I'm making probably dangerous assumptions about a) the forums ability to host this amount of content and b) the level of interest that such content provides, but here goes.
As soon as Guy "Beeeeaaauuutiful" Kestevan uploaded his YT tour of this route, I was in. My only previous bike packing experience was the Lon Las Cymru ( https://www.pickled-hedgehog.com/lon-las-cymru-day-1/ -) back in July 2019. This M&C route had everything I'd kind of missed - more off road, more out there, maybe a bit more challenging (oh yes we'll be back to that) and ore suited for the gravel bike I now have.
Having sacked off the King Alfreds Way about three times due to illness, injury and weather the planets finally aligned for this trip. Sadly my LLC buddy could only make a day, but first reserve Nig stepped up. He doesn't have a gravel bike so 'adapted' his SC Hightower by adding a bit of air in the shock, some slightly less sticky tyres and the brilliant Tailfn rack.
I was on my 2022 NukeProof Digger- stock except for some wider Richey bars and an 11 speed mech that went up to 51. At no point was "camping" on anyones agenda, so it was three excellent Hotel/Pubs on route, a kit list pared back to the encouraging forecast and absolutely no idea how things would go. Both Nige and I are pretty fit, do quite a lot of long rides but are more winter than spring chicken 😉 Also the longest ride I'd ever done on the digger was about 50km.
Still no point dying wondering eh?
Day 1: Knighton to Montgomery : 70km/1150m climbing.
The route starts in Shrewsbury town centre. We didn't because Knighton is way closer to home and I had a sneaking suspicion that this would be a ride of two halves. Or two hards as it turned out.
End April can be - and regularly is - banked gray cloud, 12 degrees, grim headwinds punctuated with frequent rainstorms. Not today, wall to wall blue skies and warm temps. A good way to start a route that is both brilliantly planned and brutally sadistic. Often at the same time. Let me furnish an example- first proper climb after 10km meandering up the valley on quiet lanes.
Doesn't look like much, but loose gravel at 14% grade on loaded bikes is no gimmee. Definitely had to pause for thought half way up. Once up there tho, there's a long ridge ("Kerry Ridgeway") somehow still puddle filled but easy mlles after I'd been forced to stab the tyre with an anchovy. Not a great start for the "road+" Senndaro's, but the repair held and amazingly this was the only mechanical we had the whole trip.
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There's a lot of gravel on this part of the route. Most of it is perfect for the digger, but some was more rock than gravel with a few steepish descents. My 160mm rotors - previously fine - seemed to be struggling to slow me down as much as I'd have liked. Views were amazing tho.. this is at the 'two tumps' viewpoint.
Along with the views were many and varied steep climbs. I regularly saw 15% on the Garmin and up to 25% at one point! 40-51 loaded up is still a struggle up there - for me anyway. There's also not a great deal of resupply on the route. We had a quick bar/bottle fill at Clun after the 2 mile descent off the ridge. After that not much until Newtown. We experienced Newtown as any experienced tourist would- straight through without stopping and onto the canal path 🙂
Leaving us just the joy of a steep road climb to Montgomery. Sure there's the valley road but it's fast and open and no fun on a bike. This is the joy/pain of the route, you absolutely attack every major time in some kind of hilltop pincer movement. Often finding yourself meandering up some random hill in apparently the wrong location. Pretty sure there are at least 4 Church Stretton's in Shropshire for example.
Anyway got that done, I was feeling pretty good. Nige had it harder on the MTB on the road climbs, but he absolutely smashed the next two days, in the same way they smashed me up!
First day done, time for a beer. We had plenty of time for a nose round the castle which was excellent.
Quite a tough day. It was blooming hot and there isn't much shade or cover. Would have been approx 100 times worse if it was wet. A good balance of trail types. Tomorrow was our biggest day, I'd always planned this to get the three biggies from here to far side of Church Stretton over the Stiperstones and Long Mynd done in one hit.
On reflection, possibly a bit ambitious.
