Join me for a sunny Sunday ride in my home county of Worcestershire. I start with a hilly warm up including the infamous Noah’s Ark / Jennings Wood Lane and Flagstaff Hill / Wynniattes Way. Then exploring the history of Redmarley and Great Witley and visiting a few local churches. Then to Bewdley and seeing the new flood defences.
good morning on Sunday the 19th of May it’s lovely lovely and sunny this morning um I’m heading out on a warm up before the club ride so was 20 to 7 [Music] and I just noticed the old Health Center SLP police station sfire Center there’s the new Health Center anyway the Old One’s up for sale and Redevelopment opportunity 1.25 Acres I think or hectars whatever however big a hectare is try and get a couple of climbs in before the club ride so I’ve got 2 hours trying and do Noah’s Arc Shavers end and wi its way so I’ll see if I can do it and I’ll try and not miss the club ride lovely sunny morning I was right to leave mile at home this is the bottom of Noah Ark Hill that’s how it’s known locally the road name is Jennings Wood Lane it’s a one in four I can’t push it otherwise I’ll see my breakfast again so easy seated plot you join me now from the summit of hurtle Hill which we’re going down to climb up another Hill but before we get to that I’ll show you the mulvin hills which border werer and Herer Li CL climbing runs behind the back of Shavers own Quarry and it’s actually it’s that lane there between the bright green field and the field that’s looks like it was some rape there’s the Quarry and ab Hill can’t see the church somewh from here but another Hill that you can see which was a favorite of mine is titterstone Cle with the golf balls on it and dewstone Lane is the climb up to there beautiful morning we’ll descend hurtle Hill that’s a 14% drop down into Dunley and then that’s the next Hill just noticed the grave of Stanley and Florence Baldwin prime minister called Stanley Baldwin from around here but he is too young lots of Baldwins this is the Church of St Mary at abelly I’m looking for a grave so it might be a while right I found my grave the one I was looking for beautiful bucolic setting I’ve got to ride over that hill now wi way the last of the big three and the steepest and the one [Applause] that bring with it the most fear so we’ll leave the church and head up the hill and then drop down into great Whitley man of arms at AB this is the Village Center it’s not changed very much there’s the old AB old church that’s Norman on Saxon fan ations and then the new church you’ve just seen and then just up here the legendary and fearsome wi’s way leading to the hill the hill is actually a hamlet that isn’t at the top of the hill and when it way is w a early morning farmer out so I’ll head up there now so that’s the summit of wi its way about here I may have stopped before the stra segment but never mind CU not fit enough for a personal record so we’ll drop into ABY now I was a quarter of the way up and the chain got caught between the cassette and the and the wheel so I had to go back and do it again Second Time Lucky Woodbury Hill werer ah I’m not used to the lack of weight on the back of the bike because there’s no rear saddle bag the weight distribution is all different I’ve being a shorter bike it’s Twitchy on the corners so I break I feel the back wheel lifting what you see in the far distance there that Di back in 2000 it was a site of the red Marley Hill Climb and the orchard just uh we’ll have a closer look in a minute 24 years ago and I can remember that only the mud though I don’t remember anything else of importance the ‘s have been cut down quite a lot you can hear Silly Season in the background I’m not sure if this church has services but the church at Whitley Court does have some that’s the Barack church and the but around the back of here rather Behind these fur trees is the graves of the fosu own whitly C before it they lost it due to all the big fire here they are you can’t get in I’m not sure if I’m even allowed in here but there’s a tomb and there’s one on that side and then there’s more through the U trees but there a bit of a track so I’ll get out quick we go all the way through through the bush back over this gate and there’s all these there’s all these strange pictures of a woman and child in the bath all right I did notice on the picture of the woman in the bath but there’s a man having a shave as well it’s very dated that must be 1990s I’m not sure what the adverts for there funny things you find in graveyards looking at the brands of the bits and pieces says beautiful bathroom from and then it’s covered up so child’s headband there it’s where the scouts meet I think they use the Scout use it as a scout Hall but whether they use it as a church I’m not sure so we’ll head off back to town I’ve got an hour to kill before the club ride so that’ll be time for a few extra Loops so this was the former police station at Great Whitley also where my granddad used to live in the house there he was the last Sergeant building the there is the courthouse that was um a house as well used to have a muda frontage on it that’s been redone and then those two houses are both former police houses and Grandad lived here until 20 18 it’s uh it’s a bit of a mess to be honest now compared to what it used to be especially that front wall in the corner there we headed back along the 451 into town put new shed up though garages and what have you bricked off the bricked off where one of the old entrances was anyway that’s a nice looking tree but I don’t think the wall will will welcome it when it gets bigger anyway yeah that was a courthouse and then there was an extension between the two and this is where my father grew up for his high school years so yeah lots changed coming back that CH change is the only continuity here comes uh here comes a bit of silly season this is a very attractive town of buley mostly Georgian uh famous sort of Riverside Port now how do I get down there um this way I think you forget the road layout though I’ve seen a fair amount of other cyclists [Music] out um I think I’ll get off here this was always a milestone to ride to cuz it was you know it was the next town and you were a child so it’s always like a long way not So Much Anymore very attractive architecture it floods in the winter and in the summer actually so yeah we’ll head up up the hill into town the next town oh they’re letting letting some traffic through so I don’t know what’s going on there swans are up the river lovely morning