in close pursuit, and  Tom playing rearguard. Convening in the Micro-Brewery car park, we were disappointed to find it locked and in darkness- rather odd given its the Easter holidays. So we deferred to Plan B - continue on to The Corn Mill in Llangollen. Due to the restricted car park at The Corn Mill, there was little space to secure our bikes but after a quick chat with the landlord we wheeled our bikes through the bar to the safety of the outside rear veranda. Lunch arrived promptly and was quickly consumed so at no time at all we were back on the bikes  but this time we exited the pub via the veranda and a side gate. 

Our return route  followed a fairly busy A5 through Glyndyfrwdy to Llidiart y Parc where we turned right and stopped for a photoshoot at Carrog Station. After this the route was all uphill, steep and unrelenting, until we met the main road where we turned right, through Bryneglwys, and  then  left to once again pass the Gliding School and rejoin the main road towards Chester.

Photo by KP

On reaching the traffic light, by the remains of the old Liver Inn, we were sufficiently weary of ‘A’ roads  so we turned right then left onto the quieter roads that lead us through Llanfynydd , Ffrith and Cefn-y-bedd. From here we followed the road through to Hope and turn off right towards Kinnerton, with the exception of Tom who continued on the main road to Hawarden.

Once on the road to Kinnerton  John and Paul carried on towards Chester while Nick and I took Lower Mountain road to the footbridge over the A55. Here Nick made a  telephone call to ‘Mrs Nick’ and to our surprise Tom arrived- they headed off to Harwarden and I back to Burton. We had completed 58 miles including a serious amount of ascent . For me, the ride  was probably  the hardest ride of the year thus far albeit enjoyable.

KP

30th October 2014: Llangollen

Only a very select trio today - not sure why, as a dry day was in prospect.

To quote Henry V, “ We few, we happy few, we band of brothers (and a sister)”, and so it was that Ray and I, after riding out from Chester and carefully past Davenport Corner, arrived at Alyn Waters soon to be joined by Liz D, and no one else! We set off bound for the Sun Inn at Rhewl - and here I should have remembered the rule - see below. Up to Summerhill and down to the aptly named Moss Valley, we duck and dive to get round Wrexham to Bersham, past the mill and Talwrn and up the hill to "Rhos…gog". Upwards from here is the back way to the start of the Panorama, and I haven’t been this way before and neither apparently has Ray, until he remembers the Prospect Cafe and various audax rides around here. Anyway the Prospect is now closed until Easter. Turning onto the Panorama proper, we find a lovely smooth road along with several road hog drivers coming the other way. The view is truly worthy of a panorama; especially in late autumn with Dinas Bran castle looking menacing in the distance.

Photographs by Clive Albany

We speed up and down and plan to exit onto the Horseshoe Pass main road just after Rock Farm. The good news was that the intended lane was soon to be very smooth; the bad news was there was no way past the tarmac-laying machine. So we go down the road and next left up the longish hill through the woods. Here a lady on an electric bike overtakes Liz and me - you can see the use for them if you lived around here though! We turn off bound for the Sun Inn at Rhewl - having checked the website, I surmise that its open for business - but no, its well shut - why don’t they just put a message on their website or close it down! The rule is - always phone. Anyway, we backtrack along the Old Coach Road, past the Chain Bridge Hotel (backup lunch stop) and take the canal path to the canal side cafe, which suits us just fine after 24 hilly miles. 

Quick and value service is on offer today. The cafe will now though only be open on Friday and weekends over the winter. We delay our departure to let the only rain of the day pass by and we are on our way on the canal path bound for Cefn Mawr. Here it’s the standard way back via Ruabon, Bersham, Sainsbury's and the Llay Road. While Liz goes back to Alyn and her car, Ray and I speed back to Chester via Marford Hill, Dodleston and Lache Lane. The roundabout route is 41m with 70m for Ray and I. Where were you all? You missed a real visual treat.

