FC'S SATDY, HEINZ, HAIGH, WOODS AND CANALS

PLEASE NOTE - Although we have a few days dry weather before Satdy, I would recommend bringing a cover for your car seat and journey home should we encounter any mud :)
Winstanleys Bikes have kindly allowed us to use their car park and this is where our Satdy adventure starts!
This ride is suited to MTB's, Hybrids and Cyclocross bikes as over half of the ride is on canal paths. We ride at a relaxed pace, no racing and no one is left behind.
We head off down and around the DW & Robin Park Stadium and hop on the tow paths of the Liverpool to Leeds canal to cover a 10-12-mile section of the longest canal in Northern England, at 127mile long. Within a couple of miles, we pass Wigan Pier and have our bones shaken up by the cobbles for a couple of small sections.
After a 4 mile, relaxing start and having had the opportunity to warm our legs, joints and open our lungs, we reach Lock Britannia Bridge (A573) and begin a climb out of Wigan to the famous "Top Lock 65" and its stunning views.
Staying on the canal paths, we cycle close to Haigh Hall Country Park and over the towpath bridge across the entrance to the former Basin Quay at Haigh Hall.
For the next ten miles, we take in much rural scenery with views towards Standish and Worthington to start, then the Marina and bridges around Adlington & Heath Charnock and onto the wooded area as the canal skirts the eastern edge of Chorley.
The ride takes us under the M61 and we are presented with the fantastic old mill, Botany Bay, that is now used as a retail village and has many attractions during the year including the canal boat festival that is set for the Bank Holiday Weekend around the end of August each year – a great family day out!
After climbing a small hill from the canal, we cross the A6 and head down into Buckshaw Village using the Cycling paths
Then…. here’s what you’ve been waiting for, its lunch time!! an opportunity to replenish our energy levels and get to know one another a little better. I will find a suitable pit stop as the place we have stopped in the past has been closed during covid!
And we are off again – we wind our way through the next section using the cycle routes where we pass Charnock Richard and head into and through Coppull.
Once through Coppull, we head onto the A49 for approximately 1.25mile and it is recommended we stay in single file on what can be a busy road. Our ride then heads off through to Shevington Moor where we need to keep our wits about us as we cover a small section of a busy junction.
To finish the ride, we head back onto the canal for a short distance then rise from behind the Heinz factory onto Formarts Road where any rider with strength in their legs can compete in a final sprint up the hill to the car park!
PLEASE check your bikes the night before and ensure you have suitable spare inner tubes, repair kits etc.
I look forward to seeing everybody on Saturday or Satdy as its known!
Any last minute issues or if you are unable to make the ride on the morning please call me on 07939 098220