Swing bridges, such as this one at Acton Bridge, provided the necessary head room for steam-powered boats to navigate the river.

Alderley Edge woods and walks are extremely popular with locals so weekends are busy, but that's when you'll be able to buy a cuppa and find out more about the Wizard.

Look out for this medieval waymarker.

Plenty of energy is needed to get to the top of this hill but the consolation is the beautiful woods around you.

A delightful village on the edge of Congleton, complete with a historic church, a rare green, and a pub, providing a sanctuary from the A34 and a back route to Congleton railway station and town centre, passing a garden centre cafe along the way.

Audlem is a small canal-side town with plenty of interest plus places to stock up on refreshements.

A pretty little hamlet despite the grim history, so don't begrudge the short detour from the cycleway to visit it.

For an airy view of Cheshire, take the short detour from the cycleway to the foot of this rocky outcrop, take a deep breath and stride up to the top.

Bollington's industrial heritage is clear from the cottages crammed together in narrow streets, plus towering mills.

Budworth Mere is an impressive stretch of water viewed from the cycleway vantage point.

A good starting point for the cycleway if you're arriving by train, although the route is not marked from the station. Go straight on when exiting the station, then first right into Crewe Street. At the T junction, go ahead between the bollards, where there's a cycle sign. At the next T junction, turn left (into Egerton Street although it's not named here) and continue to the canal bridge, where you can join the towpath and the Cheshire Cycleway.

Congleton offers plenty to keep body and soul together with plenty of ATMs for cash, pubs, cafes and shops for refreshments, cycle shops and a mainline railway station.

There's something for everyone at Delamere Forest - ice cream and tea rooms, shady trails, wildlife and Roman relics.

There's a lot to look at in and around Gawsworth so make some time to stop here. The cycleway passes Maggoty's Wood and gravestone, with Gawsworth Hall and village just a short detour away.

Great Budworth village is picture postcard perfection with its old main street lined with half-timbered houses. Searching out the rhyming squire's poetry is the perfect excuse for visiting the bar here.

A little bit of religious history tucked away on Merryman's Lane, Great Warford.

Get away from the traffic in these sheltered gardens.

Head for Hassall Green for a breather and refreshments with the added entertainment of the narrowboaters on the canal. The nearby Salt Line provides an off-road shortcut to Alsager centre with its shops and railway station.

An oddly isolated market town without a market (although there's a Cheshire cheese specialist), it's notable in our minds as the place where we couldn't get a pub meal. Maybe it's changed since then? Let us know.

Mouldsworth has a motor museum.

Find time to stroll down to the mere below the church and enjoy the wildlife.

Marton is another chocolate box village of black and white buildings, plus a thriving Cheshire crafts and foods centre with cafe and ice cream shop.

The cycleway crosses the Middlewood Way south of Bollington and provides a direct traffic-free route to Macclesfield railway station and town centre.

Good views, glorious gardens, refreshments, what more could you want?

There's a gem of a mill at Nether Alderley, so in keeping with the land around that it looks like it's grown there. Unfortunately it's slap bang on the busy A34, but worth the half-mile detour from the cycleway.

They take their ice cream seriously in Parkgate, which is a wonderfully airy seaside resort without the sea. Enjoy the light that only the coast can give, and people watch, or if there's a rare high tide, bird watch too.

An 18th century animal pound is tucked away on this old country lane.

A wealthy corner of Cheshire this, with plenty of Chelsea tractors, so take care. There's a railway station here, with an intermittent service.

St Michael's and All Angels' church on its hill is a landmark on the route.

White Nancy is the white dome on the northern end of Kerridge Hill above Bollington. Visible from miles around, it's worth abandoning your bike to puff your way up to it and take in the views.

If industrial heritage is your thing, then you'll find the detour along Windmill Lane fascinating.

Make the most of this linear country park to cut across the countryside on a traffic-free route.

Wrenbury appears to be a sleepy village from the road, but shows a different face from its bustling canal side.

Just off the cycleway and a landmark, Cheshire's very own leaning tower can be contemplated while enjoying a drink and a meal at the nearby pub.

This peaceful valley is a joy to cycle in.