Panorama

Those of you who know me or have followed my posts for a few years will be aware that I like to take a few photos - and in recent years I am sure you know I completed the 52 Frames challenge in 2022, and I am repeating that this year.  No?  No worries - all you need to know is that this week's challenge is 'Panorama'.  So that should explain the format of some of my photos from today's ride.

Still meeting at Total Fitness we were disappointed for a second month that there were no hot drinks available.  Yana, the young lady who served us, was most apologetic and still managed to look after us with a variety of smoothies and juices, but it does not bode well to continue meeting here.

Nine ladies were out, and after a quick photo as the weather has turned decidedly colder now, we set off.  I plotted a slightly unusual route to get to the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port, which involved Greenway, some canal, lanes to Ellesmere Port, residential streets but dropping back to the tranquility of the canal for the final run to the cafe.

Although cold, we did have the most beautiful sunny morning, and were met by Michelle in the cafe, with a central table laid out and reserved for us.

Extreme panorama - I found a new setting on my phone!!!

The Port and Anchor cafe sits alongside the (Manchester) Ship canal, and sometimes you can be treated to a very large ship passing a few feet from the cafe windows.  No such luck today but an opportunity for some panoramic photos at least.

A Panorama made of 5 photos stitched together when I got home
- I'm very pleased with this!!!

Options for heading back were shared (either through the industrial estate to Thornton Le Moors, Wimbolds Trafford, Dunham on the Hill and beyond; or canal then lanes near Chester Zoo, or just canal all the way back) - the ladies opted for the middle option and we set off, back along the canal.

The surface is unfortunately quite broken up at times at this end of the towpath, and combined with quite overgrown hedges it did make for a slightly exciting journey, until it smoothed out at Stoak.  We left the canal here and followed through Croughton and then up the back of the Zoo and through the Zoo bridleway.

After this people started to drift off home as usual, until it was just me!

See the route on Komoot

A Beautiful View

Disappointing start this morning when we were told the coffee machine / hot drinks were not working, so we could not start off with a brew.  So I asked the guys to pose for me, for the blog of course!

Still, it was a nice day and after our photo we wet off along the Greenway.  As I have mentioned over the years, September I try to run as a 'back to school' gentle introductory ride, a nice easy scoot up the Greenway and either to Yvonne's in Connah's Quay, Nets or Burton Manor across the Marshes. This year it was the turn of Burton Manor again.

We regrouped for another photo at the Blue Dragon or Welsh bridge, before continuing to turn off and
head through the industrial estate to cross the marshes on the boardwalk.

On arriving at the cafe, we met the Breeze ladies led by Sam.  I am friends with her on Facebook, and follow her exploits, and she told me about her upcoming trip to Cuba.  We waved the Breeze ladies off and sat ourselves at an outside table, enjoying late summer sun and warmth.

On our way back we detoured to follow the river back in, overhearing the racecourse announcements as we neared Chester.

Blog post title - refers to this week's photography challenge (I am doing '52 Frames')

Precipitation, Police Box and Puncture

Starting at Total Fitness, after a quick coffee and chat, we assembled for the photo and the off

Meeting at a new venue means different routes out - so, for example - I do not think the ladies group has even set off along Ermine Road, with the view of the Lead Shot tower in front.

Followed by the humpedy bump along Lightfoot Street, with the awful speed bumps.

New routes or not, this is a diversion we would have had anyway - Severn Trent have had road closures along Boughton and Huntington all year.  It is now closed at the Sandy Lane end, but we were able to get through (with a pleasant detour alongside the river)

And another topical sight - the demolition of Et Alia, formerly The Red House overlooking the river and the meadows for many years.  Time will show what they replace it with - probably a very large nice house - or several equally expensive flats.

To start with we set up on the benches outside in the garden; but it was not many minutes before the rain started; we braved it for a few minutes, but when the spots got bigger we decided to relocate back inside.  And not before time, as the heavens did indeed open!

So, this was a bit of fun.  For ne reason (that we could discern) they have a life-size Tardis (well, antique Police Box).  So we had to take photos, squeeze inside, take more photos!

Now that the rain had stopped we caught a few sunshine rays before heading back out to the lanes.

Unfortunately, within a few hundred yards just as we crossed the main road, Linda discovered a puncture.  No matter, we got this!

