The 23rd of April is a patriotic day for the English with it being St George’s Day and for once it actually fell on our annual West Lancs MG Owners Club Sunday Drive it Day Run, and Ray Travies who organised our run thought it was about time that St George went to “Meet the Dragon”.
We all met up at the Manor Farm Pub Rainhill at 09.45am to get our rally plaques and route instructions and we all gave a donation which goes into our fundraising pot and this year the planned route was a 60 mile trip into North Wales with a stop off for morning coffee and in all should take about 3-4 hours with stops to complete before we end up at our final destination for Sunday lunch?
The weather to start off with could have been a little kinder as it is now only a week away from May it was slightly overcast but with the glimmer of sunshine showing through the clouds but with better weather forecast for later! As we gathered in the car park the temperature was 10c and 12 cars turned up to come on the run along with 22 members and the line up was 1 MG-ZT,2 MGF’s,4 MGB’s,1 MGA,1 MG Midget,1 RV8,1 MG-TF and a BMW Z3 and not forgetting Poppy the 6 month old cockerdoodle.
So at 10.15am it was time for the off and we started our George and Dragon run and as we meandered through the leafy lanes and highways of Widnes and Wallasey and over the Flintshire Bridge which crosses the river Dee and before we knew it we where in the land of the red dragon (Wales) we continued on the A548 this virtually runs parallel to the A55 but is a lot more scenic and a lot nearer to the coast of North Wales we carried on another 14 miles until we turned off as we approached Greenfield and stopped at the arranged morning coffee stop The Mill on the Hill.
Morning coffee at the Mill on the Hill and all the MG’s in the car park and as you can see the weather has vastly improved to 14c.
Coffee break over it was time to crack on further into the land of the mythical dragon and with another 22 miles exploring the hills and green valleys of Wales and as a famous song has mentioned before there is a great deal of green green grass and an awful lot of sheep and a very welcoming sight it is to get out and about in the fresh country air with the hood down and the wind blowing through the hair on these beautiful winding roads but Ray had saved the best till last!!!
As we all headed towards the direction of Mold on the A494 as instructed on our route guide we turned off on to the “Bwich Pen Barras Road” it was a glorious single track twisty winding road with passing places and a very sharp 1st gear hairpin bend the road had plenty of view points to stop along the way if you just wanted to take in the wonderful scenery.
View from one of the vantage points.
After taking time to look at the magnificent scenery hunger had taken over and as we turned left back onto the A49 our lunch stop appeared “We Three Loggerheads”.
The pub/restaurant and the members having their Sunday lunch and by now warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the 16c sunshine.
This was once a 17th century coaching inn but is now a popular pub/restaurant with the tourists and it has a wonderful beamed vaulted ceiling but also still retains a lot of its charm and character, also running alongside is the River Alyn and this is all set at the foot the loggerheads country park and well worth a visit – https://www.we-three-loggerheads.co.uk/
As we sat down it was decided that most of the group would be ordering the set Sunday Lunch off the quite extensive menu that was on offer. And when it arrived we were not disappointed absolutely delicious with hardly a morsel left on anyone’s plate “now this could have been down to all the fresh country air we had been breathing in but more than likely because it was so dam good” so compliments to the chef and thanks to all the staff that made us so welcome.
After lunch it was time to head off home and with the Dragon well and truly conquered all that was left to say was a BIG THANKS to Ray Travies for organising the run and the stop off points and a “Hwyl Fawr” goodbye to Wales.
The River Alyn across the road from the car park.
So it was back onto the A494 towards Queensferry and the chosen route home “Mersey Tunnel? or back over the Runcorn Bridge?” we chose the tunnel as we had come over the Mersey in the morning and decided to go under it on the way home arriving back about 16.30pm.
If you have a MG or classic car and live local “why not” check us out? We meet every third Thursday of the month at Briars Hall Lathom, near Ormskirk L40 5TH. www.westlancsmg.co.uk
Report by Steve Kirton on behalf of WLMGOC.
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