# Cheshire tour



## cisamcgu (2 Feb 2011)

_(From CGOAB)
_
*Day One
*
Well, today is the day; My daughter, Lucia, and I start our epic (well, not epic so much as tiny) tour of Cheshire. The plan is to drive to just South of Chester, near Stamford Mill, park the car in a farm yard, and then spend three happy days pootling around the quiet lanes of rural Cheshire. 

I had bought some cheap panniers from Lidl (£15 - a bargain I thought) and strapped them to my trusty Dawes Horizon. We were having a supported tour, since this would be our first attempt, and therefore our main luggage would be moved from one night to the next by these nice people http://www.byways-breaks.co.uk/ . So into the panniers went snacks, locks, waterproofs and other assorted neccessities, adding quite a bit of weight, but nothing too frightening. We packed the bicycles into the back of the car, and at about 09:30am, drove down the M53......... 

We arrived in plenty of time at the farm, and parked the car and unloaded the bicycles, putting the panniers back on. At this point it became apparent that the velcro and strapping method of attaching the panniers that Lidl employ is perhaps not the most convenient, since it takes quite a bit of grunting and cursing, as well as rather a lot of manual dexterity. Never mind, I'm sure I will get used to it. We parked the bikes up against the wall and waited for Carolyn from ByWays to turn up. 



A couple of minutes after 11:00am, Carolyn arrived, very friendly and efficient, she took our luggage, gave us a printed weather forecast, wished us well, and disappeared. The farm cat turned up, and curled around our legs, looking for food or attention. It got a quick scratch behind the ears, then we pointed our bikes down the track out of the farm, took a breath, and began to pedal - our adventure had begun. 



Two minutes later we stopped, the first of many, many stops that we would take during the day. We had the route marked out on an Ordnance Survey map, and also described on a piece of A4 paper. Places of interest and places to eat were also marked - the problem was that I only had my panniers to store these most important items, so I had to stop again and again to refer to them. (Lucia would not have been pleased if we had ridden miles in the wrong direction so it was essential that we kept to the route  ). Having checked the route yet again, we pedalled along a cart track, bouncing over stones and rocks "I don't like this; it is too rough, I'm going to fall off !" We crossed over three tiny bridges that spanned a rather murky pool of water, and eventually came back to a tarmac road.







It was at this point that Lucia had a moment of inspiration, and a few minutes later the plastic sleeve that had held all of our information was now elastoplasted to my handlebars, holding the torn up OS map in full, easy seen, glory. A DIY map holder of the highest quality - nothing could stop us now ! We pedalled onwards, the aim of the day was to reach Tarporley, about 11 miles away; not a huge distance, not even a small distance, but one that Lucia and I felt comfortable with. So we cycled through Tarvin, a pleasant village with a picturesque church, before turning off the road onto another track, this one muddy and churned by cattle. We were forced to push the bikes for a bit, but were soon back on the quiet country roads. We passed through Oscroft and stopped in Willington for lunch. Happily stuffed with good pub food, and having spent a few minutes chatting to a handsome horse and feeding it grass in the adjacent field, we set off again, swooping down the hills (well, perhaps not swooping, since Lucia is not too keen on going fast down slopes - and neither am I really), and aimed our bikes towards Oulton. 

After maybe an hour of pleasant pootling, a car overtook us, then pulled in. A women of mature years got out of the driving seat and flagged us down. "I'm trying to get to Tarporley, but the A51 is closed, and the blasted satnav will not tell me where to go!" Suppressing a small grin, I pointed to the crossroads about 20 yards ahead, the signpost to Tarporley just visible; "Turn right at this junction, and you should be fine" I said, so with a muttered thanks, she hopped back into her car and zoomed off. Lucia and I exchanged a wry smile and trundled over the cross roads, taking a long loop before we arrived at our destination. The last couple of miles were tiring for Lucia and she was immensely pleased to see 'The Swan Hotel' sign as we crawled up Tarporley High Street. Our bags had been safely delivered by Carolyn, and within 30 minutes, we were checked in, our bikes locked up securely (in the kitchen we found out later), and we could rest our weary legs in the comfortable bar, sipping a Cains bitter and a lemonade. 

