09:30 Saturday August 17 2024
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Would you like to join us on a moderately challenging ride covering 108 miles from Shrewsbury to Hooton over two days of a weekend in August? The ride will be along small, quiet, rural roads and we will have a support vehicle driven by Maureen, Ewan’s wife. She will drive your small case or rucksack from the hotel in Shrewsbury to Bala on Saturday and from there to the Wirral on Sunday. It will also be a “sag wagon” for up to two people, if anyone really needs a break. We will charge £10 to £20 per person per night (depending upon the number of riders) to cover the cost of Maureen’s car and petrol.
This trip is in effect day three and four of the full trip from Cardiff to Hooton, which starts in Cardiff Bay on Thursday morning. Ewan Wilkinson rode from Cardiff to Chester two years ago and has been able to use that experience to plan the routes for each day. The routes for Shrewsbury to Bala, and Bala to Hooton are shown below on Komoot:
Day 3: Saturday 17th August, Shrewsbury to Bala, 53 miles, 2,925 feet of climb Heading west from Shrewsbury using small roads where possible through Maesbrook. Lunch at the dam on Lake Vyrnwy (38 miles). A gentle cycle up beside the lake and then a steep climb up the Hirnant pass, before a long swoop down the valley, crossing the head of Bala Lake and into Bala.
Day 4: Sunday 18th August, Bala to Hooton, 55 miles, 2,850 feet. From Bala, north-west up the valley to Cynwyd and Corwen. Coffee in Llandegla (24 miles), and lunch in Buckley (40 miles). Across the Dee at Shotton and along Burton marshes back to Hooton.
You will need to make your own way to Shrewsbury on Friday evening or early on Saturday morning for the start at 09:30. There are regular trains from both Chester and Liverpool to Shrewsbury, but you will need to make a reservation for your bike on the train.
Of course, cycling from Shrewsbury to Hooton means staying in a different hotel each night. You can stay wherever you want, but we suggest booking the Premier Inn in Shrewsbury and either the Plas Yn Dre Hotel or the White Lion Royal Hotel in Bala. If you stay anywhere else, you may need a small rucksack to get your luggage from and to the hotels each evening and morning.
We have planned stops for coffee and lunch each day and hope to get together for a meal in the evenings (or you can make your own arrangements for dinner).
If you plan to make the full trip from Cardiff Bay to Hooton then please book on the other ride (WCG Trip: Cardiff to Hooton over four days), not this one.
Once you have signed up, we will set up a WhatsApp group for those who are coming. We may be able to organise some training rides.
Best wishes
Ewan Wilkinson & John Hampson