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Ralph Cox•Follow
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August 22, 2022

Corner to Corner, Day 22: Warrington to Garstang

https://www.cycling4charity.org.uk Leaving Warmshowers where slept well for breakfast with friends, most of the day's route was better than anticipated, particularly our section of the Sankey Way. The first section of Leeds to Liverpool Canal was paved. Need ro replace most of the second unpaved section from the road bit by Arley Lane to the bit bythe M6/A6 junction ??: footpath too bumpy, more puncture risk than necessary. First proper rainfall - torrential - coming out of Preston, and like Moses in the desert, wondered quite a bit before identifying the right way. Great talks on route, including with JW, considering something like C2C for next year. He acknowledged and appreciated doing it for a children's charity. Wet through on arrival. Washed all the kit in the bath. Mind beat need over supper- too much grease! Loving friend Anisa strives to get me replacement cycling mits.
Distance
58.0 mi
Elev Gain
1,909 ft
Time
6h 17m
Closest I am.likely to get to the Manchester Ship Canal, which opened for business in 1894 - from the bottom of my Warmshowers' host's garden. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal
Manchester Ship Canal - looking east north east towards Manchester
And west south west towards Liverpool
The bridge over, looking north-north-west
South of the bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal.
One of the residents was 40 a few days ago, said a neighbour.
Beginning of the Sankey Way. Lots of photos of the surface. I was relieved that the whole section on our route had good surfaces, unlike in various YouTube videos.
Looking back. The Sankey Way is the right hand tarmacked bit.
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Tarmac became compacted gravel. The structure is over Newton Brook.
We crossed this Newton Brook, then cycled beside the Sankey Canal, also known as St Helen's Canal, from its eastern start for about a mile. Sankey Canal was England's first modern canal in the Industrial Revolution, opening in 1757 and finally being abandoned in 1963, before restoration projects from 1985 onwards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankey_Canal
Hard surface again beside the Sankey Canal.
After we had crossed over to the other side of the Sankey Canal, going in the opposite direction, before leaving it to cycle north east. Jon is in this photo.
Then we got on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and for miles, it was brick-paved. This was towards Leeds via Wigan.
Towards Liverpool
Towards Leeds
Scotsman's Flash, used for sailing and other watersports. Advertised as 10 mins from Wigan centre. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=Scotman%27s+Flash&title=Special%3ASearch&fulltext=1&ns0=1
Mini series of continual locks like the Caen Hill Locks (Day 3), but we turned off here for route though a park before rejoining further towards Leeds
Our route is no longer paved and becomes increasingly rough after this section with Haigh Hall Golf Course on the right.
Rather than follow the planned route (left onto Red Rock Lane to join the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Union Railway, aka Whelley Loop Line and now NCN Route 55. https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-55/ ), our majority vote was to continue along the towpath to Adlington Marina where we would lunch with Anisa. Whilst it was fine initially, it soon deteriorated and we left after a mile for fear of punctures. Yet when we re-joined the proper route as shown in this photo, it was also unsatisfactory, and as this YouTube video records, the whole route from where we would have joined is of similar condition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVDWWmlNe58 I will explore replacing this. It remained so all the way to Adlington Marina - we lunched in the cafe - and for the mile after. By which time, Plan B was Roxie and Google Maps to Avenham Park Cafe in Preston, as the first 25 miles had taken 4+ hours by 13.50.
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