I’m back in the saddle early on a weekend morning as I plan to explore the mid-Cheshire countryside. My plan is to follow the River Weaver through Northwich to check out the Anderton Boat Lift before continuing west to Acton Bridge and Dutton Locks. I’ll then head away from the river towards the popular Delamere Forest before completing the loop using the traffic-free Oakmere Way and Whitegate Way. A slightly longer ride this time, so will I make it to Delemere Forest visitor centre for a much needed cold drink on a muggy sunday morning in Cheshire?
Hi everyone it’s Dave here Welcome back to the channel and
for another cycling adventure and this morning I am in mid Cheshire The plan today is do to a route of
around 25 miles firstly following the River Weaver downstream as it
heads through the town of Northwich I’ll then circle round to check out the
popular woodland area of Delamere Forest It promises to be quite an interesting
route with lots of different tracks and trails to explore and some
interesting sites too along the way Let’s go! So my starting point today is the
former Whitegate station situated some three miles to the northwest of Winsford It’s now a cafe and a car
park on the Whitegate Way but firstly I’ll be heading northeast past Vale Royal Abbey and down into
the valley of the River Weaver The plan then is to follow the river
downstream into the town of Northwich Once through the town I’ll find my way
to the famous Anderton Boat Lift where the navigable River Weaver is connected
to the adjacent Trent & Mersey Canal I’ll then follow the canal westerly before
finding the river again at Acton Bridge The plan then is to leave the Weaver
behind heading southwest up out of the valley towards the popular
woodlands of Delamere Forest I’ll find my way through the forest
skirting around Blakemere Moss lake towards the Forestry England visitor centre After a quick pit stop I’ll then
be using the off road bridleway routes of the Oakmere Trail and
Whitegate Way to complete the loop Well there’s actually a really lovely cafe here at Whitegate station but unfortunately it
doesn’t open for another three hours! So I’m going to head off now, not
along the Whitegate Way at first I’m going to be heading out of
the station car park and along some country lanes towards Vale Royal
Abbey and then down towards the river Wow some lovely houses down here! Well that was Vale Royal Abbey originally the
site of a 13th century Cistercian abbey but now it’s a country house, luxury apartments
and a very posh exclusive looking golf club and I feel far too common to
be associated with those folk! So I’m gonna carry on heading down
this track towards the River Weaver Oh can I fit through there? No…. just about! And here is the river So the River Weaver flows through mid Cheshire
in a generally north westerly direction towards the River Mersey and it’s really important in
the history of this part of the area because one of the main sources of trade and one of
the main industries in mid Cheshire is salt Salt has been mined here for
2000 years since Roman times So in the industrial revolution in the
late 18th century the River Weaver here was made navigable as far as Winsford which
allowed salt to be transported on boats downstream towards the River Mersey and Liverpool Eleven locks were constructed
including this one here at Vale Royal I’ve used the lock gates to cross
over the river and I’m now going to follow the riverside path north
towards the town of Northwich (Lady) Sorry!
(Dave) That’s all right! Cheers! So I’ve passed through the town
of Northwich and I’m now heading up these trails which will take
me on to the Trent & Mersey Canal So I’m saying goodbye to the River
Weaver just for a little while but we’ll see the river again where the canal
and river join at the Anderton Boat Lift So I’ve now made it on to the
Trent & Mersey Canal and just next to be here is a wonderful
piece of Victorian engineering Behind me here is the Anderton Boat Lift which
was opened in 1875 and it provides a 50ft vertical link between the Trent & Mersey Canal here
and the River Weaver Navigation down below So unfortunately I can only see
the top of the boat lift here If you want to see it in all it’s glory you
have to go down to the River Weaver and to do that you have to go through the Visitor Centre and that’s not open until 9.30am so I’m a bit early! So I’ll just have to flash up some
photos or some footage that I’ve found on the internet to show you the
true scale of this piece of engineering So the boat lift was originally designed with
two giant tanks called caissons which counter balanced each other so they filled up one with
water which the wanted to make heavier to go down and that would lift up the
opposite caisson and lift up a boat It was later converted to
electricity so it could be actually operated using pulleys and giant motors So the river and the canal run parallel to each
other now for the next three of four miles so I’m going to follow the towpath of the canal before
meeting the River Weaver again at Acton Bridge This is the first of two tunnels
along this stretch of canal so on each occasion the path goes over the top
of the hill so a bit of an incline here! Oh god! It’s a muddy bit! Time to leave the Trent & Mersey Canal
behind for a final time and then head down this lane which will take me back
to the River Weaver at Acton Bridge So now I’m at Dutton Lock which is another
pair of massive locks here on the Weaver Navigation and this is important to
the route because I’m going to use the lock gates to cross the river on to the
opposite riverbank which will then allow me to peel off in a south-westerly
direction towards Delamere Forest What a beautiful and peaceful location this
is here on the banks of the River Weaver I’ve just passed under Dutton Railway
Viaduct which you can see behind me This was built in 1836 and
it carries the West Coast Main Line over the valley of the River Weaver It’s 60 feet high, it’s 500
feet long and there’s 20 arches It really is spectacular to think
that it’s coming up to being 200 years old and it’s still carrying
one of Britain’s busiest and most important railways over the beautiful
River Weaver here in mid Cheshire Reluctantly I’m going to have to leave
the River Weaver behind shortly as I’m going to be peeling away heading in a south
westerly direction through the villages of Crowton and Norley as I ascend towards the
popular woodland area of Delamere Forest Going to take one last look at the river in this beautiful location and I’m going to
