09:30 Saturday August 12 2023

Current Participants: 2 space(s) available

• Andrea Bird:
• Ian Bradley:
• Dave Branch:
• David Brewer:
• Julie Buckman:
• Mark Burrows:
• Ken Fearon:
• John Hampson:
• Peter Kinsella:
• Clare Procter:
• Ewan Wilkinson:
• David Williams:
• Peter Williams:
• Lara Wood:

The route takes us out of Shrewsbury eastwards with a ride over the Wrekin to the Ironbridge Gorge, then up to Much Wenlock and back via the Roman City of Wroxeter.  Click here to see the detailed route on Komoot: East to Ironbridge Gorge and Much Wenlock or on Garmin Connect: Shrewsbury to Ironbridge Gorge and Much Wenlock

This ride is just under 45 miles long, but we will go up (and down) 2,375 ft with two big climbs.  The first climb is 500ft over 2.5 miles as we go over the side of the The Wrekin and the second (after our first cafe stop) is another climb of 500 ft out of the Ironbridge Gorge, but this time over 3.5 miles.

The ride is though rated a C ride because we have all day to complete it, and it is, in effect, divided into three smaller rides with cafe breaks between each section.  So the overall pace (when we are not in a cafe or pushing our bikes up a hill) will be around 10 to 12 mph.

The ride starts at 9:30 am by Quarry Park in Shrewsbury, just outside the park gates on St Chad’s Terrace, opposite St Chad’s Church.  Please try to get to the starting point by 09:15, so we can discuss the route and organise ourselves into groups. 

We will leave Shrewsbury alongside the banks of the River Severn and out along NCR 81 to Uffington and Upton Magna before our first stop for coffee, tea and cakes at the Bowring Park Café in Wellington.  Then up the first big hill over the Wrekin and down into the Ironbridge Gorge, over the River Severn at Ironbridge, the first bridge in the world made of iron (1781).  Then along the banks of the Severn before going up the second big climb towards Much Wenlock, where we will stop for lunch at The Wenlock Smoothie.  After lunch we will head ‘mostly’ downhill to the remarkably well-preserved Roman City at Wroxeter.  For those who want to visit the site the admission fee is £10 (£8.60 for people who can prove they are over 65 and free for members of English Heritage or CADW).  And those who aren’t interested in Roman history can form a breakaway group and make their way back to the Orchard Cafe in Shrewsbury, where they can wait for the others to return from Wroxeter.