Day 2: Montgomery to Upton Magna: 81km, 1815m of climbing
After an excellent stay in the Dragon Hotel, Thursday dawned hot and it was only going to get hotter. 25 degrees, maybe more. Couple of salient points here- firstly there is bog all cover on the hardest three climbs, which you spend longer on than expected because RideWithGPS uses spot heights and the Garmin uses, well, GPS (that's my guess about RWGPS). So what I thought was a 1600m climbing day was more than 10% more than that.
The three big climbs- Stiperstones, Mynd, Stretton were all properly steep in places, lots of grass, gravel and rock. Some tarmac but I'd have been happy with more 😉 1100m of climbing in less than 30km. I was nearly 100% on the hoods going up and the drops going down. My lack of proper gravel riding was probably the reason by the end of the day my palms were blistering. The digger is short as well, it's a fun bike but maybe not ideal for this type or route. Or I'm a wuss. That's certainly a possibility;)
Photos never show the gradient! Tough tho, but amazing views and I live in the Wye valley so I'm used to big skies and rolling hills. This tho was something else. Really hard to take your eyes off it, which when descending at my level of gravel bike skill came very close to consequential a few times!
Stiperstone climbs done- didn't bother to go climb them, done that before, dropped down in the next valley which I've ridden up on a MTB. It's a pretty good surface and blooming fast off the brakes. Not sure my heart rate came down much after the climb.
That's Nig and Ads on the last pitch of the climb and then Nig pointing back with a "well I'm *** glad that's done" expression.
Stopped at the Bridge for an ice cold Lime and Soda and a generously filled bap. Too soon we're were back climbing, this time over the Mynd, a mere 375m above the pub.
First time pushing. That was a steep and loose climb and I really couldn't be ad. Nig got up it I think but Ads and I engaged the 32inch gear 🙂 The descent into Carding Mill Valley/Church Stretton was pretty full on. Pretty sure I've ridden it on a MTB and Nige dispatched the tech sessions with aplomb. Ads and I walked down and there's no shame in that- odd tho the only 1km section on the route needing either proper skills or a walk. Seemed very out of character with the other 99+%. Still did get to ride some lovely singeltrack on the digger and it's more than capable. I kind of wanted my MTB at this point. In fact the whole day.
Full fat Coke and double espresso in Church Stretton was my desperate approach to refuelling. Ads - suffering from a painful neck injury from a previous ride - left us to find his way back to his van. That's a whole other post in itself- fair to say it wasn't straightforward! Nige and I had *only *450* metres to climb according to my route plan. But somehow spread across 50km. That didn't seem right but neither was I at this point. Hot, bothered and a bit knackered.
Terminator Nige powered by cake headed up the absolute *** of a climb from Stretton which appeared to hump us up 150m only yo drop us on the road out of town. I was a bit grumpy at this point. About the only time when the dial cranked from Fun to Type-2 fun. If the weather was rubbish, it would have smashed against the "no fun at all" stop.
We'd mostly swapped gravel for dirt which would normally be absolutely fine. But hanging on for grim death had every bone from ankle to shoulder queuing up to write a strong letter of complaint about their treatment.
Looks fab eh? And it was mostly except the roots, big dips and tractor ruts not shown. The final climb flipped tarmac for another - for me - impossible off road singletrack climb. Not so much a sting in the tail, more a hoof in the slats. Still having met a quite elderly gentleman riding the route on a 60lb fat bike festooned with sufficient kit to sustain him for, I dunno, maybe a nuclear winter, I felt significantly less heroic, so gave myself a talking to and just got on with it.
A navigation triumph had us route south of Shrewsbury, ignoring the official directions, instead loping 10km off an already long day heading fast into a weather front that had extremely wet written all over it. Arriving at the very welcoming Haughmond Inn in Upper Magna, the lovely staff were keen to show us to our room. I countermanded that with a polite but firm priority involving their bar, their beer and my immediate requirements.
I even got to mutter my favourite pre-first-sup axiom "if I told you how much I needed this, I wouldn't have time to drink it". Thanks Zaphod.
A tough day, properly tough. We regularly ride 60km/1200m+ on a summer MTB ride. But this felt so much harder. On the upside brilliant weather, great company, lots of laughs, stunning scenery that never ends and a post shower feed ensconced in a snug bar while the rain rattled the windows outside.
