The Bridgewater Way

With highlights including Dunham Massey, Worsley, Chorlton Water Park and many more…

Welcoming both part-time cyclists, lockdown hikers and avid trekkers alike, The Bridgewater Way is a perfect traffic-free route for taking in some of Manchester’s best sights.

65km in length, there’s not many corners of our city you can’t reach with this route.

Following the trail from city centre to Altrincham offers a whole host of pit-stops. From Dunham Massey, to Walton Perk — a proper brew is always in sight!

If you’re starting from town and fancy making a proper day of it, a little further down the route you’ll find Sale Water Park — a mix of urban, woodland and meadows alongside the River Mersey and the canal itself.

It’s an impressive little spot — and if all that cycling has made you a little thirsty, you can stop off at the Boathouse Restaurant for a bev or hot drink… no judgements here.

Following the route towards its end in Runcorn? Make sure you stop off in Worsley along the way. A stroll along the banks of the canal around here is a journey into the past and a glimpse into the future.

Every stretch of the waterway has a story to tell about human ingenuity, endurance and events that shaped our great city.

The Bridgewater Canal was a lifeline for the worksyard — a space now known as Worsley Green. Looking at the beautiful surrounds of Worsley Village today, it’s hard to imagine its setting was once the birthplace of the transport revolution in the 18th century.

Fancy making a proper proper day of it? Stop off at Chorlton Water Park, and you can extend the route as far as you’d like, with great conenctions to more traffic-free routes including the Fallowfield Loop and the Trans Pennine Trail.