We ain't got this.  No end or pulling, tugging, poking, advising, or tyre levers could shift Linda's tyre.  It was so tight - in the end (with time a-marching on) she called for assistance and we reluctantly left her to wait for her pick up.

After Borras Head we stopped to take photos and take in the view, turning out a lovely day (now the rain has gone...)

We perambulated back around the back lanes of Trevallyn, and made our way into Chester across the 'new' blue bridge over the A55, and even newer cycle paths at new housing estate on Wrexham Road.

 

Have wings will fly

I was away for May, so I rely on photos and posts from Facebook.  I gather it was a gloriously sunny day though!

With thanks to Angela, Linda, and Collette for the photos!

And the post title?  Well, I saw the bike photo here, hanging from the ceiling with a pair of wings - Cycling UK was formerly CTC, and the symbol for the CYC was a 'winged wheel'.  We have a few local to us - Tarporley, Corwen, Middlewich, and there should be one in Bala but I believe it is missing (Bala weekend blog post to follow).  You can read the  Cycling UK history page, or when we reinstated the one at Corwen (that is me on the left, blowing the fine horn!).

There used to be a website listing all of them (I never found the one in Macclesfield), but that seems to have disappeared, but there are some on 'YACF' (Yet Another Cycling Forum).

When you are out on your bike, and especially in the sunny summer months, you can really feel like you are flying!

The History Tour

 ...so named as today, like many of my  rides, include snippets of local and often little known history.  Which makes blog writing even longer as I like to verify my statements with links.  So here we go...

16 riders accumulated at Hobsons Cafe this morning, assembling for a chat and a photo and then setting off in two groups.  Two new riders, some newer and returning, some long standing regular riders.  Rain of recent days and weeks seemed to be keeping off, although still a strong wind.

I think only myself and my wrinkles are really in focus this time,
as I had no 'official' photographer!

I led a slower / beginners group, dropping to the river and following it along to the Grosvenor Bridge.  No photo today, but I may have mentioned here before that it was the longest single span bridge in the world when it was built, and remained so for thirty years (not eighty as I thought!).  It was opened in 1832 by Princess Victoria.  It is a grade I listed building, and remains the longest single span masonry bridge in Britain.  Grosvenor Bridge (Chester) - Wikipedia.  And then, of course, around the Racecourse - this first one and oldest still in use in the world built in 1539.

As we were stopped, a couple of cyclists came by - none other than Val and Norm from our Summer evening rides group. So we had a quick chat, enough to update Norm where we will be this coming Wednesday evening, and we waved them on their way. 

We continued along the river, and past The Cop (a skateboard park by a bend in the river as it heads out of town - apparently it used to be a warehouse that shipped Cheshire Cheese to London (taken from a blog, nothing on Wikipedia) - this had been deep in water earlier this week with flooding, high tides and high winds.

We had some very black clouds,
but only a tiny bit of rain in Shotton

At Saltney Ferry I again stopped, to assemble the riders and ponder whether to cross here and use the lane around the airfield to Hawarden, or continue on the river.  At this point I met Lionel, whom I have known for many years, and who rides with the Watsons Wanderers.  He said he had had quite a head wind coming down the river, but we should be OK (in fact it was across us, but I think slightly on our shoulder, so not too bad).

At Shotton we crossed on the blue bridge, and negotiated some paths to bring us to the side of the main road by Asda, where there is a quieter road to Aston.  We were then able to cross the main road on a bridge and continue to Hawarden.  After climbing Upper Aston Hall Lane, we paused in a gateway as Ruth's chain had come off.  We noted a rather fine gateway to a new small housing estate, and a small stone name plate which stated 'Poor Clare Colettines'.  Rowena recalled that there used to be a nunnery, and often the nun's would look after to bring cats back?  Mary Googled for us, and discovered that it was indeed a nunnery, for the nuns of Saint Collette who are now only really found in Picardy.  My own Google search found that the Nuns moved to a Nottingham Convent, due to rising maintenance costs.  The monastery was established in the late 1920's, when the steelworks was in full swing, so they had 'only' been there for 90 years 

Now we made our way to St David's park and across the main road using a selection of cycle and footpaths, and then on the Northop road to the Fisheries, another new cafe.

On arrival the other group was already there and had ordered, so we filled the other end of the long table the cafe had put together for us and placed our orders.

Heading back involved a tiny, steep and wet lane dropping down Shotton Lane to Shotton, where we crossed the river on the railway bridge, and then trundled back down the Greenway.