*Day Two
*Woke about 07:30am, and lazily packed the panniers and luggage. We wandered over to the dining room of the hotel, and tucked into the cereal and fruit juice. Lucia had some bacon and toast, but the bacon, it seems, was almost inedible due to being more salty than the Atlantic ocean. I, on the other hand, had some smoked haddock and a poached egg - just lovely.






We checked out, and freewheeled down the High Street, laughing as we were effortlessly taken down the hill - the wrong way !!!!!! A hurried check of the map, and a rather severe glare from Lucia had us straining back up the road until the correct turning appeared. We cruised through the empty lanes, passing through Tiverton and climbing the hill at Beeston. We stopped at Beeston Castle, but decided against paying the entrance fee, and instead amused ourselves for 30 minutes in the visitor centre. For some, unfathomable reason, both Lucia and myself forget to buy an ice cream - this is something that would have to be remedied later ! No sooner had the promise of an ice-cream been made, than we arrived in Bunbury, a lovely village with elegant and beautiful cottages, and were able to buy a much needed ice-cream. 



From Bunbury we sauntered downwards, never clocking up more than 10mph, but not caring either, since it was such a pleasant, peaceful ride. We stopped to feed some more horses, then with a rumbling tummy, we halted in Faddiley, at The Thatch Inn. One lovely meal later, we slowly made our way south towards Cholmondelely. 



The weather hadn't improved since the beginning. Cloudy, grey, overcast yet warm. There was only the faintest of breezes however, so I suppose the cycling was a pleasure even if the countryside wasn't at its best in the gloom. After a few miles we reached Cholmondelely Castle (pronounced "Chumley"). It had a most impressive driveway, a leafy avenue stretching for almost half a mile before it reached the ticket man. He, the ticket man, was very helpful and friendly, pointing out the benefits of cycling in the grounds (cars have to park before the gardens, cyclists don't).






We spent a few hours there, playing on the climbing frames and swings (well, one of us did). We also wandered around the gardens which, even to my rather philistine's eye, were quite stunning. We had cake, we saw pigs and we bought some presents for those still at home. If you are ever in the area, I recommend it ! It was only a short few miles to our second nights accomodation, a farm house B&B near Malpas. It was, however, on the top of a long, steep(ish) drag, that came at the end of a rather tiring day. Lucia needed a little help to get to the top, but very soon we were happily esconsed in the warm, inviting amostphere of Hampton House farmhouse B&B. Our hosts could not have been more friendly or helpful, even driving us down to the local pub for dinner, and arranging for the pub to drive us back once we had finished. Lucia collapsed asleep as soon as we got back, but I managed to watch the football on TV, seeing Liverpool beat Liege in extra time ! 

*Day Three

*We rose, bright and early, and wandered down to breakfast. There were 6 other people staying in the farm house. It seems that there had been some sort of noise related problem last night, but Lucia and I had been fast asleep. The other people at breakfast inluded a couple who were spending a few days fishing around the area, and another who were visiting Chester Zoo with the idea of using it for their wedding venue ! We had a lovely breakfast, and were soon gliding through the silent lanes, which had become rather more "lumpy", much to Lucia's distaste. We climbed and descended steadily, the weather still a heavy, leaden grey, but the rain stayed away, much to our joy.






At about 11am we arrived at the Cheshire Ice Cream farm in Tattenhall. We looked around and sampled the home made ice-cream before pedalling back into Tattenhall village for lunch. We then returned to the farm to watch the cows being milked - not very exciting really, it was a very restricted view. We did get to see a vet with his arm buried up to his shoulder in a cows behind though, which caused some amusement  Once this excitement was over, we remounted our trusty steeds and turned our heads towards Chester, and the end of the journey. 



