Altrincham to Chester Stage 5. The last stage.

 Thursday 26th March 2026. 

Mouldsworth to Chester.

Who came along:-  Martin, Sue B, Sheila, Sue W, Rick, Paul, Jeanette, Andy, Judith, Myself and of course Rufus the dog. A real good turnout.

The Route.

Thanks to Martin for the map.

Sheila and I travelled from home to Chester on Wednesday to drop off an overnight bag at the Queens Hotel. More on that later.Then we made our way back to Altrincham by train and stayed overnight there to be ready to meet up with the platoon the next day. 

Anyway, we met up on Thursday morning with the names shown above at Altrincham station and made our way to Mouldsworth. After alighting from the train it was a nice surprise to meet up with Judith whom we had not seen since we did a backpacking hike in 2021 (Click Here if you want to read that trip). Judith has now retired from doing The Great Outdoors Challenge Walk and also retired from Wirral Council and Commanding Officer of HMS Eaglet in Liverpool. She has taken up Ladies Rugby and still plays cricket, converted a VW Caddy van and goes off with her bike. Some retirement.

The platoon on manœuvres. We know how to spread out. 

The Goshawk Pub in Mouldsworth.

 Mouldsworth has a pub opposite the railway station called the Goshawk. I was hoping it would be open for a quick coffee but alas not. Down the road we went until we passed the sign for the village of Ashton Hayes. Here we entered farmland via a good stile and was guided around by an electric fence. I asked Sheila to see if it was live but the invitation was declined.

This short section was part of "the 13 mile Baker Way"footpath which goes from Delamere Forest to Chester. The name comes from Jack Baker who was the area footpath officer. Crossing a minor road, Conger lane, passed three white cottages led us onto an estate track which leads up to "Peel Hall". I at first thought it may be owned by the family who are Peel Holdings. They own lots of land in the NorthWest including the Manchester Ship Canal and the Trafford Centre but it isn't them. 

Heading to the three cottages on Congar Lane.

Peel Hall was built for Henry Hardware IV, a descendant of the Lord Mayor of Chester in 1637 but has had numerous changes over time including a reduction in size in 1812 and converted from a mansion to a farm. Later it was owned by the Whitley family and then the Earls of Plymouth who are the Windsor-Clive family. Today it is owned by the Kinsey Family who apart from farming have diversified into luxury holiday accommodation known as Peel Hall retreat.

Peel Hall.

Peel Hall

The Baker Way passes besides the hall but our route diverted away, more or less following Ashton Brook towards Swinfordmill Farm. A couple of us took a wrong turn on the wrong side of a hedge but we soon got back across an empty ditch apart from some brambles and nettles. This is indeed a very historic site based upon a water mill which diverted water from Barrow Brook. Here we had interest from what I think are mainly Hebridean Sheep and an "old grey fergy". I couldn't get near the Fergy and its serial plate so I cannot tell you much about it. 

Blackthorn trees were in bloom. Rufus followed us wrongly.

Back on track towards Swinfordmill farm.

I think these are mainly Hebridean sheep (maybe not, please let me know in the comments).

The Old Grey Fergy.

It is mentioned in 15th century papers as being very prominent. Later the mill was absorbed into the farm and the mill pond disappeared around 1875. The building is run as a training centre and currently run by Chester and District radio society under their SES call GB5SWM. Possibly JJ could enlighten us on it's meaning.

In a field adjacent to the path we were spotted by a couple of curious Alpaca and some Pygmy goats. 

Passed the farm a good path brought us through Hollinsgreen and under a railway bridge carrying the Altrincham to Chester line where at a good spot on the grass verge at Long Green we stopped for a coffee. The railway bridge also had an OS bench mark (46.7). It is classified as NBM which means New Bench Mark but it doesn't look new.

An unusual looking benchmark (46.7)

Brew over, we stayed on the minor road through Long Green with it's fine properties until arriving at quite a busy B road. The bridge over the brook also sported a benchmark (38.5). Going left towards Little Barrow we eventually turned off the road onto Wildmoor Lane. Looking at the bench mark archive later I spotted that a Rivet benchmark was on the wall close to where we had coffee.

