Part 1 on the trip to Wilderhope YHA in Shropshire by Nick Holmes. Read part 2 here
Back in 2017 when I fancied my hand at organising a trip to Wilderhope in Shropshire, I had never organised a hostelling trip before, let alone one where I had responsibility for 10 people ! I had a map where the scale was too small, access to Viewranger – Rick’s favourite navigational aid – and a hand written crib sheet, what could possibly go wrong?
Nigel always says, “It’s not the rides where the sun’s out and everything is perfect that you remember, but rather the ones that are an adventure.”
What an adventure we had, everyone was chipping in with the navigation, the group split 10 miles from the end and Tristan’s split allegiances meant he had to go haring off after a group that had simply evaporated, just as things started to get vertical. It was in Child Ercal that Jo Yates had calmly suggested, “Let’s just take a look at Google.” I was so grateful for Joe’s advice, I thought Joe and I should organise a tour.
This time I was enlightened, by Nigel, to Ride with GPS and had invested in a Wahoo, no more scraps of paper, no more endlessly rehearsing the route in my head. On top of which Joe was on hand.
We had a small group: me Joe Yates, Andy Bolton and Tony Young, (on his first tour). In light of my previous adventure in Cumbria, I had a plan: get to Wilderhope before dark; no main roads; two planned cafe stops – one at 30 miles one at 60 miles.
We met up at 08:30 for a 9:00 start and with zero faffing we set off just before nine. First cafe stop was Audlem just south of Crewe. We rode off through Goostry and onto Holmes Chapel, taking a short cut down a rough track into Holmes Chapel. It was then rolling lanes to Sandbach, there was a headwind but we rode well together taking turns at the front, it was almost effortless.
It’s refreshing to ride on rolling lanes however it can become a bit tedious and Wrybunbury provides a nice relief as the road sweeps down, up and left, before a steady romp into Audlem, where we arrived just as the Church bell struck 11.00. The Old Priest House is a favourite of cyclists, for good reason, the food and coffee is great. The British Cycling’s women’s group, Breeze, entered the cafe at about 11:05 packing the cafe out.
If you ever go to one of the six towns of Stoke you will hear of the mythical Staffordshire Oatcakes, despite being a Midlander (a Yamma to be precise), I had no idea what an Oatcake looks like, or tastes like. This was my chance to indulge. An Oatcake is not unlike a Crepe to look at and it tastes just as good, if not better. After the cafe Andy switched to overdrive, blasting off into the distance, while I felt like I perhaps should have eased off the oatcakes a bit.
We tacked our way through Waters Upton to Crudington, to avoid the perilous A442 before forming an echelon to shelter from a strong crosswind on the way to High Ercal – thanks Joe. Arriving safely at cafe stop number two at Upton Magna, on the outskirts of the Attingham estate, where it was coffee and Creme Egg brownies all round.
From here we descended to the swollen river Severn turning left then right, going past Wroxeter Roman City and onto Cressage. The views onto Wenlock Edge were impressive and well wooded. Climbing up to Wilderhope from Cressage avoided the wall-like climb from Acton Burell, the climb that probably finished Tristan off last time.
After comical discussions about Saturday night gear, it appeared it was Dave Rayner fund Etape Du Dales Tee shirts all round, you couldn’t have planned it!
In the abscence of Gary Lake it seems we have a new club polymath, Tony Young, who effortless navigated issues as diverse as pipe fitting, pet ownership and transgender issues, helped only by the local brew. We should also say we engaged in conversation with a group who had planted 3,000 saplings, keeping the valley “well wooded”, before conversation turned to heat source pumps!
To be Continued…see here
Nick
Read the report on a previous Wilderhope trip here
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Great write-up Nick, it was almost like being there. Well done for managing two 80 mile days back to back so soon after your recouperation!
Thanks Geoff, it will be good to get back to riding up hill.