It’s a winter’s morning and I’m on the Staffordshire-Shropshire border, ready to explore the countryside around Norbury Junction on the Shropshire Union canal. Plenty of off-roading opportunities around here, but will I be able to cope with the mud, and make it to Newport for my cup of tea?
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Hello everyone, it’s Dave here Welcome back to the channel and another cycling adventure It’s a lovely winter’s morning here in Staffordshire and I find myself in the village of Moreton which I hadn’t really heard of to be honest until I planned this ride It’s kind of in between Newport and Stafford
And the reason that I’ve chosen this as a starting location today is that around this area there are some lovely off-road bridleways canal towpaths and various things like that So even though it’s January and err, it’s a bit of a mudbath around here
I’m gonna do a bit of a mixture of country lanes and then some off roading in between So the route i’ve planned today starts off in Moreton and then it heads along some lovely country lanes until I get to the village of Gnosall with a silent ‘G’
And from there the plan is to take on one for the first off-road sections through some lovely woodland which will eventually come on at Norbury Junction which is on the Shropshire Union canal It’s a lovely little stop so I’ll get my breath back there Then a little bit more off-road
As we eventually go through Loynton Moss Nature Reserve which is near Woodseaves Eventually the plan is to loop round through the villages of Norbury, Sutton and Forton again a mixture of some country lanes and off road sections some of which I’m worried are going to be really muddy
And then we’ll cross the A41 and go into the town of Newport where hopefully I can get a cup of tea Once we’re through Newport we can pick up the former Newport to Stafford railway line which is now a Greenway and that’ll take us back east
Back towards Moreton and the finish line That’s the plan! I’m lovely and clean at the moment I don’t know how clean I’ll be by the end of the ride but that’s part of the fun Let’s go and do it! (Dave) Well I did say in my introduction
That it’s a bright and sunny winter’s morning but no sooner have I set off that the sun has gone in But I can’t complain because it’s dry and it’s not too windy so it’s lovely conditions for a bike ride (Dave) Morning! (Dave) Whoa! *laughs* Morning! OK there was nearly a squashed hare there!
Woo! That made me jump! So as we approach Gnosall here below us below this bridge is our first sighting of the Shropshire Union canal Right, we need to get down onto the canal towpath so I’m about to leave this lane and join this track and this is my first off road section
I love it when the sign says unsuitable for motor vehicles! (Dave) Morning! (Ramblers) Morning! OK, next off-road section coming up and this track will lead us all the way down to Norbury Junction Whoa! He wasn’t expecting that, was he? and here we are at Norbury Junction
So I’ve made it here to Norbury Junction and I’m going to have a well deserved rest for a few mintues This is a really important stop and a wharf on the Shropshire Union canal and as you can see – lots of boats moored up Now, why is it called a junction?
Because as far as I can see there’s one way that way towards the West Midlands and there’s one way that way towards Liverpool and the North West and the reason why it’s called a junction if i turn around the clue is behind me
Let’s go and have a walk on to the top of this bridge So behind me on the other side of the bridge here is what appears to be a cul-de-sac with just a few narrowboats moored up but this is evidence of something much bigger Norbury Junction is so called
Because this is where the Newport branch of the canal veered away from the mainline of the Shropshire Union and it was a really important thoroughfare for a long time until eventually, as with everything else, the railways took over and this section was officially abandoned in 1944
And it’s such a shame a lot of it has disappeared there’s still some bridges and various stuff remaining but by and large it’s gone But there’s still evidence of it remaining and we’ll see more of that as we continue on the ride OK best laid plans and all that!
The little singletrack I was heading through the nature reserve on is completely flooded and it’s that rank muddy horrible water too and I don’t think I’m gonna get round this so change of plan So luckily for me next to the singletrack section I was going to take through the nature reserve
Is a bridleway and this looks a lot more passable And that was Loynton Moss! a lovely little hidden gem of a nature reserve So quiet and peaceful, i didn’t see a soul and now onwards back onto some country lanes as we head through Norbury towards Sutton and then eventually Newport Lets go!
So now I have a dilemma! there’s a fork in the road ahead and to the left is a lovely tarmac country lane which will lead us to Sutton and on the right is a complete mudbath called Cliff’s Lane which also leads to Sutton Which way should I take?
Which would be the most fun? Which am I most likely to fall off on? Oh, in for a penny in for a pound! This is Cliff’s Lane Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh god! If i can get my momentum going it might not be too bad Urgh!
(Motorbiker) Morning mate! (Dave) Morning mate, all right? (Motorbiker) Bit slippy up here! (Dave) Just a bit! (Motorbiker 2) All right mate? (Dave) All right? (Motorbiker 3) Morning! (Dave) All right? (Dave) Well that’s just cheating! They’ve got engines! So here I am half way along Cliff’s Lane it is a complete mudbath
But I haven’t fallen off yet and i’ve stopped for a minute to get my breath back on this old hump back bridge let me show you something All that’s down there now is a farmer’s field but this here is the line of the Newport branch of the canal we were talking about earlier
Newport is that way I’m heading that way through Sutton and eventually I’ll encounter the canal again on the outskirts of Newport If I don’t fall off along there first! Let’s go! OK that’s Cliff’s Lane negotiated and now at this little crossroads here we need to take a left into Green Lane
Which I think is more of the same Yep! and this will lead us to the village of Sutton Urgh! It’s actually starting to rain a little bit I did look at the weather and there was a chance it might but let’s hope it’s not much
So we’ve now passed through the villages of Sutton and Forton it’s still raining i can’t see anything through my glasses Look! I need windscreen wipers! and behind me here is the main road the Newport bypass, the A41 which i’ll be crossing in a moment
But I just wanted to stop and show you something first Once again i’m on a stone bridge and it doesn’t cross anything Again! and this is another example of the line of the Newport branch of the canal completely gone But once I cross the main road and go into town
It’s quite different Come on! Oh squeaky brakes! So this section of the Newport Canal is being restored to it’s former glory We’ve got water in the canal We’ve got a towpath It’s fantastic! The canal really has been beautifully restored here and it’s all down to the excellent work
Of the Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Trust I’ve just passed through Newport High Street and I’m heading out of town now My original plan was to get a cup of tea at Costa Coffee But Cliff’s Lane has turned me into some kind of mud monster! and I thought it wouldn’t be great
To sit in Costa covered in mud So I have a Plan B and here’s my Plan B Greggs! I was kind of hoping that the weather would improve while I was in Greggs but it seems to have got worse if anything but I’m still enjoying the ride *rings bike bell*
(Dave) Rubbish bell, sorry! (Walker) You’ll just have to start shouting instead! (Dave) *laughs* I know, cheers! (Dave) I’ve now joined the Newport to Stafford Greenway which is a completely traffic-free route between the two towns and it’s on the trackbed of an old railway line It’s lovely and peaceful down here
Even though it’s pouring with rain now but I’m still smiling and I’m still enjoying it And that’s the end of the line back to Moreton So that’s the end of the ride we’ve made it back here in one piece to Moreton It wasn’t quite the dry sunny winter’s day I envisaged
It turned in to a bit of a drizzly one in the end Some of those off road sections especially were brilliant and I didn’t fall off too which is a bonus All in all I think I did about 20 miles in the drizzle It didn’t dampen my spirits
Still loads of Smiles Per Hour here which is what it’s all about My name’s Dave I’ll see you in the next video Hope you can join me See ya!