Pleased to have done it. Probably wouldn't rush to do it again without a change of bike.
Day 3: Upper Magna to Neeton. 60km, 1180m climbing.
Back in Jan when the route planning was mostly in my head, the idea was go hard first two days, then easy the second two. That's exactly the opposite of the official route where you roll out of Shrewsbury on road and easy gravel, climbing easier gradients all while making good progress. I kind of get it as chucking people at the second half first up might be a bit dispiriting, but I'd still back my route over theirs.
It is a route of two halves. Now we were into more rolling countryside- swapping between Wales, Shropshire and Herefordshire was barely noticeable other than road signs and speed limits. But this felt more like "home" to me.
There was a lot of this kind of thing. Early on we met the fella prepping for the end of the world. He'd been caught high up in the rainstorm and had had quite the night setting up his tent in a storm. Still fairly sure he'd dispatched some local wildlife with whatever hidden weapons were in one of his many packs.
This was a day less of ancient landscapes lightly touched by humans to very obvious industrial heritage. Nowhere more obvious that Ironbridge where we marvelled at 300 year old engineering, gave it a respectful nod and then ate some cake.
The route now flicked between grass-up-the-middle tiny roads, old railroad tracks and rock hard dirt bridleways. Garlic and bluebells signposted the way and everything was pretty good in the world. Until we hit a bumpy field when all my yesterdays became very much todays problem. Still nice place to stop to take in the view.
This definitely reminded me of the Wye Valley. It's such a good way to cover distance - keeping the speed up but not road'y-ing on tarmac. Good fun on the gravel bike as well as it's so quick to change direction and easy to loft over roots with a bit of speed. Sun was out, everyone we met seemed to be having a good day, no trail conflict, no grumpiness just the joy of riding your bike with no real purpose other than than a pint a bit later on.
The last climb was a chewy 200m but I was wise to the elevation vagaries of the route now. It wasn't especially steep so dispatched with a gear or so to spare. The rock hard descents were still taking names, mostly of my crumbling spine but still a bit of a rush with line choices treading the line between "brave" and "catastrophic"
We arrived at our final night's accommodation with 3 minutes to spare before it closed until 6pm. Our impeccable timing was rewarded with a room key and a couple of beers to enjoy the garden with. Beer, Shower, PowerNap, back in the bar for 6pm ready to order most things on the menu. Sometimes twice. We didn't really do lunch, but by jove we certainly did dinner 🙂
One day to go and it was a bit of a cop out. For which there are reasons. Some of them possibly valid.
Day 4: Neeton to Wigpole. 37km, 715m climbing.
Somewhat belated but still relevant - there is so much history lightly buried on this route. Often not buried at all, remnants of castles, fortification and long lost towns act as crumbling waypoints and signifiers of long forgotten battles. It's a rich and violent history with the Marcher Lords brutally suppressing anyone who defied them, or who the King wasn't very fond of. So mostly the Welsh.
Nowhere is this better rooted in the modern day than Ludlow with a good chunk of its castle still dominating the high ground. We had to get there first with a couple of minor obstacles in the shape of point hills in the way. Leaving the Pheasant pub (another recommendation, have the pie or the fish, or the cheese, or in our case all three!) we spent 10 minutes on a busy B road to reacquire the route. It was the kind of crap experience that puts sane people off cycling. It also highlighted how well the CtC route is planned and we were grateful for that gravelling our way though some massive estate apparently belonging to one person. Maybe some history hangs around.
To complete the loop we needed to feed our legs into the hilly grinder of another 60km and 1200m of climbing, Was never going to happen. I'd planned the pick up as close to home as possible, and - having been at it for three days - didn't feel the need to be a completist in terms of hills and miles. My legs felt pretty good and my back was given the day off as much of the route was road. Not sure if this was part of easing people in who started from Shrewsbury or just a lack of bridleways.
