The last pub ride of the season....

It doesn't seem right that these Wednesday pub rides should be ending so soon - it seems to me that we could have carried on, at least for another month or so? - But no, the elders have deemed this is how it shall be....

We rode into Burton with our usual haste - it had been a beautiful warm, sunny day; but by 6.30pm it was cold and the sky looked threatening. In fact it started to rain just as we set off. We paused to put on waterproofs - this is the first time we've had rain on a Wednesday ride this year! - quite a statistic!

We arrived in Burton with plenty of time to spare - there was a good turnout - probably because this was to be the last ride. We set off on a circuitous route heading for Rangemore and more specifically The Rangemoor Club.

Rangemoor Club

The Rangemore Club was provided by the Bass brewing family for the workers on the Bass Estate. It originally provided a library and a bar. In the late 1940s, when Rangemore Hall was sold to become a deaf school, the billiard table was donated to the club and is now used for snooker. It was originally located in the bar, but was later relocated to the library room. 

In the past, many of the club  members were farm operatives working for the Rangemore Estate. When the farms were leased out, trade from the farm operatives declined and there was a threat that the club would close as it was uneconomic. More recently its fortunes have revived as a new vibrant community has emerged in Rangemore village. The current membership is 80 people and growing. 

On our visit the beer selection was disappointing - only Marstons Pedigree - I opted for Guinness. Being the 'last ride' the elders had arranged for a platter of sandwiches and potato wedges to be provided. We enjoyed those and sat happily chatting for aboiut an hour or so - Outside the rain had ceased but it was particularly dark - we were out in the country, no street lights. We set off for home and made speedy progress via Barton under Needwood, Walton on Trent and Coton in the Elms - thankfully the rain held off.

We talked about maybe starting a small breakaway beer club for Wednesdays - for those who might be interested - so far there's four of us! - Maybe we'll keep riding after all.