Warrington to Wrexham

Another sunny day to be out on the bike. On e I was clear of Warrington I was out in the Cheshire countryside lots of pasture and generally fairly flat so quie home from home with Somerset but more lumpy. I stopaped at Saighton village shop to buy a paper and cold drink and met a Cyclist who had just been out for a little jaunt of 70 miles and had another ten miles to go home. We exchanged experiences and he had done Lands End to John O'Groats last year in 10 days with a friend a d gad raised over £2k for army charity. He told me how the campsitethey stayed in Bridgwater was dreadful but the pub was good it was on the canal? He said I must ignore Google maps and go through Farndon and over the Dee into Wales stopping at Cleaopatras Cafe in Holt. So following his directions off I went to Farndon where there is an obelisk in memorial to Roger Barnston who obviously was a local hero in the Crimean War the Brits interfering someone wishes fight and probably not even with any moral reason that time. Then he did his bit at Lucknow which cost his life - again Brits being where they shouldn't be a d a waste of a young life. Interestingly it was the village that paid for the memorial not the family. Further down into Faendon is the bridge over the Dee I into Qales and the village of Holt. This was much reported in the press when pandemic restrictions meant at various pubs were open in England but not in Wales. East crossing g the border was necessary to get a drink. The bridge is traffic light controlled as it is narrow not because of border issues so it was difficult to get a picture. Also my selfie is interesting as using the rear faci g camera produces mirror image or perhaps Welsh sign writers are dyslexic. As advised U had a lunch stop in Cleopateia's. The cafe is a regular stop for cyclists and bikers, I met a local cyclists who said he saw a lot of end to enders in the village There qasalso 2 bikers one on a modern Teiumph Thunderbird an the other on a classic Honda four four hundred. It was then a 7 mile run into Wrexham Marstons Ins had emailed me to say they had no facilities for bicycles so I had to find Halfods to get another cable to secure Pegasus overnight. When I got to the Wynstay Arms Hotel the receptionist told me just put it in the fu cation room. Wrexham. was not what I really expected thinking it would just be a small market town. It is not that much smaller than Taunton. I had a wander around and was impressed by St Giles Church large 15th century edifice probably to the importance of the regional wool trade. Luckily it was open as there was a wedding practice about to happen. I met the vicar and did a quick resume of the established church in England No Wales the demise of the Chapel in Wales how St Giles should have been aCathedral but the Bishop had legged it to London in the reformation. This was before I owned up to my family ecclesiastical connections and my lack of faith. I asked him if the wedding was locals or just because it was very splendid chur h. It was locals this time and he said there were very few weddings where they just wanted a scenic backdrop. My final event of the day was the wooden spoon in the pub quiz at Wynstay. The other Wrexham Land mark in the photos is late 19th century brewery chimney that is now obsolete but a listed structure .