We arrived at the farm early, so put the bikes back in the car, and watched the harvesters at work in a nearby field. The cat reappeared, welcoming us back after our epic trip, and received another scratch behind the ears. We were soon on our way home, it seemed slightly odd to be whizzing along the motorway at 70mph rather than pottering around at 7mph, but we were both tired, and the call of a long bath was dragging us home...


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## ColinJ (2 Feb 2011)

I enjoyed reading that! And it reminds me that I'd like to do more riding in Cheshire. I've done a long audax ride and 6 or 7 Manchester 100 events but it would be nice to do a CycleChat forum ride over there. I love the hills round here, but it would be good to do some flatter cycling for a change.


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## upsidedown (2 Feb 2011)

Nice write-up, sounds like a lovely area. 
I'm currently exisiting on a diet of CGOAB journals to try and keep me sane until my next tour, it's been a long old winter!

paul


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## John the Monkey (2 Feb 2011)

ColinJ said:


> I enjoyed reading that! And it reminds me that I'd like to do more riding in Cheshire. I've done a long audax ride and 6 or 7 Manchester 100 events but it would be nice to do a CycleChat forum ride over there. I love the hills round here, but it would be good to do some flatter cycling for a change.
> 
> I'll come back to this thread later to see if the problem with your pictures has been sorted out.



Colin, if you can get to Crewe station, you can join the Cheshire Cycleway about 2 miles from the station - it's my usual Sunday ride, mostly flat, and well signposted & pretty pleasant, going through Audlem, Wrenbury & out to Malpas & back. Joining it further up Crewe Road (turning off for Hassall and then heading in the Congleton direction) takes you into the hilly bits.


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## twowheeler (22 Feb 2011)

Yeah - thanks for writing that. It makes good reading. I live in Northwich so I recognize the 
place names all! Did you do all the booking etc. or do it through a third party? 

ATB Gordon


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## 661-Pete (22 Feb 2011)

Very nice write-up! Can't see the pictures as embedded in the post, but I managed to see them by going direct to CGOAB. Perhaps you could fix that by attaching the piccies to this forum?

It shows how much leisurely rides are as important in the world of cycling, as the more energetic stuff! But then, leisurely is what I do, 100%, now at my age. Shows that there's more to cycling than .... well .....  

Sometimes I think Satnav is for idiots. But then I'm prejudiced...

[edit]after I put in this post, the piccies came up on your post. Weird!


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## ColinJ (22 Feb 2011)

John the Monkey said:


> Colin, if you can get to Crewe station, you can join the Cheshire Cycleway about 2 miles from the station - it's my usual Sunday ride, mostly flat, and well signposted & pretty pleasant, going through Audlem, Wrenbury & out to Malpas & back. Joining it further up Crewe Road (turning off for Hassall and then heading in the Congleton direction) takes you into the hilly bits.


Hi John. 

I've only just noticed your post. I just checked and it would be £18.50 return to Crewe which is a bit stiff for a weekend ride. Not out of the question, but I'll leave it until I have a bit more cash. 

Frodsham was another station I was looking at. I think I can do that for £16 return. 

Ooh - Glazebrook for £7.60 return if I can face riding in the traffic up and down Deansgate from Victoria station. That's more like it! What's Deansgate like these days? It's 25 years since I was a student in Manchester and it was pretty busy even then.


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## Banjo (1 Mar 2011)

Great read that, just wondered what Lucia did while you were playing on the swings  ? PS couldnt see the images.


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## John the Monkey (1 Mar 2011)

ColinJ said:


> That's more like it! What's Deansgate like these days? It's 25 years since I was a student in Manchester and it was pretty busy even then.



Not really sure - my end of town is more the Oxford Rd way, I'm only rarely over at Deansgate, and only then as a pedestrian. My impression of it is one long traffic queue, with frequent pedestrian crossings (light controlled).


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