We rolled into Ludlow after a couple of hours and paused for caffeine and a marvel at how busy everything was. Anyone would have thought it was a bank holiday weekend. Having seen almost no one for three days, it was quite the shock! As was the weather, which while still sunny, realised it was not high summer and reverted to late Spring with a chilly northerly cutting through not enough layers.
I signalled the retrieval vehicle promising a slap up lunch just in time for Nige and I to head up one final climb from Ludlow up through Mortimer forest. I know there are loads of official and non official off road routes through here but the GPS resolutely pointed to the road and I wasn't that sad.
Nige at the top of the very last climb 🙂
There are some great MTB trails up there.
All that was left was a fast road descent and a final wind through some country lanes to Wigmore where a day was called, and beer and medals were awarded.
So yeah a bit of a cop out. And I'm fine with that.
Scores on the doors: 252km. 5025m of climbing. That's the same climbing as my previous tour but in HALF the distance.
So would I recommend the route. Absolutely. Variety, views and vast amounts of elevation. Would I ride it again? Yep, now I know what's coming I might have one less beer on day 1 🙂 Same bike? Nope, I think I'm done with long gravel bike rides. A perfect bike for me for this route would be a lightweight steel hardtail - something like the new Solaris - with a 120mm SID, dropper post, light wheels, XC type 2.2ish tyres. That would be more fun down and better - for me - on the off road climbs.
It'd be less good on the road but a good trade off for me. Nige and I reckoned two days were better on the MTB, two on the gravel bike in terms of terrain. Even so, hardtail for me. Might need to go shopping 🙂
Kit wise, used everything except my rain jacket. Took way too much stuff last time.
Next trip? Two day "Lightening" tours I think. Maybe a couple of train stations to make it more than an out of back. Pack super light, wait for good weather and just go. Camping tho? Absolutely not 🙂
Looking to do this in the summer will have a good read later thanks
Really enjoyed reading that, thanks for posting. I live just outside Ludlow so have ridden quite a few bits of it. I have a bikepacking trip planned with son and daughter and a couple of mates in June. We are looking at this and Traws Eyri. We are all mulling over bike choice and I was inclined towards my gravel bike, but reading that think I might take my hardtail mtb!
Good write up thanks for sharing, your timing with the weather was impeccable 😀
We are all mulling over bike choice and I was inclined towards my gravel bike, but reading that think I might take my hardtail mtb!
@blokeuptheroad - maybe if you were an experienced Gravel rider, it'd be fine. But I've only used mine for a few runs to the local woods and some easy single track. It's doubled its mileage on this tour! For me, it'd be more fun on a hardtail.
maybe if you were an experienced Gravel rider, it'd be fine.
I'm not! I've had it six months!
Take the hardtail 🙂
I had a MK2 Solaris Max in Med I'd passed onto my (tall) daughter. She's no longer at home so I started to convert into a 12 speed gravel monster. It already had a 120mm fork and some pretty light weight bits on it. Half way through tho (this was mid winter and I was clearly just looking for things to do), I canned it on the grounds I had a "perfect" bike that just needed a few more ratios.
I need to go back to Jan and give myself a good slap 🙂
Good. Glad to see you are still doing interesting things!!
Love reading stuff like this, nice one.
A cracking 4 days with great company, superb scenery and properly lucky with the weather gods. A nice write-up too, reading back of which isn't helping with the prospect of the commute tomorrow!
Most interesting thread on here for a while. Nice one
Lovely write up, enjoyed that. As a chronically fatigued person who now spends bank holidays in bed rather than out and about, stuff like is fun to imagine I'll be able to do one day, if and when i recover!
I think I actually did some of this as a teen in the 90s. We definitely took in Wilderhope Manor and Ludlow YHA. Very slowly!
@weasley - 60lb I think you said your bike weighed! 4 days with all that gear and camping- very impressive. Far more hardcore than me 🙂 You certainly seemed to be ready for anything, even that rainstorm!
@gallowayboy - hindsight suggests the same. I really like riding the digger. Maybe just not for 4 days over that terrain ever again!
Great write up, it's out me right off the full route. Was contemplating the short one anyway 😆
There’s a short one? How did I not know this 🤣