Objective: Cycle from Nantwich to Wrenbury then to Winsford via the Llangollen Canal, Shropshire Union Mainline, and Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch, returning by train from Winsford to Nantwich.
Trip Type: solo cycle
Distance: 22 miles (17 if parking in Wrenbury)
Time to complete: 2 hrs, 7.5 mph
Nicholson Guide: Guide 4, pp 39, 40, 106-109
Costs: free parking in Nantwich. Train from Winsford to Nantwich £7.80, 1 per hour.
Difficulty: moderate
Adjacent Rides: Nantwich to Ellesmere Port, Wolverhampton to Nantwich, Stoke to Middlewich, Anderton Lift Circular via Middlewich and Winsford, Wrenbury to Llangollen (may be split into 2 rides)
Overview
Although a shorter than usual towpath ride, the towpaths are difficult, and it will take 2 hours to do the 17 miles of the ride (plus the road ride to the start point). Your best option is to park in Nantwich and cycle to Wrenbury to join the canal. (Section 1). This gives you an easier train journey back to your car, as trains to Wrenbury from Nantwich are infrequent. Otherwise you can park in Nantwich and take the train to Wrenbury, or park in Wrenbury itself.
1. Nantwich to Wrenbury (5.5 miles) (if parking in Nantwich)
Park your car at Lakeside Parking, at the corner of Shrewbridge Road and Park Road, Nantwich, CW5 7AG. Parking is free, and you can stop over in your campervan if you wish (e.g. if you are doing the Nantwich to Ellesmere Port ride the next day). The car park is close to the River Weaver.
If you are taking the train to Wrenbury turn left out of the car park, round the bend (don’t continue on Shrewbridge Road, which goes off left). Turn left on Wellington Road to the station, about half a mile. Trains are infrequent. At Wrenbury Station take Station Road into the village, turn left on Nantwich Road and Cholmondeley Road to the Dusty Millar pub and Wrenbury Lift Bridge (20)
Otherwise, if cycling to Wrenbury, exit the car park right onto Shrewbridge Road, A530. The road becomes Baddington Lane, then Whitchurch Road as it heads south west, crossing the Shropshire Union Mainline. At Broomhall Green, just past the school, turn right onto Wrenbury Heath Road and follow this to the junction with Nantwich Road (the canal is just ahead of you). Turn left into Wrenbury, and continue through the village onto Cholmondeley Road to the Dusty Millar pub and Wrenbury Lift Bridge (20).
If you are parking in Wrenbury, head for the village centre and park by the green, near the village store. Cycle west on Cholmondeley Road to the Dusty Millar pub and Wrenbury Lift Bridge (20).
2. Wrenbury to Barbridge Junction (6 miles)
Turn right (north-ish) onto the towpath of the Llangollen Canal, which is very poor to Baddiley No. 1 Lock , and then a little better for a while, before deteriorating again. Some sections need to be walked due to the narrow, overgrown conditions. It’s a relief to arrive at Hurleston Locks and the Junction at the bottom. Cross the bridge and turn left onto the Shropshire Union Mainline. The towpath is gravel and narrows as it approaches Barbridge Junction. Cross the bridge and immediately double back underneath onto the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch.
3. Barbridge Junction to Winsford (11 miles)
It looks like this is going to be a breeze, but as soon as you’ve passed the moored boats the towpath worsens to a grass track, which can get waterlogged. Continue for 8 bumpy miles to Clive Green Bridge (24). Leave the canal here, heading back up the steep slope to the road. Turn right (north) on Clive Green Lane.
Continue to the junction with Middlewich Road (A54) and turn left at the lights. The station is left off the roundabout. Note that there is no lift from the ticket office side to the platform you will catch your train, and you may need to go back to the A54, and take the path down by the Brighton Belle pub to access your platform if you can’t lift your bike over the footbridge. Change at Crewe for Nantwich, and again at Nantwich if you are continuing to Wrenbury.
If you are parked at Lakeside Parking, turn left out of Nantwich Station along Wellington Road, turn right on Park Road, A530, to the car park.