CA

27th February 2014: Llangollen

The ride from Alyn Waters was planned with the slower riders in mind with the intention of enjoying the views over the Dee Valley from the Panorama Walk with the minimum effort possible. Not an easy task as the gain in height to Panorama Walk is 700 feet. However selecting the steadiest gradients, avoiding any unnecessary descents, and limiting the mileage to a sensible 16 miles to lunch plus a flat return via the Llangollen canal path seemed a practical solution. 

Eight of us met at the Alyn Waters café. Not enough to practically split into two groups so the slow ride was accepted by all. Bryan W had ridden out from home just for the chat leaving Clive, Brian Mac, Steve, David H, Jim and Dave & Liz on the tandem to set out for the hills.

We headed through the western suburbs of Wrexham and Rhostyllen to cross the bridge over the A483 and emerge into countryside and start the climbing. By Penycae Clive was starting to feel the cold and decided to continue on a longer ride at a brisker pace, and shortly afterwards Brian Mac decided his slipping gears were too annoying and warranted a return visit to his cycle mechanic. 

The weather forecast was for a sunny morning and showers in the afternoon. As we approached Panorama Walk sure enough the sun broke out of the black clouds that had threatened all morning and left us with splendid views over the Dee Valley and Castell Dinas. A good excuse for a stop to admire the views and a quick photograph.

Photograph by Dave Pipe

The sharp descent down the 1 in 5 past Castell Dinas was covered safely and after 2 hours of hard but enjoyable riding we arrived at the Corn Mill in Llangollen. The table for five in the conservatory with splendid views of the Dee in full spate and good food and beer compensated for the above average pricing of this establishment.

The afternoon rain had started during our lunch stop but had cleared as we prepared to leave. Dave H spotted a shortcut to the canal that looked promising until we arrived at 20 or so steep steps to the canal path. Not daunted the bikes were shouldered and the tandem manhandled up the steps and the gentle ride commenced along the canal path and across the Pont Cysyllt Aquaduct to pick up the canal path again for the last mile to Pentre for the run back via the B5605 and the lanes by Erdigg to retrace the outward route around Wrexham for the last few miles.

A total of 32 miles with a 700 foot climb and splendid views. 

DP

17th November 2011: Llangollen

The new venue, the Expresso Café in Gwersyllt, was busy as Ivan and I arrived a little late from Chester.  Dave H was already there and Dave S, a Café Hopper rider, had just turned up.  Brian Mac arrived a bit later having cycled from Neston and, because of problems on the trains, explained that Janet would not be coming, and he was not out for the whole today either.  So where to go!  I had come prepared with a 44m ride to the Wild Pheasant just outside Llangollen.  All the hills would be before lunch with a nice flat 10 miles after lunch.  All agreed and we set off to navigate our way out of largely unfamiliar territory bound ever upwards for Coedpoeth via Southsea (however did it get that name!).  Dave H picked up a puncture here so, a bit delayed, we set off for the Llandegla forest and the roundabout to the Ponderosa on the A5104.  The lane off the roundabout runs parallel to the A5014 and affords magnificent views to the left and right of the Vale of Clwyd and the sea, and the Berwyns the other way.  With good visibility and the weather that we had today, this is a perfect place to view some stunning countryside.

