Sunday was the annual SCCC Tatton Park ride, the last ride of 2017. I had been due to lead the ride but having been unwell for most of December, Andy volunteered to lead it in my place. I swapped with Neil, who was due to be the back leader and he instead became Andy’s wing man and was chief corner marker. We met up in the car park for Gatley Station. There were 23 of us altogether.

We left Gatley station and made our way through Gatley.

As we were cycling out of Gatley, Ruth M had a problem with her bike – a bolt snapped and her cycle carrier came loose. We had to fix it together with cable ties and then tighten up the remaining bolts that secured it to the bike. The rest of the group waited for us on the edge of Head Green.

We made our way through Heald Green and on towards Handforth.

Passing through Wilmslow, we paused briefly to allow the back of the group to catch up with the rest of the group.

Leaving Wilmslow, we headed out to Great Warford.

We passed through Mobberley. Just before we got there the other Ruth had an issue with a soft back tyre. The two of us stopped briefly to pump it up, only to find that the rest of the group had stopped to wait for us just round the corner!

From Mobberley, we set off towards Knutsford.

As we approached Knutsford, it appeared that Ruths back tyre was going down again. A few of us stopped and repaired the puncture for her. Andy S and Dave did a wonderful job repairing it for her!

The rest of the group pressed on to Tatton Park, where we where stopping for lunch.

The ride through Tatton Park to the cafe is always enjoyable. It was very busy today with lots of people out for a walk.

The Tatton Park cafe and courtyard area were all busy. As it was a nice day, a number of us had lunch outside and it was very pleasant until the sun went in.

Feeling refreshed, it was time to set off on our ride back to Gatley.

Leaving Tatton Park, it was back onto the country lanes again, this time heading towards Ashley.

We stopped to regroup outside the Greyhound pub at Ashley.

 

We then cycled towards the edge of Hale.

We paused briefly on Hollyhedge Road in Wythenshawe, to regroup again.

The last section then took us back to Gatley station, where we had started.

The ride was about 27 mile long and made a good day out. You can see our route below: