(Click on
to see a map of the start location.)
Connah's Quay car park.
GR 299 698, OS Sheet 117.
The car park is not clearly signposted and is accessed through an industrial estate.
22km for the return trip to Chester. There is the option to return from Chester by rail.
Entire route is off road on cycle track. Track is smooth and mainly wide, suitable for either skate or classic.
As Chester is approached the track narrows as it runs alongside the canal and there is no fence between you and a cooling dip. Used by walkers and cyclists. The last couple of hundred metres to the city walls must be walked as the surface is rough and/or cobbled.
At the halfway point you are just outside the walls of Chester. A few minutes brings you to North Gate and a selection of cafes and shops.
From the car park head a short distance along the river under the bridge then curve right and up over the cycle bridge (gritted wood surface) , over the river then straight on following the cycle track. after about 9km a sharp right turn leads you down to the canal. Turn left along the canal and into Chester.
Michael and Helen Smith,
Lakeland XC Ski Club