Widwar one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

We set off from Widnes on a beautiful, frosty, misty, sunny morning. It was a bit of a long way round to start with, via a busy complicated road junction with inaccurate plotting. The road crossings all had pedestrian lights and ramped kerbs though.
An off-road cycle track brought us to a gated level crossing (trains seem to be infrequent here I think) then a swing bridge over the disused canal.
The route then followed the Sankey/St Helen’s Canal for most of the way. This was also part of the Trans-Pennine Trail. Other path users were friendly and polite. The path surface was good, with very few puddles considering how much rain we had had in the last few weeks. There were one or two smelly sections though!
We were also generally following the Mersey Estuary, with its saltmarshes, although it was difficult to see most of the time, due to the mist. For a former industrial area, it was surprisingly beautiful and interesting. We even saw a fogbow!
We were too early to take advantage of the Ferry Inn, but what a lovely setting. Currently they don’t do much food though.
We left the canal to pass a recycling centre, before a pleasant woodland walk (some roots across the path) brought us to a suburban cycle track close to the Mersey, with a glimpse across to the old transporter bridge. Another level crossing brought us to the pavement walk into Warrington, past some industry and a park with a fabulous Golden Gate!
I found this to be a very pleasant and interesting walk.

Decent enough walk, mostly along the Sankey Canal, and the best connection to join Widnes with Warrington.

Starting in Widnes, it is well-paved, with ramps at crossings, and the route passes a supermarket and, once over the main road, a pub and fast food outlets. The road through the retail estate, however, is not well-served by ramps, so wheeled users may find the going tricky. Once past the shops, a tarmacced footpath to an unpaved road (although this is mostly closed to traffic) to a gated rail crossing, which brings us onto the canal.

The path is long and straight, with a metalled path with loose stone, running alongside the old canal. It is a green belt between areas of disused industry, including the Fiddler's Ferry power station, to vanish over the next few years. There are nice views over the river, when it meanders close enough, especially at the tempting pub, just past the marina.

Approaching Warrington, I concur with the previous reviewer that the road passing the local tip is best avoided; in fact, at time of survey, it was closed to flood defence works. There is a tarmac path just ahead that leads to a footbridge at the road, from where we wander through a wood on an earthern path, which can be muddy in places. Once clear, it's into a residential area with a tarmac path. Despite new, there's not many ramps at crossings. Once over a level crossing, a paved road walk through an industrial estate then into Warrington town centre itself, with its mixture of shops. The end point is close to both the bus and train station.

Hardly a picturesque route, but the canal is always a good wander, and is well-used by walkers, dogwalkers and cyclists alike. It is 98% accessible; just the lack of ramps in Widnes and the housing in Sankey Bridges make is not totally friendly for wheeled users.

Despite following a disused canal for much of its length, this route never quite manages to escape an urban, industrial feel. The long stretch of canal gets quite same-y and is dominated for the first half by Fiddlers Ferry power station. Nevertheless, there are some nice views across the Mersey estuary and of the new Runcorn bridge, and it is a good direct line between Widnes and Warrington. There is also a handy pub at roughly halfway. Several road crossings at the start, and some awkward route-finding through a retail park. A short section of pavement-less road, just after leaving the canal at Sankey Bridges, can be easily avoided with a short detour, leaving the canal c. 100 yards further on. Probably not suitable for wheelchairs due to several metal gates/barriers.

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