Chester - Whitchurch. 36 miles
21st sept.2013
Today we cycled part of the Mercian Way. It runs from the Wyre forest to Chester through the former ancient Kingdom of Mercia, once ruled by the powerful Offa, the first man to claim the title of king of England. Special cast-iron way markers have been commissioned in the form of Anglo-Saxon warriors. Set up at strategic points along the trail, these soldiers will be on duty all year round to ensure that travellers can easily get their bearings.
We intended to cycle all the way to Shrewsbury, but found that it was too much. In fact we have decided to call it a day and go no further. The trip in 2011 was so different, seem to have much more energy and enthousiasm. We are making mistakes. The traffic is much worse. On the minor roads it,s ok but much hillier and also signs are missing. We both find that the fun has gone and are not truly enjoying it. We pretended for a while but have to be honest. We so much wanted to do this, the mind is willing, but both our bodies say 'stop'.
We may well have another go in 2014 as it seems a shame not to finish. There is only 1/3 to go and possibly in May we could try.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday 21 September 2013
Friday 20 September 2013
Croston - Chester 45 miles
Croston - Chester 45 miles
19th September 2013
It has been a really hard day. As the weather forecast was rain in the morning we did all the manoeuvring first. We drove the van to Frodsham. Took the train back to Croston. It still rained but we got on with it. We had lunch in the 'Robin Hood' and after which the rain had stopped. We took a B road to Dangerous Corner, on to Appley Bridge, Orrell then Haydock. On to Burtonwood road, across the M62 towards Sankey Bridges, through the Nature reserve on the Pennines cycle trail, cross over the River Mersey, the Manchester Ship canal, unfortunately on the congested A56 until we reached Frodsham again. After Haydock it was difficult. Signs were missing, and I am convinced a minor B road on the map was also missing as a fact. This does spoil the magic of cycling, especially with horizontal rain. Apart from that nothing very exciting happened. For this reason we are taking a day off and move the van to Shrewsbury, ready to take the train back in the morning. It should be good tomorrow as we will cycle the Mercian Way from Chester to Shrewsbury. Looking forward to it.
Sent from my iPad
19th September 2013
It has been a really hard day. As the weather forecast was rain in the morning we did all the manoeuvring first. We drove the van to Frodsham. Took the train back to Croston. It still rained but we got on with it. We had lunch in the 'Robin Hood' and after which the rain had stopped. We took a B road to Dangerous Corner, on to Appley Bridge, Orrell then Haydock. On to Burtonwood road, across the M62 towards Sankey Bridges, through the Nature reserve on the Pennines cycle trail, cross over the River Mersey, the Manchester Ship canal, unfortunately on the congested A56 until we reached Frodsham again. After Haydock it was difficult. Signs were missing, and I am convinced a minor B road on the map was also missing as a fact. This does spoil the magic of cycling, especially with horizontal rain. Apart from that nothing very exciting happened. For this reason we are taking a day off and move the van to Shrewsbury, ready to take the train back in the morning. It should be good tomorrow as we will cycle the Mercian Way from Chester to Shrewsbury. Looking forward to it.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday 18 September 2013
Carnforth - Croston 48.18 miles
Carnforth - Croston 48.18 miles
Wednesday 18th September.
After 3 days of atrocious weather with storms and rain at times sideways, we decided we have to make the move. Carol, the beautiful weather girl on TV, who we have been listening to intently over the last days, said that Wednesday would be a better day. And so it was for most of the time. Straight away after arriving at Carnforth we took ourselves to the Lancaster canal, which has the no. 6 running alongside. What a treat this was. We had been looking forward to this and we weren't disappointed. North of Lancaster we crossed the viaduct and continued cycling next to the river Lune which then became the Lune Estuary. At Conder Green we turned right on to the Lancaster road, the A588, then the B5272 to Garstang. On to the B6430 to Catterall, the A6 to Broughton, the B6241 to Preston, crossing the River Ribble, on to the A582 to Leyland, B5253 to Moss Side, turn right on to the A581 to Croston, where we are staying.
We did have some showers and used the underneath of the canal bridge to shelter. That gives you the opportunity to have a chat with some of the locals, who are very generous with their advice. Although I always use my Philips Navigator, I did get it wrong in Preston. We usually look for other cyclists to ask -they always know-.
Well, the first day is over. Hope the weather will hold for tomorrow, so far it doesn't look very promising.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday 18th September.
After 3 days of atrocious weather with storms and rain at times sideways, we decided we have to make the move. Carol, the beautiful weather girl on TV, who we have been listening to intently over the last days, said that Wednesday would be a better day. And so it was for most of the time. Straight away after arriving at Carnforth we took ourselves to the Lancaster canal, which has the no. 6 running alongside. What a treat this was. We had been looking forward to this and we weren't disappointed. North of Lancaster we crossed the viaduct and continued cycling next to the river Lune which then became the Lune Estuary. At Conder Green we turned right on to the Lancaster road, the A588, then the B5272 to Garstang. On to the B6430 to Catterall, the A6 to Broughton, the B6241 to Preston, crossing the River Ribble, on to the A582 to Leyland, B5253 to Moss Side, turn right on to the A581 to Croston, where we are staying.
We did have some showers and used the underneath of the canal bridge to shelter. That gives you the opportunity to have a chat with some of the locals, who are very generous with their advice. Although I always use my Philips Navigator, I did get it wrong in Preston. We usually look for other cyclists to ask -they always know-.
Well, the first day is over. Hope the weather will hold for tomorrow, so far it doesn't look very promising.
Sent from my iPad
Friday 13 September 2013
The second half...
We will start cycling the second half of John O'Groats to Land's End on Sept 17th. Our starting point is Carnforth, the place we left off after the knee injury back in May this year. There is about 550 miles left to L.E. and our aim is to finish on Sept. 30th. We will see.
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