Beyond the border: Our 2 day “International” cycling adventure (by bike and train) – Day 1 of 2

Beyond the border: Our 2 day “International” cycling adventure (by bike and train) – Day 1 of 2.

Kickstarting our ‘international’ cycling adventure with a difference! Join me (Paul) and the legend himself, my 80-year-old father-in-law, Ken (“Sir Kenneth”, from Stockport Clarion), as we embark on a truly memorable journey. Day 1 begins with a first for us: taking our bikes on a train from Stockport Station to Craven Arms, Shropshire!

From there, we hit the road for the first leg of our England-Wales border exploration, aiming 60 miles north to Ruabon for our overnight hotel stop. Expect the unexpected on this ride: we navigate some tricky roadblocks, refuel at charming tea rooms, take a few wrong turns (of course!), and face a heart-stopping, unplanned walk over the incredible Pontcysyllte Aqueduct near Llangollen. This wasn’t just a bike ride; it was an adventure full of laughs, challenges, and unforgettable moments.

If you loved our Day 1 escapades, hit LIKE, drop a COMMENT about your own ‘unplanned’ adventure moments, and SUBSCRIBE and click the “NOTIFICATION bell for more videos (it’s totally free)!

Thanks for watching.

#CyclingVlog #BikeAdventure #StockportClarion #EnglandWalesBorder #BikeTouring #BikeTrainTravel #PontcysyllteAqueduct #Llangollen #ShropshireCycling #NorthWales #AdventureCycling #UnplannedAdventure #Ruabon