grind out the climb up to Delamere Let’s go! Well that was quite a climb on those
lanes up through the village of Norley in particular but I’ve now made it to the forest I’m here on the edge of Delamere Forest and
now I’m going to enjoy some forest tracks and I’m going to head towards the Forestry England visitor centre where there is a cafe so
I can get some much-needed refreshments Going to enjoy this next
section through the forest! Well I’ve made it through Delamere Forest
and i’m out of the other side and I’m about to take the Oakmere Trail which will
lead us back towards Whitegate station Now I’ve hardly scratched the surface of
Delamere Forest there – I just followed the big wide forest tracks to the visitor centre for a
much needed drink and cake and then I headed away It was really busy it’s early
afternoon now on a weekend so… I don’t like people, you know
me, I like the solitude and these quiet country lanes and bridleways
so glad to be out of that to be honest! Meanwhile I’m going to head away from the crowds back into the quiet as I head along
the Oakmere Way towards Whitegate So this is the Oakmere Way which links
Delamere Forest to the Whitegate Way and is an off-road route to take me back to
the starting point at Whitegate station It’s lovely and quiet along this bit
especally compared to the hustle and bustle of Delamere Forest
that I’ve just left behind Woo! I’m now back on the Whitegate
Way and it’s this lovely flat former railway trackbed to complete the loop So I’ve made it back to Whitegate
station and I’ve completed the loop and I am knackered I don’t mind telling you! That route was around 25 miles I think and a
lot of it off-road too so I can really feel it in my legs now but I’ve had a fantastic
little explore around mid Cheshire today The route alongside the River Weaver
I can’t recommend that highly enough especially around Dutton Lock it’s just
an absolutely beautiful part of the world I do wish I could have shown you a
little bit more of Delamere Forest I only really scratched the surface
and went through a very small part of the forest park there and then
the amount of people around the Visitor Centre was insane so in
the end I just headed out of there But don’t let that put you off because like a lot
of these places and in my experience of going to Delamere Forest in the past, one you get a quarter
or a half a mile away from the visitor centre it’s beautiful with lots of secluded woodland
and lots of mountain bike trails to explore In the meantime if you did like
this video please give it thumbs up, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel and
also most importantly leave me a comment! I love reading comments and I
always try and reply to all of them It’s great talking to a lot of you
regular contributors and followers so thanks ever so much for your support everyone! I’ll see you again soon for another
cycling adventure here at smiles per hour! I’m going to go and get another cold
drink and go and have a nice lie down! I’ll see you guys soon! Bye!
11 Comments
Great to see you back another nice video thanks.
You so nearly went for a swim when that dog walked out in front of you 😮
Great video Dave, I live right in the middle of that route and did much of it myself earlier this week (with a few pub stops). Good to see you enjoyed yourself. It's amazing how empty Delamere can be once you're away from the visitor centre but they are in danger of overdeveloping it sadly. I'll look out for some more routes you've done in the area. Thanks and good work, very relatable content.
Hi Dave I loved the video! As a matter of interest I would love to know why you followed the road from whitegate station to the abbey when a much nicer route would be to follow whitegate way to the windsford salt mine and immediately drop on to the river weaver and follow the weaver way to vale royal locks also if you had turned left after the bridge out of carey park ( where the lady with the little dog was) would have taken you to the bottom of the Anderton boat lift (for filming) and then a short climb up dragonfly hill to the Trent and Mersey canal outside the visitor centre
Wow, I'm so pleased this video appeared in my suggestions! I spent a lot of time on a framework contract about 20 years ago with the Canal & River Trust (British Waterways as it was back then) and we did construction works to maintain the waterways structures all over the region, particularly around Northwich. I was the site manager for the Carden's Ferry Footbridge construction (timestamp 8:03 ) and did repairs and river bank stabilisation at Vale Royal Locks, the Weaver, and the original restoration of the Anderton Boatlift. Brings back good memories and already planning to cycle your route myself soon. Thanks for the video 🙂
Loved watching that ride. Is there a GPX file availaiable or some route details, i'd love to ride it myself.
Another great video nice to see some green landscape I live in Spain and it's like been in the desert
Hello, Dave. This video popped up in my recommendations today, and I'm pleased that it did. I enjoyed the scenery, the history lesson and your positive attitude. It's wonderful to find a channel about cycling that is focused on enjoyment rather than metrics.
Great vid. That's my neck of the woods, recognised those trails. As you said Dele away from the visitor centre is actually very quiet, even at weekends, and not that far from the visitor centre. Most of the best off-road riding is around or close to the perimeter. Great natural techy rooty single track with sharps climbs and descents. Can get very muddy some winters, esp. as approach the deep winter. There's also a fine descent through the woods from the top of old pale. There's also some nice techy riding in the adjacent primrose wood (over the main road). Nice to learn some of the history from video. PS. there is a tap cyclists are welcome to use outside the lock-keeper's hut at Dutton locks. Also an outside drinking tap at dele visitor centre that is open all hours and even heated for when in the frost.
Great video. Do you know if you can ride along the Weaver (off road) to Frodsham? I've heard different reports. I was looking at doing Delamere visitors centre, Whitegate way, along the Weaver to Frodsham then back to Delamere through the hills. I'm on an ebike now (age thing) but have done all bar the river on a normal mountainbike.
That was very useful. Many thanks.