Cheshire / West Lancs route tips.

[RedRider]

Hiya, does anyone have pleasant direct-ish routes from Crewe to Runcorn and then on again from Runcorn to Formby?
Cheers

 

[si_c]

Runcorn to formby, try the Transpenine Trail. Runcorn sucks ass, and is pretty horrible to get around, but once you get over the bridge and into halton, it's mostly nice out through hale village, halewood and around the liverpool TPT loop towards southport/formby.

 

[Hacienda71]

Make sure you go through Great Budworth quickly whilst shouting swear words.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/village-bans-cyclists.203879/

 

[RedRider]

Runcorn to formby, try the Transpenine Trail. Runcorn sucks ass, and is pretty horrible to get around, but once you get over the bridge and into halton, it's mostly nice out through hale village, halewood and around the liverpool TPT loop towards southport/formby.

Cheers, I'd been thinking of heading out around Skem-ish but this looks great too, the Liverpool loop line has never been on my radar before.

Make sure you go through Great Budworth quickly whilst shouting swear words.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/village-bans-cyclists.203879/

It's on my 'to do' list.

 

[si_c]

Cheers, I'd been thinking of heading out around Skem-ish but this looks great too, the Liverpool loop line has never been on my radar before.

It's mostly quite nice, there are a few bits where you have to negotiate a few bad roads/paths around Halewood, but its mostly nice. Shorter than going up to skem, as that's quite a bit further north around St Helens.

When are you planning on riding it?

 

[RedRider]

It's mostly quite nice, there are a few bits where you have to negotiate a few bad roads/paths around Halewood, but its mostly nice. Shorter than going up to skem, as that's quite a bit further north around St Helens.

When are you planning on riding it?

This Friday so long as the weather's fine when the train stops at Crewe. Still need to book the train mind. Heading back down on Monday or Tuesday morning and might do the same in reverse. (Although thinking about it, as I'll be getting a return to lime street I'm not sure if it's ok to join the train in Crewe with that ticket on the way back? It'd better check.)

 

[raleighnut]

Cheers, I'd been thinking of heading out around Skem-ish but this looks great too, the Liverpool loop line has never been on my radar before.


It's on my 'to do' list.

Don't forget to have a quick 'jimmy' too.

 

[Sharky]

The rainford bipass has a very good cycle path either side. Detours via crank and billinge will test your climbing fitness.

 

[clockworksimon]

I would look at crossing the Mersey in Warrington, perhaps via Daresbury, rather than via the Runcorn Bridge. It's a nightmare round there at the moment due to the work on the new bridge. From Warrington you should be able to work out a route across to Rainford as already suggested.

Another option may be to ride the towpath of the Bridgewater Canal from Preston on the Hill round to the start of the canal which is by the Bridge and Ship Canal. It's quite nice which may surprise many. There is a footpath along the Runcorn town side of the Runcorn Bridge which lots of bikes use in both directions. Once across, the roads from Widnes across to Rainford and onwards aren't bad to ride on.

I commute over the Bridge each day going between Chester and St Helens, albeit usually by car so have tried to find the least bad way across the Mersey for some years now!

 

[RedRider]

Cheers both, I'll have a go at plotting a couple of routes tomorrow. Good heads up about the bridge works.

 

[si_c]

I would look at crossing the Mersey in Warrington, perhaps via Daresbury, rather than via the Runcorn Bridge. It's a nightmare round there at the moment due to the work on the new bridge. From Warrington you should be able to work out a route across to Rainford as already suggested.
I commute over the Bridge each day going between Chester and St Helens, albeit usually by car so have tried to find the least bad way across the Mersey for some years now!

Getting across the mersey at runcorn is incredibly easy by bike, come in via frodsham, once you get to the bridge their is a cycle/footpath down one side, and once on the other side, you hop down a set of shallow steps and it drops you onto the mersey cycleway heading towards Hale village. No detours necessary and you don't need to get involved with the mersey gateway mess at all. Coming down from Warrington adds a lot of extra mileage for no benefit if on a bike.

 

[Siclo]

If it was me I'd cross at Runcorn but not from Frodsham - the A56 is naff in the day, great at night though, and I don't know a decent route down to the bridge. I'd go Crewe, Church Minshull, Winsford and follow the Weaver to Anderton Boat lift then through the lanes to Preston-on the Hill to pick up the Bridgewater Canal.

It's a few extra miles than the direct route over the lumps via Delamere to Frodsham (I also dislike the B5152 through Delamere, too many use it as a race track) but you'd get a lot of traffic free riding and quiet lanes. Depend on what sort of ride you want, it's not a fast route via Winsford. Fastest would be Crewe, Wettenhall, Cotebrook, Delamere, Frodsham, Runcorn but expect quite a bit of traffic.

 

[RedRider]

Cheer again, I've finally plotted a route which takes on a number of the helpful suggestions upthread. About 60 miles in all.
I'm fairly familiar with the approach via Frodsham but I'm not going to do that, instead the Winsford variation, then it's over the bridge, through Hale which again I'm fair familiar with then the Liverpool Loop Line all the way to Maghull (looking forward to checking this out) unless it's getting late and it feels too slow in which case I might brave the bypass, then the old Southport Rd and Moss Lane into Formby.
Unfortunately this route avoids Great Budworth so not sure where the 'comfort break' will be.