3rd March 2011: Hartford

Foggy and cold the day started but it ended up bright and sunny as we met at the Little Roodee Café.  As sheep-mode was engaged, Bryan, Dave B, Ivan, Andy, Ray S, Trevor, George, Martin and Liz and me set off promptly for a route which was planned to take in the local industrial heritage on our way to a new pub in Hartford.  Dave M still looked poorly and excused himself.  The Tandem Two arrived just as we were setting off but mysteriously off-loaded once they knew that Ince Marshes were on the menu.
Wending out of Chester on highway no 5, we scooted down through the zoo and out onto the towpath towards Stanlow.  Bryan had advised that the aptly named Oil Sites Road was open so we cycled through the local industrial heritage that is Stanlow Oil refinery into the surprisingly quaint Ince village.  Marsh Lane started off quite well – Bryan had advised that it was rideable in dry conditions but somewhat rough.  Well it was dry-ish and it was rough!  The lane is being “improved” by laying recycled old tarmac and eventually it will be compacted but today it was more like porridge than tarmac.  I took the executive decision to cut and run so we headed for Helsby rather than continue for even more mud toward Frodsham.  Why do slick tyres pick up so much mud?
Taking Howey Lane, we climbed out of Frodsham onto the Kingsley Road with the sun emerging out of the cold fog.  Taking Ball Lane out of Kingsley, we headed for the Weaver towpath, or were we?  Just before the end of the lane, a sharp right confusing marked as a No Through Road takes us out to Acton Bridge.  Hanging left at the railway station and onwards to Weaverham for more industrial heritage on the outskirts of Winnington.  Cries of “Are we nearly there” are rewarded with the Hartford Hall Hotel coming into view.  The “2 for £10” menu was on offer and we all partook of it: the well-presented and tasty food came quickly and although Lime and Lemonade was £2.60, the soda variant was £1.10- a useful lunch stop for future rides.
The return journey employed a muddy NCR5 to get us across the Weaver near to Meadowbank and onto local route 71 aka Whitegates Way.  At Cotebrook, the creperie café was closed, so Summertrees it was for afternoon cake and tea – ‘but which way to go?’ - the direct ascent via Tirley Lane or the psychologically “less hilly” route via Hollins Hill, Knights Lane and Quarry Bank.  The cake stimulus spurred the group the take the actually hilly indirect route with 350ft of ascent.  The fast spin down to Willington and Oscroft was short lived but Ivan sped off into the distance missing the Tarvin turn in Oscroft. There we found Dave M with his flat cap on, supervising his building works.  Wending our way back to Chester either to the canal or the greenway, we ended up with a 54 mile circular route that was even muddier than last week’s ride around Penley!
See route map and/or gpx file download.
CA