A large farm of poly tunnels, a nursery, was passed on the right and then a little further along the lane a stile on the left led over a couple of cultivated fields, in single file the route brought us to a small bridge over the River Gowy and then to the isolated St. Peter's church, Plemstall. The church actually looks a lot older than the plaque suggests but I will come to this next. Some decided to have a wander around the church grounds, the doors being locked. I noticed at the front of the church was an old stepping stone, the type made so that it was easier to dismount from a carriage or horseback.

Crossing the River Gowy.

Stepping stone.

Plemstall Church.

Plemstall Church.

The church goes back as far as the 7th Century built on a site where Plegmund, later becoming Archbishop of Canterbury by King Alfred, lived as a hermit. His well which we come across soon still survives but I wouldn't drink from it.  It was built on what is known locally as "The Isle of Chester", a raised area which was once surrounded by marsh land. That's how the church was dedicated to St. Peter the fisherman who was said to walk on water.

The Trafford family financed the building up to the 15th century. In 1826 a tower was added and restorations have taken place over a number of years. The roof being replaced in 1958 due to death watch beetle and more modern installations have happened up to today.

The tomb of the Hurleston family is located in the church yard and shows a skeleton on the side. It makes quite interesting reading. Click HERE.

Leaving the church behind we pass Plegmunds Well in about 100metres, the water didn't look inviting, and then pick up a very old footpath leading under the railway and into a relatively new housing estate of Mickle Trafford. 

In a house front garden was parked a Fordson Major tractor in Yellow Livery. My first thoughts were that the yellow was wrong, as Fordson Major's were usually blue/orange. However, a quick look at my history books brought to light that Fordson like Massey Ferguson had an industrial division that painted the tractors yellow. There was some differences between the industrial machine and the agricultural machine in that the industrial had no three point linkage at the back and the rear axle and brakes were beefed up. They also used Perkins engines instead of Ford just life Massey Ferguson.

A Fordson Major in Industrial Guise.

The estate was quite confusing and made it easy to do a meander. Fortunately we still came out on the road we wanted which led us to the railway Bridge on Meadow Lane. There used to be a station here called Mickle Trafford, not Meadowbrook as the sign on the gate suggests. The station closed in 1951, long gone except for some signal memorabilia in a private garden on the old site.

This site was also a rail junction and a former rail line is now a walking/cycle way. We found an ideally placed picnic table for lunch that was big enough for all of us. Most of the disused Cheshire line was built low down with embankments on either side. This results in not being able to see much of interest and can become a bit of a slog. Numerous wood carvings tried to instil some interest as we passed. We made fast progress and before long we hit the outskirts of Chester where a bike sale was taking place in the Limewood Fields. Some found much interest.

A fine bench for lunch.

Signage in Limewood Fields.

More and more people with dogs, frustratingly so many cyclists without bells too. Thankfully the weather stayed nice as this section would have been poor in the wet stuff. We joined the Shropshire Union Canal at Abbot's Meads and followed the towpath to Graving Lock with its old crane still intact alongside a modern outdoor bar area. We had to cross Raymond Street and go down to Northgate Locks. This area reminded me very much of Leeds Wharf where we had recently been.

Crane memorabilia on the towpath

The Shropshire Union Canal - Northgate Chester

The walk along the towpath here is also adjacent to the steep sandstone that Chester Roman Walls were built on and is a delight to follow. When we reached Old Harkers Inn and a model Hurricane on the canal bank we joined the City Road up to Chester Railway Station. The Hurricane is actually a raft and was made for the annual Chester raft race. Very inventive.

A short walk along City Rd and we were at the Railway Station which was the intended end of the walk from Altrincham to Chester. Five stages in total. As we had decided to spend an extra day in Chester I picked up my overnight bag from the Queens Hotel who took it in when the Travelodge wouldn't, even though we had booked two nights with them.

Usually we had now head to the station and go home but as it was the last stage of the walk Martin and his social secretary Sue decided we should celebrate the finish with a meal in Chester. Which we did but I didn't photograph it.

