21st August 2025: Hatton (mod)

 As we got close to Delamere in the Berlingo, we saw a ‘Road Closed’ sign, but in true CER style we ignored it. As we will see ‘Road Closed’ was to be a running theme of the day. Arriving at the café, there are now notices saying that parking is for station users only and that payment can be made using the app or by phone. So, it’s a bit of an issue for those who’ve been in the habit of parking there.

About 15 CER members gathered at the Delamere Station Café. Jim was doing his own thing and Dave M was coming with us as far as Hatchmere before peeling off for home. So, the ‘mods’, consisting of Dave H, George, Keith, Ray B, Andy B, Trevor and yours truly set off (a little late, as usual) along our favourite bit of road (not!) towards Hatchmere and beyond. As we reached the B5152 where we would normally turn left down Guest Slack, the road closure was now operating, so we diverted to Kingsley. Whilst this was no problem, the drag up the hill past Kingsley School is a slog.

But we were soon reaping the benefit of altitude as we zoomed down towards Frodsham. At the bottom of Fluin Lane, we joined the busy A56 heading towards Warrington. We pulled off after the swing bridge at Sutton Causeway and continued climbing past the Holiday Inn and Dave H’s mansion.

At the top of Wood Lane, we went straight across Beechwood Avenue to pick up the path that runs between the railway and the Southern Expressway, soon reaching the bus depot. Threading through some of Runcorn’s finer suburbs, we were soon on to the old (Jubilee) bridge across the Mersey. Sadly, the new smooth cycleway across the bridge was closed and we had to take the old footpath that still hangs precariously on the outside of the bridge structure.

At West Bank we soon found our way to Spike Island, once the site of a major soap works, but now a municipal park where the St. Helens canal joins the river. At the far side of the park we joined the Trans Pennine Trail which runs up to Warrington alongside the canal. At this point there’s no water in the canal, as it used to come from Fiddlers Ferry power station which is now closed. The track here is quite rough, but it improves as we reach Fiddlers Ferry Sailing Club.

By this time, it was 12.10 and the peleton was hungry, so my plan to eat at the café in Walton Hall gardens was swiftly ditched in favour of lunch at The Ferry pub. The last time I was here with Clive and Alan, the offering was quite limited and today it was no different. They do pies and that’s it! No chips, or salad or other refinements. But you can have red sauce, brown sauce or even 'no sauce'.  So pies it was and they were okay. The place was full of cyclists, including a group that were down from Pennington Flash (near Leigh) The sun was shining and the tide was in, so the vista was beautiful and even Ray was impressed.

Leaving the pub, we soon reached the point where the track leaves the canal. It’s near the municipal tip and in an area which is trapped between the river and the Ship Canal. A sort of no-man’s land around the water treatment works. Here, the trans-Pennine trail goes through a couple of wooded areas and as we had almost reached the end of the second one, there was a cry from behind as Andy suffered a puncture. This turned out to be a slit in the inner tube.

Joining the A56 at Lower Walton we soon picked up the cycle lane which runs alongside it on the way towards Chester. Peeling off near Walton Hall Gardens, there we more ‘Road Closed’ signs, this time due to the ‘Creamfields’ electronic dance festival which takes place every August Bank Holiday. Crossing the Bridgewater Canal using the hump-backed bridge which is currently under repair (more ‘road closed’ signs!), we cycled uphill next to the fields where the dancing will start today. At Hatton, there were even more ‘road closed’ signs as the organisers funnel festival goers to the entrance via their approved route. Here we crossed over the M56 and took Summer Lane which runs next to the motorway.  When we turned up Newton Lane, Andy carried straight on to join the A56 at Preston Brook as the most direct route home. This is a busy road, so I hope Andy got home okay.

Passing the site of the birthplace of Lewis Carroll, we took the small lanes, crossing the A49 at Dones Green. Keith left us here to head back to his car which he'd parked in Helsby. Pressing on, we soon reached the A49 (again!) at Little Leigh. Rather than taking the usual route up to Acton Bridge and Kingsley, we decided to ride alongside the Weaver Navigation, heading for Dutton Locks where we paused for a drink and group photo.

Dave H had said that we might need machetes to hack our way along the footpath to Pickerings Lock and, until we reached the railway viaduct, he was right. The ferns, bramble and nettles seemed to be hell bent on pulling you into them. Past the railway, the field was full of sheep, many of which were asleep under the bushes next to the river. In the past we’ve ridden this way when there have been cows or horses there, which can cause some issues.

We now started the climb back up to Delamere. The first part, up to the B5153 wasn’t too bad, but from there to the top is a long drag and, in some places, very steep although there are no chevrons on the OS map. Reaching Hatchmere, Trevor and George headed for home/car, Ray continued to find his car at Delamere and Dave and I went to the Berlingo.

35 miles covered with about a quarter of the being ‘off road’. Fortunately, the recent warm weather meant that the off-road parts were dry. Thanks to the ‘mods’ for their company and tolerance as we made plans ‘on the hoof’. Next time, we’ll try to get to Hatton  Arms for lunch as they do an excellent ‘small’ fish and chips.

ST

See route map and/or gpx file download

1st February 2024: Egremont (mod+)

Well the first ride of February for CER was well attended. Often this starting point can be a low attendance or populated with riders who have ridden out and then ride home. Today we had enough for two groups, a mod and mod plus group. 

