This ride is only open to members of the Wirral Cycling Group.  If you are an experienced rider who has ridden with other cycling groups and would like to join us on a ride, then please get in touch with us via the <Contact Form> so we can make arrangements.  If you have not ridden with a cycling group before, and would like to find out what riding with our group is like, then please book onto one of our monthly rides for newcomers.
You must not join a ride if you or anyone in your household is experiencing any of the Covid-19 symptoms
or if you have been advised to self-isolate

(C) In Search of the Dee Bore from Hooton

09:45 Wednesday February 22 2023

Current Participants: 5 space(s) available

    Please note: We will leave Hooton Station at the earlier start time of 09:45.  John Hampson, the ride leader will be at the start at 09:30

    The objective is to get to the River Dee by Hawarden Bridge before 10:30 to be in time to see the Dee bore.  It is due to pass under Hawarden Bridge between 10:30 and 10:45 (depending upon weather conditions on the day).   The bridge is nine miles from Hooton station, so we will leave Hooton Station at 09:45 and travel at an average speed of 12 miles per hour to get to the River Dee by Hawarden Bridge in time.  So don’t be late getting to Hooton (or we will go without you) and don’t be slow (or we may leave you behind).

    NB: If anyone wants to be on the ride, but would rather go to Hawarden Bridge at their own pace, then we can meet you there at 10:30.

    The route will be across the railway bridge at Hooton on to Willaston, then down Haddon Road and Dunstan Lane to Burton, across Burton Marsh path and through the Deeside Industrial Park onto the Chester Greenway to Hawarden Railway Bridge.  We will stop by the river (outside the old John Summers building) for a quick snack and/or drink while we wait for the bore to arrive.  The timing of the bore’s arrival depends upon the sea conditions and prevailing wind, so we may have to wait a while for it to arrive, or sprint after it if we are too late (in which case our break will be by the Groves in Chester).

    If anyone is a bit late getting to the bridge, then you can most probably catch up with the bore.  It travels at around 7 to 8 mph and takes around 35 mins to go from Hawarden Railway Bridge to the Saltney Ferry foot bridge.  Most people can ride that distance (4.2 miles flat and straight) in under 20 minutes.

    We will follow the river all the way into Chester, around the racecourse, and out past the Groves (with a quick stop at the public toilets there if anyone needs them).  Then up Dee Lane and Russell Street to the canal, via Westminster Road to Hoole, past Upton and Upton Heath, through Wervin, Stoak, Little Stanney and Wolverham, before taking the final part of the canal tow path to the Boat Museum for lunch. After lunch we will go back through Rossmore, past the Vauxhall factory (one little, but steep, hill), and through Childer Thornton to return to Hooton Station between 14:30 and 15:00.

    The ride is 32 miles long, grade C, and can be viewed and downloaded as a GPX here on Komoot: Hooton to Hawarden Bridge and Chester

    PS: No guarantees that we will see the bore, or that it will be magnificent, even though this is the highest tide of the year: it ranges in size from a few inches to four feet high.  It all depends on the wind that day and on recent rainfall (we want dry weather beforehand).   If you can’t go on this ride, here is a YouTube video that you can watch: Dee Bore

     


    Bookings no longer allowed on this date.