The total route has been excellent overall. Considering that this is not a recognised trail Martin did a great job route finding. Thanks to everyone Sheila and I met along the way and how we managed to get such good weather for the stages is a miracle.

Martins blog on all the walks can be found HERE.

Altrincham to Chester Stage 3. Northwich to Cuddington.

 Friday 6th March.

Eight of us plus Rufus the dog arrived at Altrincham Interchange to get the 9.36 train to Northwich. It arrived on time.

Sheila and I stayed at the Travelodge in Altrincham centre again. It just saves all the hassle of getting from home to Altrincham on walk day. The hotel is excellent in all respects. Unfortunately I broke my sunglasses whilst cleaning them so it was a quick trip into Mountain Warehouse to buy a new pair.

Martin and Sue, Paul, Jeanette and Rufus, Rick, Andy, Sheila and I were todays crew. I was looking forward to a coffee in Costa at Northwich Tesco but the decision was taken to get going. 

We crossed the busy A533, descended  some steps and marched off down the aptly named "ALAN STREET". Turning right at the end led to a foot bridge across the Northwich branch railway lines. This was part of the Cheshire circuit but was renamed.

The path headed between the two railway lines and then crossed a further footbridge above the main Chester line and down onto Greenall Road which led us to into a cemetery. This was our first meander of the day. Meander meaning "whoops we've taken the wrong path". We backtracked to the entrance and followed the cemetery outer wall around to a path which went underneath the railway and into a recreational field bounded by the River Dane which is liable to flooding in this area.

At this point the Northwich viaduct becomes very hard to miss. It is huge. As we made our way to it, first crossing the Dane and then hand railing it until we came to the River Weaver and Weaver Navigation where we diverted along the path to Hunts lock.

The viaduct, built in the 1860's has 48 masonry arches plus girder spans where it crosses water, it spans the Weaver Valley. In the mid 1800's the railways were booming. The route westward from Northwich had to cross the waters mentioned above and the viaduct was designed by the West Cheshire company. They proposed to use brick but when it became part of the Cheshire Lines Committee, the engineers of the Great Northern railway and the MS and L agreed that it should be built from local red sandstone. The viaduct is 676 metres or 739 yards long. 

Rail traffic is restricted to 20mph and a number of arches have been reinforced.

The impressive structure partially seen from the Weaver. (Image courtesy of the viaduct website).

Northwich viaduct.

Hunts Lock is located in a section of the Weaver which has been modified, straightened, to make navigating easier. There is a lock office and it includes a pedestrian swing bridge. Looking at the mechanism where the bridge adjoins the land I would guess it hasn't been opened for a while.

Riversdale Swing Bridge at Hunts Lock- River Weaver.

The first bridge here was a wooden one built in 1888. The replacement bridge built in 1930 also fell into disrepair and was closed in 2004. The one you see today is 45 metres long and was shipped into position using the river. It was built in 2010 and cost £1.4 million.

The above two fine shots were taken by Sheila.

Once across to the West Bank of the Weaver we stopped for a coffee at one of the many picnic tables before entering Marshall's Arm Nature reserve which was designated in 1998.

The "Arm" is a reference to the arm of the river which was left after the straightening of the Weaver in 1730 and took two years. 

The Marshall family owned the estate from the 1700's to the 1900's. They were salt magnates and lived at Hartford Green Bank Manor from 1774.

There is lots to see in the reserve apart from the wildlife and plant life. It's a great place to go for a gentle walk or for peace and quiet. There are many features worth searching out, for example the Mousey, Sliding Gates and Pignut Hill to mention just a few.

Heron Gates with Rufus looking for a leg I presume.

Petrichor emanating from the drying rushes.

We followed the arm as it wound its way down to the Blue Bridge which carries the A556 road. Plenty of people were out taking advantage of the wonderful weather we were having. We were gifted with a swan fly past but I wasn't quick enough to capture it on camera. I did catch them on the bank though.

The Blue Bridge or it's proper name Hartford Bridge, it has Art Deco abutments but they are covered with foliage. It's such a shame to hide them. The council should cut it back.