Alan had tweaked the classic Wirral route to take us to the Ferry Hotel at Egremont / Wallasey. This was a new venue to me and we were well catered for with food and drinks being served promptly. Today's group consisted of Alan Shane Steve T and Steve Hu. 

Following a delayed start at Ness gds where Steve T wrestled with his tethered bike which had been surreptitiously locked to Trevors. During this entanglement we were harangued by the mods for our striking athletic poise and looks. LOL

From Ness we skirted Neston and proceeded to cross the usually busy Chester High Rd. Maybe through good fortune or traffic light phasing but the roads were empty. The quiet lanes took us through Raby and then to the charming village of Thornton Hough. 

Next stop was Brimstage road, if we would have taken a right we would have found ourselves at a favoured lunch stop at the Brimstage tea rooms, however Alan's route continued to skirt Heswall via Irby road. 

By now it was clear we had navigation issues  as myself as back up pilot was on Version 1 of Alan's route and Alan was on Version 2. So I was cheerfully saying left and we would go right, a real winning solution. Despite the differences in the mapping we successfully crossed through Saughall Massey and onto the coast by Meols. The tide was so far out it was barely possible to see, however we found a lighthouse and stopped for our obligatory photo opportunity. 

Photos by Steve Hu

However our sea views were not to last as Alan had discovered the Birket Trail (part of the Wirral Circular Trail) a cracking cycle route that takes you north of Moreton and into Bidston. Taking our lives in our hands we braved the golfers on Bidston Golf course and followed a tortuous route out to Egremont. 

At Egremont we were treated to the spectacular views of the Liverpool waterfront and the new Everton stadium which is progressing well. 

Following lunch , we took the time honoured route around Seacombe docks and the ferry terminals, stopping only for a second group photograph. Soon we were heading into the lovely village of Port Sunlight hot of Lever Bros, a previous employer of both myself and Shane. The disused railway line provides a great alternative to the more urban nature of this leg. 

Eastham village and Rivacre road soon allowed us to whizz into Childer Thornton and Heath Lane. Alan had left the best till last putting in a cyclocross section of mud linking up a farm road which provides a good shortcut to the busy Chester High Road. A quick plunge into Burton on what were now tired legs brought us back to our start point whereby Steve T and Shane left to meet Dave at the car park. 

An added bonus was as Alan and I approached the entrance to the marsh we were joined by Andy B, Mike G and Trevor, all heading over estuary. 

Big thanks to Alan for leading a very chilled ride of appx 42 miles at a nice pace on a day with no wind/rain/ice/snow so quite unusual from our January rides :)

See route map and/or gpx file download

Steve Hu 

22nd June 2023: Tour de Runcorn - Ferrybridge (mod 2)

A good number of CER members gathered at Delamere Station Café on a warm if humid summers day. Steve Haywood, back from bagging Munros had a ride planned to The Dog at Over Peover, but I had been waiting for a dry period to coincide with the start from Delamere to be able to offer a ‘Tour de Runcorn’. This is because part of the route goes along the Trans Pennine Trail, which can be muddy when the weather has been wet. Steve Hu and Alan were keen to join me, as this isn’t part of their usual stomping ground. Clive agreed to join as the plan was for the ride to be at a ‘mod+’ rate, which put Dave H off. 

So, the four of us set off towards Hatchmere bound for Norley, Acton Bridge and Dones Green, where we crossed the A49. This took us up Marsh Lane to join Higher Lane and then Morphany Lane. Here, we stopped briefly to look around the site of the old vicarage where Charles Ludwig Dodgson, alias Lewis Carroll, was born when his father was the vicar of Daresbury. 

                                                                        

Photo by Steve Hu

From here, we went on through the village of Daresbury, crossing the A56 to pass through the Daresbury Science Park, which is now very extensive. It was originally a nuclear science lab where a 35 MeV Van de Graff generator was built in the early 1970s.

Taking the back lanes through Moore, we eventually hit the A56 just outside Warrington, crossing the River Mersey there. From here, we wiggled through a number of lanes and tracks, emerging next to the St Helens canal and the Trans Pennine Trail. A short run down the cinder track found us at The Ferry Tavern at the side of the muddy River Mersey (it was nearly low tide).

Lunch offerings here are limited to pies of various sorts, sausage rolls (both with or without brown or red sauce!), crisps and beer – not somewhere that’s going to be added to our list of preferred lunch stops. Nevertheless, we were reasonably fed.

   

Photo by AO

Continuing along the TPT, we soon arrived in Widnes at Spike Island, an artificial island between the St Helens canal and the River Mersey. From here we threaded our way through the streets of the ‘west bank’ and found our way on to the Jubilee Bridge to cross the river. The bridge is currently closed to traffic during the week as work is being carried out, but cyclist and pedestrians are allowed across. 

Reaching Runcorn, we followed Moughland Lane up past the cenotaph and round past Weston Village before joining the cycleway running through Beechwood to Wood Lane where we could join the busy A56 heading towards Frodsham. As we reached the swing bridge at Sutton Causeway, Clive offered to lead the rest of the ride back to Delamere as we had only just passed my house. Since this meant that I would not have to ride up the hill out of Frodsham, I readily agreed. The route back would take them up though Frodsham, past the outskirts of Kingsley to Hatchmere and Delamere.

About 40 miles covered on a very sunny and warm day. Thanks to Clive for taking over the last 7 miles and to Steve Hu and Alan for their company.

ST

See route map an/or gpx file download