Sunday 9th March 2025
About a year ago I planned a ride across North Wales, starting from YHA Trafford Hall near Chester with one night at YHA Conwy. Sadly, I was quite poorly on that ride, so this time, in much better health, I decided to do something similar but not touring this time, just day rides. Perhaps I’m getting lazy…
This morning I drove to Mold (or Yr Wyddgrug as I should call it now) and cycled from there to Prestatyn (still called Prestatyn). That illogicality caused me to give the Welsh language some considerable thought during today’s ride. When did Yr Wyddgrug get anglicised to Mold? I can guess why, but there seems to be no link between the two names. Although Prestatyn sounds Welsh, we English can pronounce it (of a fashion) so I suppose in that case the Welsh name stuck without the need for translation, but whatever happened with Mold?
Since I was starting this trip on a Sunday (for no better reason than the weather was good), I found a car park in Mold (or whatever) which was free on Sundays. Great! I added directions to my phone and was good to go. I just happened to check the small print before setting off, and discovered that even though the car park is free on Sunday, they host a car boot sale there each week and charge visitors £2.10 for entry, which is more than the daily parking rate! So I changed to another car park with a more expensive daily rate, but which was still free on Sunday. (There were 68 spaces and about five cars on it when I arrived – does no-one visit Mold on Sundays)
I planned the route to head out through the hills and back along the coast, avoiding, where possible, the rather busy main road down past Holywell & Flint. The weather was gorgeous – a light northerly wind and warm sunshine (16°C at the warmest). Climbing for the first three miles was no fun but once I gained the height, I stayed at a similar level for almost 20 miles.
I was ready for a brew and a cake as I came off the hills and entered a less remote landscape. Google Maps suggested that a café was on my route just a couple of miles distant, so I pulled into The Red, which turned out to be a cracking decision. The inside rooms were kitted out with musical memorabilia and interesting photographs, but more importantly, the cakes were splendid and very cheap. Chatting later to Jules, the owner, I discovered that she was married to Mike Peters, the lead singer of the rock band The Alarm. Mike is still touring but is presently undergoing cancer treatment at Christies. [Post script: Mike sadly passed away on 29th April]
Jules and I talked for quite a time and I got the history of how she came to buy the Red and I was even persuaded to pose for a photo to ‘go on the socials’. I haven’t yet found out where it was posted, but somewhere out there is a picture of me looking a bit bemused and sweaty in North Wales. I gave the café an excellent and well-deserved review on TripAdvisor.
On the way home during last year’s trip, I followed the promenade all the way to Prestatyn before heading inland for a bit. This time, I followed the coast a bit further right up to the Point of Ayr at Talacre. At one point, the route took me through a golf course, even passing between the tee and the green on a few hair-raising occasions. Strava reckons I rode the same stretch last year but I have no recollection of it at all. I’d have thought that having golf balls whizzing overhead would have made an impression on me, but no. I really must’ve been ill. Or perhaps those pills that Jim gave me weren’t paracetamol after all…
I managed to find alternatives to avoid much of the busy and narrow A548 coastal road past Holywell, but on the bits that I couldn’t avoid, I cycled along the pavement and felt much safer. Am I getting more of a scaredy-cat? Or is it just that I have developed a better imagination nowadays? Whichever, I much preferred the diversions, even if they did add quite a bit of climbing.
I had trouble getting back to the car once I’d returned to Mold. I was within 1/4 mile of it when I stopped to take the photo below, and then my pre-set route told me to turn left which was down a closed street. So I followed the diversion which appeared to take me out of town again! I had no difficulty driving in this morning (Google Maps knew about the road closure) so I ended up following the same route as I drove in. This made me grumpy since I was also hungry & tired.
Rather than self-catering, I bought my tea at the hostel tonight but it was disappointing. The pizza looked fine and tasted all right, if a bit too tomatoey, but its problem was that the cheese and pepperoni topping kept sliding off the base as I was trying to eat it. I’m not a cook, so I don’t know what the issue was, but I’ll order something different tomorrow night. Thankfully, the beer was fine.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is much like today if a touch cooler, but Tuesday’s not looking too clever – down to 6° with an increasing breeze.
Monday 10th March 2025
I managed to set off the smoke alarm at breakfast this morning. The toaster was one of those that required me to set the duration and then lower the bread into the machine using a little lever. On my second round of toast (the first being very successful) I set the timer but forgot to lower the bread. When the time finished, I realised my error so I lowered the bread and re-set the timer. For reasons that I can’t fathom, this time the bread was incinerated, thus awakening the previously dormant smoke alarm. Thankfully, there was only me in the breakfast room at the time, so I didn’t really inconvenience anyone. A flapping tea towel and an open window soon quietened the noise. And if I’d strapped some bread to my cheeks, I’m sure my blushes would’ve toasted it.
