A Bike Ride and a Boat that Doesn’t Float in Wales

So, you find yourself in North Wales?  How fortunate for you.  Hop on your bike and go for a ride along the River Dee.  The river makes up part of the border between England and Wales.  It's a flat, speedy ride and provides some sights you may not see on other excursions.  For example, how often do you see airplane wings floating downstream?  You will see such a sight on your River Dee ride because the wings for the Airbus 380 are manufactured upstream in Broughton.  They are then placed on barges and sent to the port at Mostyn.  

The bike rider will also pass a number of mills some of which are closed while others remain bustling with activity.  Many of those first mills were for the production of snuff and flint.  Coal was mined in the region for a number of decades and remnants of this past are evident.   The mining of coal led to the unexpected discovery of clay, and many different kinds of clay, from which tiles and bricks are fired in large plants.  

The coal helped to power industries that today produce chemicals, building products and fiberglass.  At some point in the ride you may enjoy the sweet smell of chocolate.  This is because cocoa beans are milled into powder for export in North Wales.  

A series of bridges can be crossed, some dating to ancient times.  Some are railway, others are auto and pedestrian.  The Old Dee Bridge was built in 1387.  The Queen’s Park Suspension Bridge is strictly a pedestrian bridge so you may have to walk your bike.  You will even see a bridge for fish.  Specifically it is a "fish pass" for salmon.  The River Dee salmon have fully recovered from a near disastrous pollution incident in the 1990s.     

Your arrival in Flintshire will also provide you with a sight never before seen: the ship The Duke of Lancaster.  Since 1979 the SST Duke of Lancaster has been laying on dry land.  The ship was purchased by new owners once it was retired from service and turned into the “Fun Ship,” a bar and restaurant that eventually failed in the early 1980s.  Launched in 1956 by the famed Harland and Wolff Company in Belfast the ship took tourists to stops throughout the British Isles, Scandinavia and Western Europe.  Later, the Duke was converted for ferry duty with space for 100 cars and over 1,000 passengers in 400 cabins.  Unlike the Queen Mary laying resplendent in Long Beach, California or the rusting United States in Philadelphia, the Duke of Lancaster is hidden away in a tiny section of Wales.  

The ship today is promoted by DuDug, a project of local citizens committed to the preservation of the “The Duke.”  The organization has brought some new acclaim to the vessel as a canvass for artists throughout Britain and the Continent.  The ship boasts a litany of murals and creative graffiti art.  Eventually DuDug would like to see the entire ship covered in art.    

Check out DuDug’s Facebook page. 

We have a video of the Duke of Lancaster on our website at www.stickybottleteam.com detailing the ship before the art programs began in earnest.  Click on VIDEOS.

Before the art...

...and now