The route continues for a short distance following the weaver then it enters the woodland of Vale Royal and under a second viaduct which now carries the West Coast Main Line. It was built by Joseph Locke in 1837, in turn we passed through the Vale Royal Golf Course. This place has the wow factor. It also gave me our first tractor photo opportunity. The 19th hole was originally a section of St. Mary's monastery. Now it is very posh apartments.

The Cistercian monastery was founded by King Edward 1 in the 1270's. It was the largest Cistercian monastery/abbey in England and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538 and partially demolished. Other parts were converted into a mansion.

The mansion was converted and bought by Thomas Holcroft in 1540. The Cholmondeley family took it over in 1615 with Mary residing there. It stayed in the family for over 300 years. We came across the Cholmondeleys at Holford Hall in the previous stage of the walk. 

Vale Royal Woodland.

The Viaduct built to carry the L&NWR Grand Junction Line. Now the West Coast Main Line.

Small Kubota L4630 with mower attached.

Vale Royal Apartments.

We made our way through Vale Royal with it's new houses built to represent far older style properties which would blend in with the area. Properties here cost over £1 million. Our route now passed the backs of the new houses down Vale Royal Drive and came out at Whitegate opposite St. Mary's church. On the way a huge tree had fallen over, the rootball didn't seem to have deep roots and the soil was very sandy.

The root ball.

St. Mary's Anglican Church Whitegate. A chapel has been on this site sine 1277.

We left Whitegate by Mill Lane, passed the Old Smithy and following Pettypool Brook. Another downed tree hid the path and we diverted up hill until we realised we needed to go back to the fallen tree and get over it. On our left was the stylish Bark House which was aptly named as the dogs were barking loudly as we passed. 

Path following Pettypool Brook

How could we possibly loose the path through there?

Leaving the woodland behind and entering open farm land a stile gave us access to cross a couple of fields leading to Gale Green Farm, a very tidy establishment with dedicated footpath corridors surrounded by electric fencing to stop passers bye feeding the horses. 

Bark House.

Under coming the electric fencing.

The actual footpath on the ground across the fields was non existent due to ploughing and reseeding. We did our best to stick to the digital footpath across.

Well corralled footpath.

At the end of the fields and across a set of concrete steps which were obviously remains of an old railway line we did in fact descend to the abandoned line. This line was part of the Cheshire Lines Railway but today it forms part of the Whitegate Way. The line was opened in 1870 and it served mainly the salt industry. It was closed to passengers in 1931 and then completely in 1968.

The trackbed now has become a well used scenic trail and the station at Whitegate has become a cafe and picnic area. It is also a car park access point.

We were now moving at quite a pace and with chatting and being new to the area we missed another turning off point. After a couple of hundred yards we retraced our tracks and headed towards a series of small lakes on what used to be Newchurch Common. One of them having the strange name The Reeking Hole. It gave us a bit of a break from the old railway trail anyway. Lost in the foliage were two old bale conveyors which I'm sure Conrad will find of interest.

Broom in bloom.

Old conveyors. (no names on them).

I kept an eye out for any railway memorabilia but apart from the concrete steps of which there were quite a few, very little remains. There is an old loading gauge somewhere near Whitegate Station but I didn't see it. Below is a photograph of it taken by Robin Harrison on Facebook.

The interesting Loading Gauge used to make sure wagons could get through bridges etc. Must be quite a unique structure today.

Old Whitegate station.

Another section of Whitegate Way track brought us out at Ravensclough. A delightful hamlet with banks of daffodils. My legs had started to ache especially the shin which I damaged in a fall a few weeks ago so I was glad that we reached the main road in Cuddington. It was uphill and Martin said that we had six minutes to reach the station or we would have to wait another hour for the train. With about three hundred yards to go we did a bit of a yomp and reach the platform just as the train came around the corner.

Bluebells out early.

We all look a bit tired and even Rufus had a lie down in the carriage. 

The Route 19.36km.

Thanks Martin for devising the route and everyone for their company.