About ten miles into today’s ride, I found myself on the Millennium Greenway cycle track. This traffic-free route follows an old railway line right through Chester and starts (or perhaps ends) about 2 miles from the hostel. Why I didn’t elect to follow this route from the start, I don’t know, but I chose instead to take the road that runs adjacent to the Stanlow oil refinery and passes close to Cheshire Oaks. Probably there was a stray tile on that route that I needed, since I was certainly tile-hunting by the time I reached Hawarden and later, Wrexham.
Although it was a touch colder than yesterday, the weather once more was exceptional for March. The wind got up after lunch which was inconvenient since it was North-easterly and in my face for much of the last 30 miles. There were barely any hills though, which is remarkable since half the ride was in Wales.
I passed through a very pretty place called Marford this morning. Many of the cottages here were built in a the style is called Cottage Orné as part of the former Trevelyn Hall estates. I’ve never seen anything quite like them before.
After a huge YHA unlimited breakfast, I didn’t need to stop for refreshments until I’d left Wrexham well behind me. By then I was close to a place called Bangor-on-Dee which looked good for a cafe. I was wrong. It’s a gorgeous village but sadly devoid of eateries. It had a couple of pubs, but I didn’t fancy them. Instead, I bought a chicken & salad bap with a piece of shortbread for afters which only set me back four quid. The bap was huge and very delicious and I enjoyed it sitting by an old packhorse bridge whilst enjoying the unseasonally warm sunshine.
To increase my Veloviewer cluster, I took a few detours in the afternoon, linking together previous rides in the region. However, on the diversions today, I didn’t meet any nowty car drivers unlike yesterday. To reach one particular tile yesterday, I headed up a narrow dirt track for perhaps 200 yards. Just at the point where my Garmin informed me that I’d reached the tile, a young chap appeared and politely told me that the road didn’t lead anywhere. “That’s OK” I told him, “I’m turning back now”. I even explained what I was doing, but I could tell from his blank looks that he didn’t get it. After turning round, and perhaps 50 yards before the start of the track I met a 4×4 heading towards me. It was a very tight squeeze, but as the driver passed, she felt the need to wind down her window and growl at me for being so totally lost. I didn’t think it prudent to explain my motive once more – she could ask the young lad who, by then had caught us up. (Of course, dear reader, you will know that I certainly wasn’t lost: I was at grid reference SJ 17680 64687 just South of Cilcain.)
When I got back to the hostel I chatted to the other person in my room. It turns out that he’s a contractor working night shifts at Stanlow to make some money before settling down. He told me that he’s working as an engineer from 7pm until 7am six days a week! On his day off, he doesn’t bother going home since he lives in Kent. I guess he just sleeps all day when he doesn’t work. He’s obviously opted out of the Working Time Regulations.
I had a great tea tonight; it was only a cheeseburger, but the chips it came with were delicious, and very plentiful, which is always welcome. I had an early night after cake and coffee. When I reached the dorm, the two upper bunks were now occupied by two people already fast asleep, and I soon joined them in their slumbers.
Tuesday 11th March 2025
There were no incendiary incidents in the dining room this morning – in fact I got personal service from the chef since there was only me down for breakfast at 7.30. I had checked out and was on the road for 8.45 on quite a chilly morning. My shorts were packed away for a few more weeks, and I was once more in winter gear.
I passed one village whose sign was placed upside down. I couldn’t decide whether the local council workers were incompetent, the area had a very sophisticated class of vandal or whether the villagers were trying to warn everyone that they were in dire distress.
Today, I meandered generally SE with a very pleasant tailwind before I swung to the East to ride past Nantwich. I skirted round the town before reaching Crewe, my main destination. Now that I’ve been there, I’ve no real desire to return. Not that it’s a bad place; but I saw nothing that would attract me back. It’s very flat (apart from the many railway bridges) with plenty of green space and several good cycle routes. Sadly, the night before I arrived, the local youths must have been competing to see who could break the most bottles on some of the paths. Thankfully, the bright sunshine made the broken glass glisten like diamonds in the asphalt so I could veer around the worst bits.
I never saw Crewe station. Whilst I didn’t set out to do so, it might have been interesting to see it from the outside having visited the inside countless times on a train.
From Crewe, it just felt like a slog to get back to the car. I passed several nondescript Cheshire villages but didn’t stop at any. The wind was a nuisance; rarely ever fully in my face, but always there making its presence felt. Getting back to the car by 2pm gave me a bonus in that I got home before the traffic built up on the M6 so I had a very smooth drive home.
Over the three days, I rode nearly 209 miles and climbed 9,341 feet with no punctures, despite encountering lots of hedge clippings and glass. My next adventure is in four weeks when I’m aiming once more to get to Wooler: I had to cancel my trip there last September. At least all the routes have already been planned (and tested).
