Dear Blogger
You will have received the sad news that The Pigeons is due to close TOMORROW, the 1st of February, well here is an extract about The Old Three Pigeons pub from Joe Patten`s story of his epic cycle ride the length of The Holyhead Road. Do take a look at his blog, it is a great read.
Cycling along the Coaching Route to Holyhead – Harlech Joe
`18 hours ago I entered Shrewsbury from England by crossing the English Bridge. Today I cycled to Wales by crossing the appropriately named Welsh Bridge and quickly arrived at another crossing point at Montford.
The bridge at Montford was one of the first that Thomas Telford constructed. His design included a drip stone that prevented rain water dripping from the deck and eroding the lower structures. As the bridge is over 200 years old, this design feature worked.
A few miles from Montford Bridge is the next stage post at Nesscliff, the Old Three Pigeons. Regular customers to the Old Three Pigeons included highwaymen spending money robbed from travellers, except from passengers of Royal Mail coaches.
The Royal Mail was protected by a guard armed with loaded pistols and a Blunderbus. This short flared barrelled gun was designed to scatter projectiles over a wide surface area allowing the guard to shoot without taking careful aim. If the sight of a Blunderbus didn't deter robbers, the guard would take a more careful aim with his loaded pistols. The next stage post was the Wynnstay Arms in Oswestry`.
