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Weather: Cloudy start, brightening till mid afternoon, then rain.
Stats: 55.9 miles; Ave speed moving: 12mph
Counties: Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, Cheshire
GPS track map: Link here
Having resolved my wheel-worry yesterday, today proved a lot more enjoyable. After an initial route finding mix up, we made the steep climb out of Coalbrookdale, and over the shoulder of the Wrekin, then descended to and crossed the Cheshire plain on quiet lanes. It was a nice morning, and rather than take the nominated A- and B-roads via Nantwich, I went 'off-piste' and stayed on back roads. As I arrived in Winsford, it started to rain. Whilst I sheltered in a bus shelter to sort out my rain gear, I was joined by a local cyclist, and he recommended taking the newly installed Weavers Way along the River Weaver. This proved a more interesting choice than the nominated roads, passing as it did the Winsford rock salt mine, and the substantial Vale Royal Lock. The path was well surfaced, and pitched me up almost directly at the hotel in Hartford.
Next day
Weather: Cloudy start, brightening till mid afternoon, then rain.
Stats: 55.9 miles; Ave speed moving: 12mph
Counties: Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, Cheshire
GPS track map: Link here
Having resolved my wheel-worry yesterday, today proved a lot more enjoyable. After an initial route finding mix up, we made the steep climb out of Coalbrookdale, and over the shoulder of the Wrekin, then descended to and crossed the Cheshire plain on quiet lanes. It was a nice morning, and rather than take the nominated A- and B-roads via Nantwich, I went 'off-piste' and stayed on back roads. As I arrived in Winsford, it started to rain. Whilst I sheltered in a bus shelter to sort out my rain gear, I was joined by a local cyclist, and he recommended taking the newly installed Weavers Way along the River Weaver. This proved a more interesting choice than the nominated roads, passing as it did the Winsford rock salt mine, and the substantial Vale Royal Lock. The path was well surfaced, and pitched me up almost directly at the hotel in Hartford.
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| Victorian tiles in hallway of Best Western Valley Hotel, where we stayed in Ironbridge |
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| Old Coalbrookdale railway viaduct |
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| Ironbridge power station, due for closure in 2015 (?) (Afternote December 2019: Demo day: |
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| The Wrekin. Our route went over the shoulder |
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| Rock salt stockpiles, Winsford salt mine, as seen from Weavers Way |
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| Weavers Way path has quite a good surface |
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| Vale Royal Lock, River Weaver Navigation |
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