Whitegate Way, Winsford

Six miles of level ground, no gates to wrestle, no hills, and enough length that you can turn round whenever the smallest person has had enough. That is the appeal, and it makes this one of the better free family routes in mid Cheshire.

Whitegate Station is the place to start. The council has developed it into a picnic area with parking and toilets, and the old station house is now the Station House Community Cafe, run by volunteers. A section from there has been surfaced specifically for wheelchairs and pushchairs, which is worth knowing if your usual country walk involves lifting a buggy over a stile.

Terrain varies more than a disused railway suggests. Shaded wooded cuttings in places, open embankments with real views in others. Cyclists and horse riders share it, so keep small children to one side.

The car park is locked in the evening, so read the sign on the gate. The council does not publish a parking charge or the cafe's prices, so take some cash and do not plan around either. A second car park at Bradford Road in Winsford picks up the overflow.

What it costs: Free to use. The council does not publish a parking charge for the Whitegate Station car park, so check the sign on arrival. Prices at the Station House Community Cafe are not published.

Know before you go

Start at Whitegate Station, signed off the A54 south of the A556. That is where the toilets, the cafe and the accessible surfaced section are, and there is a second car park at Bradford Road in Winsford if it is full.
It is an old railway line, so it is flat and straight the whole way. Good for first proper bike rides, less good if you want anything resembling a view for the first mile. Note the locking time on the car park gate before a long summer stretch, unless you fancy the walk back to Winsford.

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