Enjoy a Marvellous Day Out in Greenbank on the Mid Cheshire Line
John Tackley, Chairman of the River Weaver Navigation Society says:
“The River Weaver has a fascinating history and has played a significant role in shaping Northwich. Visit the River. Enjoy, then tell your family and friends.”
In our Marvellous Days Out booklet, John Hulme says:
As a lad, I spent many an hour at Greenbank Station spotting trains.
In those days, it was called Hartford and Greenbank and my memories include helping the porter and sitting in his mess room keeping warm in front of a roaring coal fire.
Who would have thought then the station building would become a Church?
Greenbank is your Mid Cheshire Line station if you want to discover the River Weaver.
The Greenbank Rail Trail in our “Rail Walks in Cheshire West” booklet provides you with a circular route that takes you down to the banks of the River Weaver and through the Marshall’s Arm Nature Reserve.
On your walk, you will see in the distance the mighty viaduct which takes the Mid Cheshire Line over the River Weaver and the adjacent River Dane.
Built in 1860 of red sandstone, blue brick and iron it is about 900 metres long with 48 arches. It sits about 12 metres above the Weaver’s water level.
Most people who take this walk fall in love with the river but know little about its route and history.
The river rises in the Peckforton Hills, flows south towards Audlem and then turns north over the Cheshire Plain, passing through Nantwich, Winsford and Northwich. It joins the River Mersey close to Frodsham.
To find out more about the river’s history and its impact on Northwich and the surrounding area, why not extend the route of your walk and visit Weaver Hall Museum which sits below the viaduct?
If you walk towards the viaduct you will see Hunts Lock. Cross the lock and the Riversdale Bridge into the Crescent and where it joins London Road you will find the Museum.
The Museum was a former workhouse and is a great place to learn about the social, cultural and industrial history of West Cheshire.
There is lots to see and discover and there is a coffee shop and gift shop – and toilets for your convenience!
