My wife, Chris, and I cycled NCR45 during a six day period in late May 2009. The weather prior to our setting off had been unsettled for some time although the forecast for the days ahead was more encouraging.
Richard Duggan.© Richard Duggan
Day 1 Friday: Chester to Wem
As it turned out we set off from Chester in some fairly ominous gloom which soon became steady, albeit light, rain that was to persist for most of the day. I had researched the route pretty thoroughly and we had pre-booked all of our accommodation. On the entire journey the route was generally well signed – especially in (North) Shropshire – although we carried a good range of maps. We began on the Shropshire Union Canal and remained with it as far as Waverton which, according to OS Landranger 117 is rather further than we should have done. However, I was happy with the towpath start, after which we followed the Cheshire villages to Tattenhall where a coffee stop provided a welcome escape from the rain. A little later we sheltered under chestnut trees at the entrance to a vicarage and watched a fox entertaining itself in a field of buttercups – the first of three foxes seen that day. Another highlight was a lone lapwing, sadly nowadays an increasingly rare bird. The Wrenbury lift bridge over the Llangollen Canal was a great photo opportunity. We watched it raised for a passing narrow boat.
The rain stopped as we came into Whitchurch with a drinks stop at Mi Casa Tu Casa with really welcoming service on what remained a gloomy day. Just before Prees we left the 45 and cycled down the B5476 to Wem where we had booked a room and evening meal at the Old Rectory Hotel. This was our most expensive overnight stop on the trip but well worth it. The food and the room were both excellent as were the staff. The hotel displayed a sign at the doorway welcoming cyclists and was altogether highly recommended by us.
Distance covered that day 41.2 miles.
Day 2 Saturday: Wem to Chelmarsh
The diversion to Wem proved especially fortuitous as in loading our panniers back onto the bikes the following morning I noticed that one part of the rack on Chris’s bike had fractured. The expedient of a repair with wire was not going to prove sufficient to support the weight so we sought knowledge of the existence of a bike shop in Wem. We were lucky to have stopped in a small town which had such a facility, and even luckier that the problem had occurred on a Saturday rather than the Sunday or (Bank Holiday) Monday. The person in Jack Davies Cycles was helpful but up to his eyes in bike repairs for the holiday weekend. However he had a rack which would fit ours, even though it had to be taken off a bike in the shop. I carried out the repair on the wall surrounding Wem churchyard opposite the shop. This set us back by an hour and on a much more promising day, we set off on the B5063 rejoining the Mercian Way at Shawbury. Just across the A53 coffee and cakes were being offered at a village hall by local Womens’ Institute ladies. Yet another welcome stop. Some pleasant country lanes followed through Upton Magna to Atcham. We took the right turn off the B5061 onto the B4394 but then made our first significant routing error by failing to make a second right almost immediately for Wroxeter. We never succeeded in picking up the ‘official’ route through Little Wenlock for Ironbridge, remaining instead on the B road through Buildwas. A compensation was the superb panoramic view of Bertie’s Bend in the Upper Severn from the road above Leighton.
On to Ironbridge and ice cream on what had become a lovely afternoon then over the historic bridge for some off road stuff to Coalport. It would be possible to spend many more hours than we had available combing the fascinating historical sites in this part of the world. Fortunately some of them we knew from previous visits. From the old Coalport Station building we followed the former railway line, now a muddy track which hugs the Severn virtually all the way to Bridgnorth eventually emerging into the lush opulence of Bridgnorth Golf Club. After a refreshment stop in the town we cycled on to Chelmarsh where we had booked B&B at The Dinney, a delightful farm stop. Following the 45 route took us up some steep little climbs at the end of a hot afternoon. When we emerged onto the B4555, we phoned The Dinney for directions and used that road to reach the farm which overlooks Chelmarsh Reservoir. Later that evening we walked up the ‘proper’ 45 route to the Bulls Head pub for an evening meal. The stoney hillside track was overgrown and virtually uncyclable. We were told the following morning that the June storms of 2007 had washed away most of the hard work that had been put into the creation of this off-road section.