I’m trying not to look down. Oh my god. [Music] Nightmare. We’re going international. We’re going abroad. Just keeps turning off. So, we’re at Stockport Station. It’s early doors Friday morning. what time as it can about 7 2 minutes past 7. 2 minutes past 7. We’re going international. We’re going abroad, aren’t we? We’re going abroad. So, we’re going to what we’re going to do, whether this will work, we don’t know, but we’re going to try and get on a train down to Shropshire, ride up through um the English Welsh border up to Ruben near Rexim, stay over there tonight, have a meal with some family and and the women and stuff, and then ride back home to Manchester tomorrow. So, uh so yeah. So, we’re here, Stockport Station. Never gotten a train before with our bikes. This is going to be a massive adventure. Let’s see what happens. Cheers, Paul. One there. One there. Cheers, mate. Can you get Manchester only? This train is This looks like it. Where we got on it? God alone knows. Nobody seems to know. Transport for Wales. There we go. Oh, yeah. Bike sign there. Well spotted, Ken. Bike sign there, ain’t there? Well spotted. Right in front of us. We jump on here and it looks as though we’ve got a spot in here. Come on, Ken. I don’t know where the bike section is, but we’ll find it anyway. Right, we’ve managed it, aren’t we? We’re on. So, we just uh we just got on and straight in front of the door, the bikes are there. We’ve got a we’ve got a bike sign up there. The bikes are there right next to us. Uh we’ve got a toilet just down here. So, we’ve um we cracked it. So, we’ll uh we’ll relax for a bit. Enjoy the sunshine. Yeah, there you go. It’s probably blinding that on the camera, isn’t it, Ke? But we’ll enjoy the sunshine. We’ll get out of we’ll get out of sunny sock Stockport and hope that the um hope the sun follows us down there. See you in a bit. Press the green button, Ken. Yeah. Top one. That’s it. There you go. We’re here. Craven Arms. We’re at Craven Arms. We made it, mate. Um, looks like we go maybe this way over the bridge, maybe. I don’t know. But we’re here. Cracked it. That was fairly painless. Well done, Transport for Wales. Let the fun begin. Okay, so it’s a Friday morning. Uh we’re going to we planned a two-day trip here. We’ve gone international. We’re going abroad. Uh we’re going to Wales or we’re planning to ride through Wales and stay in Wales tonight. So, basically, we got the train down from Stockport to Craraven Arms in Shropshire. Uh and then we got kind of two two days of 60 m 100k rides roughly each day. Um today we’re heading north from Shroptshire. Basically following the English and Welsh border in between England and Wales. Head up towards Ruaban near Rexom. Stay there tonight with some family. Um have a meal and stuff tonight with them. And then tomorrow we’re going to ride home from Ruaban back towards Manchester. Um so don’t know how we get on cuz the weather looks a bit gruesome especially tomorrow. But we’ll see what happens. Been an adventure so far. The train journey was pretty simple. Recommend that. Well done, Transport for Wales. We’ll get cracking. Literally just set off from the village of Craven Arms now. Just getting on the lanes. There you go. There’s Ken. We’ve just come up quite a big climb about 5 miles in coming out of Craven Arms. We’re just going to hang it right here. Find it. We were supposed to be joined today by Kev, um Ken’s nephew, who’s a keen cyclist, but unfortunately he’s injured. So, get well soon, Kev. Sorry you’re not with us, mate. Next time, make sure you’re here. You would have loved this. Bimling through the uh Shroptshire Hills. Area of outstanding natural beauty around there. And it is. It’s uh it’s absolutely stunning. And the weather’s holding for us at the minute, thank God. We’re going international. We’re going abroad. We’re going into Wales. We’re taking the channel around the globe across borders into Wales. Well, they speak a different language and it’s a different country, so I’m having that. So yeah, we’ll be scooting between Wales and England all the way up heading towards uh Ruaban throughout the day, but at the minute we’re over into uh Gumru, I think that’s how you say it. Yeah. So we’ve done about uh coming up for about 13 miles, something like that in quite rolling countryside so far. I’ve done about 600 ft of climbing already. I think it’s about 2 and a half thousand. But uh I mean just look at this countryside around here. It’s absolutely stunning. I hope that comes across on the camera just as he comes to a big hedge. Great filming part. Well done. Yeah, there ahead. It’s just like this all through the uh the valley at the bottom of the the hills. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. So, we’ve just come up a big climb behind me there. I’m just waiting for Sir Kenneth coming. He’s doing really well. He’s just coming towards the camera now. He’s just here. Look at that. Look at that stunning scenery in the background. It’s absolutely amazing around here. Yeah, quite long draggy climbs these. So, I got up to about 7 8% on that one. Well done, Ken. Keep going, mate. Yeah, that was the toughest. Oh, first drops of rain, Kenneth. First drops of rain. That was sweat. Oh, rain. No sweat. Rain. Just waiting to Kenneth. We’re going to be making a a turn to his right. We’re going up this way which looks like another climb. Um kind of rolling hills around here. Kind of lovely lovely downhill quick fast section then it kind of turns and it’s rolling hills and it’s going uphill. Yeah. Oh not. Not enough hill. He says exactly. Yeah. But we’re getting there. We’ve done about 1,000 ft of climbing in 21 miles so far. So uh we’re doing all right. And look at him flying up there. I’ll go and get him. There’s the first up of the day then. First up for the day. Turned right up that big steep hill. And we took the wrong turning. It’s actually the next right. So, we’re going back down it again. Back to the main road. Next right. And it’s just started raining. It’s all going wrong. What a couple of numpties. [Music] Now, I’m not familiar with Shroptshire. I’ve never ridden here before in my life, but I mean, look at this. Looks like sweet corn to me. But, I mean, look at the views here. Absolutely amazing. The roads are good. A little bit busy at times, but the main roads, but there’s no other roads around here apart from these through the valleys and stuff, but uh yeah, unbelievable. Yeah, superb. But the only thing is the weather’s just changing. It’s trying to rain, but I’m hoping that the showers kind of are just going to pass over us and we’re only going to get a little drizzle and stuff. But uh yeah, I just thought I’d show you that picture there. What’s that coming over the hill? It is a monster. Is it a monster? No, it’s a Kenneth, I think. So, according to that, if you can see that, that green blob coming towards me from behind, should be a Kenneth. Oh, there he is. So, the Garmin works. Oh yeah. I’ve never seen so many kites. Red kites. No. In that tree above us there. Look. Having an argument with the crows and kites everywhere around there. They’re like like magpies around. Are we that many of them? Common as muck. Look at that. What a view that is. Oh, so we’re just over 34 miles in. We’re somewhere near Wiston and Bulfi Peknull. I don’t know where I am. English Welsh border, Shropshire area. That’ll do for me. Um, so 34 milesi in day one. Um, we’re over halfway of day one, but I’ve not had anything to eat yet. Uh, so we’re looking for something to eat. I’ve just spoke to a couple of the locals. Uh, there was only a chippy. Um, so I don’t want that cuz maybe I’ll have chips tonight for a meal. Um, they reckon there might be a pub somewhere around here that might be open. So if that’s open, I’ll see if I can find that. Get a sandwich or something. Uh, but we kind of wonderful around here. It’s beautiful. Great lanes, great route, but not much in the way of amenities because it’s all tiny tiny little villages and hamlets. So, uh, yeah, we’re on the hunt for food. Hooray. I think we found an oasis in the desert on the right here cuz we done 38 miles now. Got lost a couple of times. Is this a T room? Looks like Oh, it’s not shut, is it? Oh, it says open. It says open. That’s gone. Let’s go in here then. So, it’s uh what is it? Elsie’s Tea Room. Vintage tea and pip. Sounds good to me. Let’s get something to eat. Okay, so we just stopped for our lunch. God, did we need that? 38 miles. Um we had anything to eat. We’ve been up really early today cuz of the traveling on the train. So, uh, yeah, Ken had Ken had his Auggie, which is like a Welsh pasti, like a Welsh Cornish pasti, and I had my posh avocado with poached egg on toast in the little tea room there. Very nice. Really friendly people in there. So, we enjoyed that. So, I don’t know how far we’ve got left now cuz we took a million detours trying to find food. But, uh, yeah, I think we got about 25 miles or something like that. For anybody who’s watching the channel, viewers, new or old, existing viewers, new viewers, everyone’s welcome. Thanks very much for watching. Thanks for subscribing. If you got any comments to make about the videos, me and Ken are sticking together. And feel free to put them down below. And if you give us a thumbs up, give us a like, and click subscribe, totally free. Um, and then we’ll uh we’ll keep doing all this nonsense for you. Hey, knocking. Love it. Best name for a village. I think I’ve ever heard that. Knocking. Tremendous. I don’t know if we’re in Wales or England, but as I say, been in and out all day. Right on the border. Even the people in the cafe didn’t really know if we were in Wales or England, and they live here. Here comes Sir Kenneth and a big downhill straight somewhere in Shropshire. God knows where, but somewhere in Shropshire. You all right, Kenneth? Yeah. How’s it going? Doing me all speed. You feeling okay, though? Yeah, I think so. 47 miles, isn’t it? 47? Yeah. Well, it’s 50 really cuz we rolled to the train station first, didn’t we? Yeah. But I reckon we’ll uh we’ll end up doing about 65 or something. Ch back into Wales up a big climb. Bloody hell. Ch castle coming up. We’ve done what have we 56 miles on the