Photographs by Ivan Davenport

Dave S knew the route well and just turning down to the A5104 at Carrog, we stop at a boundary monument erected in 1400 to recognise a short-lived land “agreement” between Owain Glyndŵr and Henry IV which lead to the razing of Ruthin and  the Welsh Revolt of 1400-1415 – amazing what you come across in the countryside.  Running down to Carrog, we take the Old Coach Road for a pleasant if not surprisingly hilly run along the north side of the Dee until the Chain Bridge Hotel at Berwyn.  A quick left down the A5 found us at the Wild Pheasant.  Here Dave S pressed for home, whilst we three were ready for a late lunch after 28 very hilly miles.  Good fare at reasonable prices – but tough if you want salad today – they had run out.  Setting off well after 14:00, I promised us a flat 10 miles to the Pontcysyllte aqueduct along the recently resurfaced canal towpath.  We had an extremely pleasurable fast and level cycling with few walkers and time to digest our repast to boot.  The mostly familiar way back was via Cefn Mawr, Ruabon and the Sainsbury’s roundabout at Wrexham that found us going along Summerhill Road and back to café arriving at 16:00 with 44 miles on the clock.  Dave was in car assist mode whilst Ivan and I, in the gathering gloom, wended our way back via Llay and Kinnerton to Chester.  For two lone souls with headlights ablaze down the Dee cycle path, we had nearly 80 miles on the clock and had experienced what a well known octogenarian rider would have exclaimed to be “Magic”.

CA

15th July 2010: Rhewl & Llantisylio

Liz and Martin, Brian Mac and Jim were tucking in when I arrived at the Tudor House Cafe – Jim was not riding as he was under orders for the afternoon.  At my request we agreed what looked like a pretty daunting trip over Worlds End cutting off into the Dee Valley by the Horseshoe Falls and over Llantisylio Mountain back through Lllandegla and Bwlchgwyn. My ulterior motive for this suggestion was to confirm my grasp of the middle section of the Bickerton Challenge Route.  Dave and Liz arrived and although this was not ideal tandem territory were happy with the proposed route so having bade farewell to a relieved Jim we set off of for the haul up to Minera.  We eventually emerged to enjoy the splendid views from the top and descended towards the ford at Worlds End in fine fettle. The dry weather had eliminated most of the treacherous green slime that usually makes the ford so hazardous and it was negotiated without mishap. Unfortunately a mile or two further down the hill Brian Mac was much less fortunate at a sharp bend when a patch of damp gravel in conjunction with braking hard for walkers on the road conspired to tip him head first into the stone parapet of a bridge. I was only a few yards behind him and could see that this was a full on collision. Although shocked and dazed Brian appeared to be in far better shape than I had feared.
My own attitude to helmets has now changed dramatically as it was absolutely clear that the front of his helmet had taken the full impact of the crash and saved him from very serious injury or worse. Combined with James Cracknell’s assertion that his life was only saved by his helmet I shall no longer venture out without a protected pate! Maybe time for the CTC to be more proactive in encouraging helmet use and I cannot see that this is incompatible with the understandable reluctance to see helmets made compulsory.
Dave and Liz P agreed to escort Brian to the hospital in Llangollen where Liz could also avail herself of transport back to Chester with Dave joining us at the agreed lunch stop in Rhewl some 3 miles away. Martin Liz and I pressed on and reached the Sun Inn with no further drama. The welcome was warm and the beer refreshing along with very decent portions of food at reasonable prices. A mobile phone no go area so we had almost given Dave P up when he arrived in urgent need of a pint of Facers Flintshire bitter and sustenance in the form of a chicken creation and mounds of chips. How a road running along a river valley can be quite so hilly is beyond me but the anticipated gentle 4 miles to the start of the ascent of Llantisylio Mountain was full of gratuitous hills that seemed to go up and down endlessly. Reaching the turn for Bryneglwys we soon found out what hills are all about and my aging limbs along with the large portion of fish and chips and couple of pints of Facers put me in pedestrian mode sooner than I would have liked particularly as it is a very long steep climb to the top of the mountain. Pain has its own reward and the views were again stunning and accompanied by the beauty of the heather adorned hillsides were almost sufficient compensation for the climb. Hat tips to Dave, Martin & Liz who displayed considerable climbing ability!  We now looped round via a side road to Llandegla where a road cum track running near to the visitor centre took us back up towards Bwlchgwyn.  Here Dave P lost leave of his senses and suggested a little diversion that took us down a charming little lane that had another stiffish climb back up onto the B road down to Cefn y Bedd and thence up to Caergwrle.  Only around 40 miles or so from Caergwrle but quite enough given the topography and drama encountered during the day!

MM