It made for a beautiful walk on a glorious late May evening. The Bulls Head, a wonderfully enterprising pub served fabulous food at very reasonable prices. We had to wait over an hour for the only remaining table that evening. John King, who has covered the walls of the Bulls Head with (Worcestershire) cricket photographs, and his wife, Norma, who run it are to be congratulated.
Distance covered that day 40 miles.
Day 3 Sunday: Chelmarsh to Upton upon Severn
A glorious day – both the weather and the cycling. As we approached Hampton Loade where we accessed the path alongside the Severn Valley Railway, we saw the smoke of a light engine on its way to Bridgnorth to begin its day’s work. With the river to our left and the railway to our right, we experienced one of the most memorable sections of the entire trip. Eventually we came down a steep descent to Upper Arley and a riverside coffee stop in perfect surroundings. After that a steep climb away from the river and then on to the Wyre Forest section. There were times when we thought that we would never reach Bewdley. Once we did it was quickly through it, over the Severn and then following an off road woodland section to Stourport.
At this point it had been my belief that there was a ‘gap’ in NCR45 until Droitwich but in reality it was largely signed through Hartlebury. Where it wasn’t, local people gave us the directions we needed. At one point in Droitwich, an arrow on a post pointed left while opposite another sign indicated straight on. A helpful lady told us that she had noticed that some kids had turned the second sign through 90 degrees. A further problem in Droitwich occurred when crossing an arched footbridge we were met with signs to the left and right for NCR46 but no mention of the 45, previously so regularly signposted. Unfortunately we chose the wrong option but eventually regained our route through a series of villages subsequently accessing the Birmingham – Worcester canal. This proved a fascinating few miles. Indeed we enjoyed all the towpath sections of the Mercian way. Towards Worcester some 45 signs appeared to indicate that we should leave the canal. We ignored these and my recommendation is to follow the canal to the centre of Worcester.
There really is a missing section in the Mercian Way between Worcester and Lower Lode/ Chaceley near Tewkesbury. We filled this gap with the B4424 Upton Road to Upton upon Severn, our stopping place for that night. We had booked in at Old Street Bed and Breakfast (very good) and ate at the Bangladeshi restaurant (excellent food and service) which was virtually opposite.
Distance covered that day 49.2 miles.
Day 4 Monday: Upton upon Severn to Nailsworth
The weather in the UK never lacks for variety. After the previous day’s perfection, today’s forecast was for (possibly) heavy rain by around 4:00 pm with a ‘severe weather’ warning a further option. We departed Old Street Bed and Breakfast left outside the front door by the B4211 and within not much more than half an hour or so were at the village of Forthampton and then Chaceley on NCR45 proper. Approaching Ashleworth with wetland to our left we heard, saw – and indeed photographed – the first cuckoo of our trip. Later that day we heard two more but these were the only three of the entire trip and in light of the huge swathes of rural England through which we passed, sadly we can only confirm the real decline in the numbers of these unique birds.
The tricky looking bit into Gloucester was excellently signposted – off road but surrounded by roads. Soon we were at Gloucester Docks where it began to rain lightly. In reality twenty minutes of this proved to be the day’s only rain. It was yet another occasion when the forecasters had egg on their faces as the sun broke through and we enjoyed a fine afternoon. The Gloucester and Sharpness canal with its swing and lift bridges made for a fascinating few miles. We left it and came down to Saul near where we were to have our final sighting of the Severn – now a turgid, foam flecked monster and quite unlike the lovely sections of the upper reaches in Shropshire.
The route around Stroud was often alongside a main road and approaching Nailsworth followed another ‘Beeching axed’ railway line. Given the steeply rising hillsides to our left and right, it was a pleasant surprise that we were never confronted with any significant gradient. We stayed at The Laurels in Inchbrook, another excellent B&B with spacious room and even more spacious bathroom equipped with full length bath.