Garmin. But I’ll say that could be about 51 52 cuz we’ve got lost a couple of times. I’ll turn this off or else it’ll just be heavy breathing. Oh yeah. So we just got lost a couple of times again. Our own fault really. Thank you. Thank you very much. just not quite following the Garmin properly near Cher, but we we’re on the canal now. H lovely and sunny and Ken’s G’s just died, but I think it’s cuz he’s got it. Somehow he’s managed to make it start talking to his phone or his phone shouting out his G instructions. So, they’re talking to each other, but God knows how he’s done it. So, yeah. So, we just got mine left to to guide us in now. We’ll stay down here. I mean, this is beautiful on here, isn’t it? Friday afternoon gets us off the road for a bit. Nice and cool, if a bit bumpy. Nightmare. I’m going back up a massive pigilia that we just ridden down because at the bottom, the crossing over the river is closed. There’s no warning till we got to it. And a friendly couple there told us it’s been closed for about 4 years. So, thanks for that workman, whoever you are. No diversion signs. So, don’t know what we’re going to do. The couple said we’re better off heading back to the canal and trying to get down the the toll path towards kind of Langolan area. I know I’ve said that wrong before. People complain, but yeah, we’ve just come off the canal. So, I think they’re jumping back on it. This is turning into a right merry go round. This is God knows how many miles we’re going to be done when we get there. cuz we’re at uh almost 60 now. So, we should have virtually been finished. But hey ho, these things are sent to challenge us. The weather’s nice. I can’t moan. Try and get back on the canal here and see where we go. I think this is going to finish Kenneth off. Jump on the canal here. There you go. Okay, for people who know me, you know I’m not a great fan of heights. Uh there’s roads closed that we’ve just gone down that we just can’t get past. So the only way through to the other side of the uh River D is over the uh the aqueduct at Langol and Oh my god. Right. So this is it. We’re on the uh we’re on the aqueduct. There’s Kenneth. He doesn’t worry about heights, but I do. So I’m walking over it with my bike. There’s the wheels. Oh my god. So here we are. I’m stood on the aqueduct over the river D below us here. Beautiful day near uh near Trevor. There’s the River D beneath us. Here’s the canal. There’s Ken. I’m terrified. Um I want to get off here. So, I’m going to keep walking. Well, there you go. If you’re a fan of heights, you’re a fan of scenery. Look at that. Absolutely fantastic. Beautiful. The views round. So, this was unplanned. Yeah, this shouldn’t have happened today. But all the roads are closed, so I’ve got no choice. We’ve just got to crack on with it. Hi folks. But strangely enough, when I’ve walked across this in the past, I’ve been terrified. I don’t like heights, but uh walking across with a bike actually feel all right. It’s not as bad as as what I thought it would do. Um cuz this was a last resort. I didn’t want to do this, but uh with a bike, strangely enough, pushing it, I feel a bit more stable. So, we’re nearly there now. Yeah. So, you’ve done all right, Paul. Give yourself a pat on the back. All your average speed that you built up all day disappeared with all the road closures and coming back up hills and all that sort of stuff, but you’re no way around it. Just crack on. 200 y left and you’re back to Terrairma, my friend. So, we’ve almost made it. Just coming into Ruabin. Just coming into Ruabin. Um 60 63 and 1/2 miles so far. Loads of detours, few cockups on our part, road closures, walking over aqueducts, but it’s been great fun and the weather’s been excellent. Really brightened up this afternoon. So, yeah. Yeah, really enjoyed it. So, I think we probably got about half a mile or so and then we should be at the destination. I’m going to have a pint. Bingo. Uh, just got to try and find the rain now. climber. How busy it is. Right. Who knows? She’s here somewhere cuz she’s phon me. Right. So, that’s the end of day one of our day day two, sorry, day one of our two-day escapade to Wales and back in gone international. International. Yeah. So, we’ve made it. We’re at Rabin. Um, we just got to the pub. So, we’re we’re going to have a pint. Um, the screen’s gone off again on the camera, but I think it’s still recording, so we’ll just keep talking. So, um, yeah, that was really enjoyable, wasn’t it? But, uh, well done. Well done to you. Road closures all the way around, going down massive hills and then road clos up, pushing the bike over over canal bridges and aqueducts and all sorts. But, uh, but we’re here. So, we’re halfway there. So, I’m going to have a pint. Very enjoyable one. But very some of the hills were very sharp. Yeah, you’re getting old, mate. So, yeah. So, that was great that. So, so that’s the end of day one. We’ll uh we’ll have a beer tonight, have something to eat, and we’ll back tomorrow for day two when we go across borders again. Yeah. From Wales back to England. Yeah. So, see you later. Yeah. Bye. [Music]