Tarcre two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Tarcre here.

Tarporley was a very pleasant and well-to-do place to start from, and had lots of shops, pubs, cafés etc. Crewe had some good pubs at the end, but they needed hunting out! We enjoyed Hops Belgian Bar just after passing the bus station. There were also several options en-route. There’s a café at Calverley, accessed from the towpath at 30% through the route, a pub at Barbridge (requiring a short detour), a café with toilets outside it at the Venetian Marina, exactly halfway, and a Garden Centre with café at 75%.
About half of the route is the Shropshire Union Canal including its Middlewich Branch. Disappointingly, most of the towpath was either a bit muddy or else very muddy! There was one field-crossing zone at the Tarporley end, and another soon after leaving the canal heading for Crewe. These were both a bit tricky for route-finding and were not well-used nor obvious, and were mostly either muddy or wet. There were also stiles, steps, and narrow bridges. Most of the rest of the route was very quiet country lanes which felt safe, and also a pleasant line of off-road footpaths into Crewe. The two exceptions were (1) on Lodge Lane between Eaton Lane and the A51outside Tarporley, where the road was closed to traffic due to substantial subsidence, although according the council website, this should be open again by the end of March 2025… and (2) the roads past Leighton Hospital on the way into Crewe, which were fast and busy with no pavement, although there was generally a decent verge – there were some car-centric improvement works going on here.
The canal was very picturesque with some interesting canal structures and history, and there were occasional nice views across the Cheshire Plain to Beeston and Peckforton hills and castles.
A humorous highlight for me was seeing a boat called the Drunken Snailer, which felt very appropriate for us!
I have to say I was hoping for a bit better from this route, but I guess in the summer there may not be as much mud, and the two sets of roadworks, when complete, may improve things.

A slightly mixed bag of a route. Very easy to follow and varied but the going was very soft on some very boggy towpaths. Starting in Tarporley, the route mainly follows pavements and then quiet lanes. Worth noting that the lane northwest of Tilstone Fearnall had partly subsided but could be climbed. Field walking is kept to a minimum (fine by me) and the only sections are between the A51 and joining the canal section and between leaving the canal section and crossing the A530. There are some great views of Beeston Castle at the Tarporley end of the walk. As mentioned in my intro, the towpaths were very boggy and were rather hard going. The walk is pretty safe, although particular care is needed when crossing the A51 and there is a section of road walking required along the B5076 at the Crewe end. There are steps and stiles. Refreshments and toilets are well represented on this route. There are multiple places for food and refreshments in Tarporley. There are toilets and a cafe at the canal services in Calveley. At half way is a canalside cafe, the Oriental Tea Rooms, where we stopped for lunch (recommended). Food is served at the Garden Centre at Bradfield Green. There are multiple refreshment options in Crewe, it's worth noting that, in my opinion, the best places are in the town centre, in the vicinity of the Bus Station, which is about 2km from the finish at the railway station. Definitely a good way to walk between Tarporley and Crewe.

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