Day 21 Nantwich to Warrington
Weather: cloudy with sunny periods. A few showers.
H22 L14 humidity 84%. Wind >5 kph
Departure: Premier Inn Nantwich
Destination: private home in Warrington
Proposed distance: 32 mi 51.6 km
Proposed ascent: 675 ft
Proposed descent: 850 ft
Good morning / Good day\Today was a bit different from our usual routine. We were meeting two of Ralph’s friends from London, Jon and Anisa, who were joining us for five days. Jon will be cycling with us and Anisa will drive their car with our extra bags.
We met at the grocery store in Nantwich at 10:00 and after shopping and touring the town (Barclay’s Bank where Jon and Anisa opened their first joint bank account) Jon, Ralph and I headed north towards Warrington.
A welcoming square in Nantwich.
Wesleyan Methodist chapel is an example of some churches that have a serenity garden. I took a moment to visit this quiet place on this Sunday morning. It was a small place that had lots of places to sit and perhaps read a book. The community obviously worked to create and maintain the garden.
Serenity garden on a Sunday
Wildflowers at a roundabout
Little bridges over the canals of River Weaver/Weaver Navigation,
The River Weaver at Northwich.
This advertisement on the roadside in Northwich caught my eye. I ride daily during the month of August each year as paer of a fundraiser for cancer research at a children's hospital in Toronto, Canada, affectionately known as “Sick Kids”. This poster struck home on many levels for me.
Bridge at Northwich
Bridge at Weaver Vale
Trail at Witton Brook
We were starting
to get used to seeing Anisa and Aunergine, her car, pass us on the road or pulled over with a trunk full of snack. This time she found an excellent spot at Hunt’s Lock for a picnic lunch.
After our lunch at Hunts Lock we went a few miles “off course” to see the huge Anderton Boat Lift, Ralph will readjust the gpx file for this route to include the lift lock for others.
This is a view from the lower river side.
A boat on the upper canal can enter one of two chambers displacing water. The second chamber is full of water and almost counter balances the one going down. This slight weight imbalance created by pumping water into the chambers is what moves the chambers up and down. Various upgrades and electic additions have been made over the last 100+ years but that is the the main principle.
View of an upper chamber ready for a boat to go through.
Looking up. It is a 15 metre drop.
Boats can easily go in either direction when they exit the locks.
Peaceful trail along a canal
…. Then up on the road
into a rural traffic jam at
milking time.
Rolling roads alongside the grain harvest.
A view of Warrington made Jon jump for joy. We will e ag his cousin’s home very soon.
We were greeted very warmly by Kate, her daughter Bobbie and son Ted. Tea was put on for us, Musical beds involving three homes was orchestrated and Jon, Anisa and I were settled in. Ralph headed to the edge of the Manchester Ship Canal to spend the night with a Warmshowers host.
It was a very good end to an interesting, relaxed riding day.
Lorraine, Warrington