You don’t have to battle with the cars and buses on a cycle ride. Take a spin on one of the car-free family-friendly routes across the county ACTIVE Pedal Power You can see two countries in one day on an 8-mile trail from Chester to Connah’s Quay, which follows a disused railway. Or try the Dee Marshes Route from Chester to Neston, a specially constructed path that crosses the marsh on a boardwalk at one point. These are just two of the routes in and around the city championed by the Chester Cycling Campaign. The campaign group, along with the University of Chester, has created a London Underground-style map that acts as a handy guide to the cycle network, including traffic-free and segregated routes. Warrington also has a useful guide, the Warrington Cycle Map. The 6.5-mile Biddulph Valley Way connects Cheshire to Staffordshire as part of National Cycle Route 55. Trains once shuttled coal along this flat track between the Potteries and Congleton, which passes through woods carpeted in bluebells and anemones in spring and crosses embankments to offer wide views of the surrounding landscape. More well-made paths along disused railway tracks can be found at the 1.8-mile Salt Line, between Hassall Green and Alsager, and the connecting Wheelock Rail Trail, a 1.25-mile route from Ettiley Heath to Malkins Bank near Sandbach. The Salt Line is a reminder of the importance of brine extraction in this county. The path also passes Borrow Pit Meadows, a nature reserve where an old sand quarry has been flooded to provide a home for fish and a favourite landing spot for Canada geese and other waterfowl. Both are part of National Cycle Route 5. Take a tour of the historic mill towns in the east of the county on the Middlewood Way, an old railway that now provides a traffic-free connection between Macclesfield and Marple. The 10-mile route calls by Middlewood, Poynton and Bollington. Are those ghost trains you can hear or the wind in the trees at the Whitegate Way? For almost a century, the 6-mile line carried salt from Winsford to Cuddington for its onward journey via the Chester-Manchester railway. Check out the pretty community café in the former station at Whitegate, which serves reviving cups of tea and delicious home-made cakes. A short hop along the road connects you to the Weaver Parkway, a 2.4-mile path along the river after which it’s named. The legacy of Cheshire’s salt industry can be spied here, too, in the unusual plant life. Where industrial waste has been dumped, lime beds Fancy more of a challenge? Cheshire is known for its Plain but there are steep ascents of the Sandstone and Gritstone ridges, too. The cross-county Cheshire Cycleway at 176 miles offers lots of possibilities and you can follow the coast around the Wirral peninsula on The Wirral Circular. Several National Cycle Network routes also touch the county. For more details, go to: sustrans.org.uk and visitwirral.com. The long and winding roads Cycling isn’t just about getting from A to B or giving your body a good workout – so say fans of slow cycling. Just like slow food and slow travel, slow cycling is all about enjoying the ride rather than trying to be the fastest or go the furthest. Instead, choose your route and soak up the atmosphere, take in the views, listen to the sounds of nature, stop to eat local food and visit places that catch your eye along the way. Devotees of slow cycling promise your rewards won’t only be a different perspective on the landscape but a true sense of freedom. Take it slow Cycle hire Chester Cycle Hirechestercyclehire.com K Cycleskcycles.com Tracsthurstastonbikes.co.uk Cheshire Cycle Hirecheshirecyclehire.co.uk Tracsdelamerebikes.co.uk Bollington Boats & Bikesbollington-wharf.com 32/36