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Congleton Cycling Campaign social ride September 2007

Congleton Cycle Campaign Fungal foray


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The annual fungal foray ride began at Congleton Park one Sunday in September, following local lanes and tracks to Brereton Country Park to see what was on offer.


The route took us to Lower Heath and Giantswood Lane to Hulme Walfield and Newsbank, then around to Swettenham where we crossed the Dane (see the photo above) on the bridleway that leads to the A54, with the country park beyond.


Only two hills there - steep Eaton Bank, where some of us decided to get off and push - and the more gentle gradient out of the Dane valley and up to the A54.


Brereton Country Park is a popular place with its flooded sandpit and surrounding woods where we hoped to find lots of fungi, including some to take home for our tea. But the essential rains hadn't fallen enough for many mushrooms to have appeared, and without our local expert, we felt nervous about our identification skills.


Having done our best to match our finds to the book descriptions, we decided that we hadn't found much that was edible, and, having all developed a thirst, moved on for more reliable refreshments at The Bluebell Inn before returning home.


Good weather, good company and a gentle ride of about 20 miles. What more could you want for on a Sunday?