Golden Leaves and Country Lanes: A Ride to Arley Hall and Antrobus

This week, we rode out to Arley Hall, taking a lovely route through the Antrobus Tea Rooms.

It was a 22-mile (36-kilometre) ride at a relaxed, steady pace of 11 mph (18 km/h).

It was a beautiful autumn day — quite chilly to start, but we soon warmed up. We set off from Phoenix Park and followed the canal toward Preston Brook. Most of the group tackled the Preston-on-the-Hill climb, which has an average gradient of 6.5% and a maximum of 12%. It’s always worth remembering that it’s perfectly fine to dismount and walk if needed — no one in our group will ever judge you. Those who make it to the top are always there waiting with a smile and a few words of encouragement.

From Preston-on-the-Hill, we continued along Summer Lane and into the beautiful Cheshire lanes, which were showing off their autumn colours — a mix of amber, gold, and deep red.

We made our first stop at the Antrobus Tea Rooms to arrive before the lunchtime rush. Coffee, tea, and toast all round, and a few slices of cake to keep the energy up! As always, the cakes were fantastic, with a seasonal pumpkin cake on offer — perfectly moist and full of flavour. We were even able to congratulate the local baker, who happened to be there, on her delicious creations.

After our little treat stop, we headed out toward Arley Hall, where we passed a friendly group of walkers enjoying their own autumn outing. A minor mechanical issue with a slipped chain slowed us briefly on the approach to Arley Hall, but it was quickly sorted by our club owner and resident bike mechanic, Leham, with a bit of help (and a few tools) from fellow ride leader Tony. Before long, we were back on our way.

Our return followed a similar route to the one we’d taken out. We did have a brief encounter with an impatient driver who seemed a little too fond of their car horn — but thankfully, it posed no danger to the group, and spirits remained high.

Once we arrived back in Runcorn at Preston Brook Marina, we said our goodbyes, as a few riders peeled off in different directions to head home. The majority followed the canal path back to Phoenix Park, where we wrapped up another great ride.

Looking forward to seeing you all - and hopefully a few new faces - on next week’s ride. Details will be released soon.

Have a great week, everyone!