I have some good news and some bad news.
What had been the groovy cycle paths after the hospital aren't quite so groovy now. When I last went along there about 3 years ago, they looked incredible at night as they had lots of LED reflectors along both sides, so as you cycled along, the whole path lit up. Sadly, most of them have now gone. However, a bit further on, there was this:
View attachment 110664
Last night there was a 20 mile stretch of road and I only had 2 vehicles overtake me. And one of those was a gritting truck. There's also other delights such as an abandoned road which they've built electricity pylons on, so you get the rare treat of cycling through a pylon. I know, I'm really spoiling you.
The likely route is shown
here.
Please note there is about 4 miles of towpath, of which half is paved. The rest is good quality solid surface, although last night, due to all the recent rain, there were quite a few puddles, so my bike is rather mucky - be warned.