Distance covered that day 40.8 miles.
Day 5 Tuesday: Nailsworth to Ogbourne St George
We began with a climb around the Devil’s Elbow to Minchinhampton – a pretty, south end of the Cotswolds, village. Although we had not been going long a coffee stop outside The Kitchen was a must. The weather was fresher than in recent days with mixed sun and cloud. We followed minor roads through the villages of Cherington, Rodmarton, Tarleton and Kemble. At Ewen, not wishing to make the diversion to Cirencester, we cut across to South Cerney after which we followed a largely off road section to Cricklade. At one point we found ourselves crossing the infant Thames. More, largely off road, stuff followed to and around Swindon. All was going swimmingly until we came up to a sign saying ‘Cycleway Closed’. We ignored it but indeed about 500 yards later it was well and truly closed with plastic contractor’s webbing beyond which were JCBs and other assorted heavy duty vehicles. We walked our bikes up over grassland and around the fence then cutting across to a small woodland car park. Eventually by dint of some sort of sense of direction, a bit of help from a walker, and a short series of wooded footpaths, we found ourselves at the other end of the obstruction. It occurred to me that when a road is closed, motorists have the benefit of ‘deviation’ signs. No attempt had been made to do likewise with this national cycle route. It would not have been very difficult for whichever was the appropriate agency to have pointed us on our way.
We continued on and around Swindon eventually reaching Coate Water Country Park and following the Chiseldon Timberland Trail over the M4. NCR45 routes onward towards Salisbury are a bit of a mystery. We followed the Chiseldon and Marlborough Railway Path to Ogbourne St George. On OS Explorer 157 this is clearly marked 45. On the path itself it isn’t – or at least only on one occasion was it. On all other occasions that we saw signs it was marked as a three figure regional route.
Nevertheless it took us, literally, straight to our destination ‘The Inn with the Well’ at Ogbourne St George. Rooms there are good as was the food. The well – an extraordinarily deep one – is inside the bar itself and covered with bullet proof glass.
Distance covered that day 41.6 miles.
Day 6 Tuesday: Ogbourne St George to Salisbury
Our recent luck with the weather deserted us and we awoke to steady rain. One version of the Wiltshire 45 takes in Avebury and its stone circle. As we had fewer miles to do this day we had it in mind to make our own diversion to Avebury. It proved not to be a day for diversions however. We continued down the railway footpath to Marlborough. At the end of Marlborough high street we turned left and then immediately right following some other cycle route to the village of Manton. On any other day this would have been a pretty village. In fact it was on this day but we were contending with both rain and wind. From Manton to Lockeridge and then Alton Barnes. Somewhere between the last two of these, NCR45 came in from our right and after a few miles left us again –also to the right – as we made for Upavon. The final mile from North Newton was on the A345. We reached Upavon at around midday taking advantage of a well equipped bus shelter. The rain eased and finally stopped but it was pretty cold as we ate chocolate covered ginger biscuits bought from a local shop.
Chris Duggan.© Richard Duggan
We took the route by minor roads to Amesbury to the east of the Avon through and around a series of villages some of them very attractive examples. To our right, up on Salisbury Plain, the military banged away at their war games. Three tank crossings which we traversed provided a bizarre contrast with the otherwise pastoral nature of our route. This section of our journey was not on an NCR45 route but it might well have been as there was little traffic. After a refreshment stop in Amesbury we completed our journey on the 45 route to Salisbury, this time to the west of the Avon and once more through memorable villages, the Woodfords and Stratford Sub Castle. Unfortunately the rain had returned, this time more in the nature of drizzle which left me peering ahead for a first sighting of Salisbury Cathedral. Our route took us past Old Sarum – again well worth a diversion on a different day – before reaching our destination city.
Distance covered that day 34.2 miles.
Total distance covered 247 miles.
All in all a brilliant trip.
Richard and Chris Duggan
To find out more contact Mike Clarke at email mikeclarke@ncr45mercianway.co.uk
