Shrewsbury to Oswestry

June 21, 2024

heading northwest

The 'boutique' hotel's rate doesn't include breakfast, but the Turkish guy of around 50 who's on duty when we go down in the morning kindly makes us a frothy coffee before we wheel our bikes outside into muted sunshine. Like millions of others, he watched the England game but he's a bit more more charitible than me regarding the team's performance.

From last night's wanderings in search of food, we know the basic layout of Shrewsbury and pop into a couple of charity shops (Debbie buys a pair of Converse and I get a shirt) after having breakfast of croissants in Costa Coffee on the corner of Grope Lane. I can imagine where the narrow alley gets it's name from

The town is a historic place with numerous listed buildings and I've old photos of a few places that we replicate before deciding that it's time to get going to Oswestry, near the border with Wales. It'll be hilly sooner or later.

Art Deco home on the B4380 on the edge of Shrewsbury

It's 11:00 when we get to an old footbridge crossing the curving River Severn. On the north bank we simply follow signs for Cycle Route 81, which lead us through the modern, residential part of town as we begin something of a beeline towards the town of Oswestry.

The cycle path hugs the straight B4380 for quite a while, then disappears before simply becoming a painted white line on the tarmac. Although there's a regular flow of fast veicles, it isn't too bad and it doesn't take us long to reach Montford Bridge, which takes us back over the River Severn.

The original stone structure has been widened since it was built back in 1790 - it was engineer Thomas Telford's first bridge project. On the west side is an old toll house and I take a snap of it just before we make a left and begin cycling along a lane.

Within less than a minute we're in open countryside and it feels like we've just escaped from somewhere or other. There are no cars and our tense shoulders slip a little.

National Cycle Route 81 next to the B4380... heading north towards Shelton

The green dots show Route 81 going from Shelton, on the edge of Shrewsbury

On a lane after crossing Montford Bridge

A pack of ginger biscuits from the hotel

17th century thatched cottage in the village of Shrawardine

Riding northwest from Shrawardine to Knockin

It's a nice ride. The route is tranquil and we just follow the 81 signs through villages like Shrawardine and Wilcott Marsh. We're still in England, but the Welsh border is getting closer.

Perhaps I should consult my screenshots more, as at a T junction at a dot on the map called Pentre we follow the Cycle Route 81 sign left when we should go straight. The lane takes us to the northern bank of the River Severn, but the good news is there's a nice looking pub overlooking the wide stretch of water.

It's actually worked out well, as we're both hungry - it's now 1:30 and all we've had to eat since Costa are some ginger biscuits that we took from the hotel. The Royal Hill has some wooden tables outside tables, but they seem to be full, so we rest up inside and have bowls of homemade soup.

I'm not sure where the Cycle Route goes from here, but it looks to veer south when I consult the OS map while sitting in the pub. I also see that there's a back lane just past here that'll take us away from the Cycle Route and back onto the lane that heads towards a village called Knockin.

We reach Knockin after riding through a couple of more villages and I know that there's an old sheep wash on its east side, so we ride that way to have a look. I get confused when we reach an old bridge and think this must be it, as there's a walled area adjacent where it's possible sheep could have been herded. It turns out this was a watering place for cattle and the sheep dip is at another stream further along the B4396. Not to worry.

We ride back past the comically named Knockin Shop and soon find the animal pound on the other side of the road. The small walled structure was built to keep livestock that had wandered off safe until their owners were notified.

The pound's wooden gate is jammed and takes a bit of shoving to get open. Inside it's quite overgrown, but I squeeze in past nettles and take a snap of Debbie before we ride up a slight hill and turn off the busy B-road on a country lane that climbs slightly.

Royal Hill - a pub just past the village of Pentre where we have lunch

Old watering spot for cattle, with an early 19th century bridge, just east of Knockin

Looking inside the old village pound (animal enclosure) in Knockin

We pause on the southern edge of one-street Maesbury to take a look inside a church made of corrugated tin sheets - these were known as tin tabernacles. Painted white, this one is said to have cost £120 from Harrods in London about over 120 years ago and was delivered as a flat-pack. The simple interior is clad in pine and it all looks very tidy.

It's straightforward getting to Oswestry, apart from the bit after crossing the A483. A lane brings us to a Victorian side street. I ask a young couple where the town centre is and the guy tells me to turn right, which we do at the junction, but I soon realise we're heading out of town so we turn back.

Ornate brickwork to a chimney stack in Maesbury

St John The Baptist Church, Maesbury - one of the Tin Tabernacles

We pass a hotel called Wynnstay and I know where we are. I replicate an old photo of it, then we get to a pedestrianised area where there's a Clarks shop. Debbie can't resist and we pop in. She soon finds a pair of leather sports shoes that go in the pannier to keep the heavy Converse ones she bought this morning company.

Our B&B is close by and it's a nice place. The women who runs it says the rate is actually £115, not £125, as we booked direct. We're upgraded to one of the best rooms, while our bikes are locked in a spare one. There are a couple of electrically operated Velux windows, each with electic blinds on them, and the bathrom has an expensive look to it.

There's an Indian just along the street, but when I mention it, the women says it's best to go to another place about five minutes' walk away. That's where we end up.

King Charles is now on the money - that's Alan Turing on the back of the £50 note

Outside our room and ready to hit the town

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 774 km (481 miles)

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