| OS Route Map → |  |
GPX Route file → |
Date: 16 Aug 2023
Start: Runcorn station/ Finish: Altrincham.
Maps: Explorer 267, 275, 276, 268.
| Day 1 | Runcorn to Appleton | 11.6 miles (18.7km) |
| Day 2 | Appleton to Altrincham | 15.1miles (24.4km) |
A few photos from a 2-day walk of the Mersey Valley Timberland Trail (MVTT), a route of ~21m (~34km) from Runcorn Hill to Oughtrington near Lymm, extended to start at Runcorn station and continue from Oughtrington to Altrincham.
Note:- On Hall Lane east of Daresbury, the public footpath was closed and barred at SJ 58676 83101, an attached notice of dry council-speak giving the details for those with the patience to read it, but no suggested diversion or map. We backtracked to the B5356 and walked eastwards towards Hatton and northwards to rejoin the route just south of Hatton Lodge. The OS map above shows the official trail route.
The trail is very sparsely waymarked as such in the eastern half and not at all in the west, as far as we could tell, though some faded illegible waymarks might have done so. The actual route sometimes varies in minor detail from the line shown on OS mapping, our map above shows these small deviations as accurately as we can remember them.
With a mixed weather forecast of sunshine and occasional showers, we dusted off this local trail from our bottom drawer of factory seconds, a route of variable character that starts at a small green high oasis in urban Runcorn and passes through town parks to more rural Cheshire countryside and ending near Lymm, the highlights being the fine woodlands, some managed by the Woodland Trust. The weather was much better than expected with no rain and quite hot on the second day.
Pitching on this type of low level trail is often hit and miss, the possibilities appearing very grim for a while in the evening, but we eventually found an excellent woodland pitch, albeit a dark one - this was the first time we needed head torches to pitch with the sun still shining.
From the station we ascended Balfour Street towards Runcorn Hill and the start of the trail. This is a small attractive area that has a car park and a maze of paths, little hope of finding a marked start point - we just walked around the southern end for a good view westwards and past a sandstone cliff to descend, crossing our ascent route to head eastwards towards Stenhills.
Following a cycleway through Town Park we reached more rural walking at Windmill Hill wood, the Bridgewater canal and the woodlands of Daresbury Firs (Keckwick Hill).
A lovely warm setting awaited us at Appleton lake for evening eats, sitting on the shoreline with a pleasing sky in the company of a pair of dozing mallards. We pressed on quickly as prospects for a secluded pitch were running very thin, but a bold venture yielded a superb woodland spot invisible from paths, just big enough for the tent and adequate room for entry and exit. The photo makes it look a lot brighter than it was, but after a bit of clearance work it was highly comfortable and flat without any pegs. Of course we had Mrs. Tawny Owl occasionally screeching in the night (and the odd earwig etc.)
We broke camp early for a slightly elevated view westwards and resumed the trek eastwards towards Lumb Brook Valley and The Dingle, a lovely wooded ravine and locally very popular with some early visitors already.
Next are the Grappenhall woodlands: Grappenhall Heys and Grappenhall Wood, both managed by the Woodland Trust.
A section of the Bridgewater Canal leads to a zigzag ascent of Booths Hill and the top of Lymm Dam, a honeypot area with many walkers and strollers enjoying the fine woodland paths leading down to Lymm village.
The last section heads eastwards along Pepper Street to rejoin the canal and pass through Spud Wood, surprisingly popular despite its very small size with various paths that lead to Grantham Bridge and the trail finish.
We continued along the canal to very familiar local territory at Dunham and walked through the golf course to Altrincham.
