North Cheshire Way (Chester Spur)

This linear spur of the North Cheshire Way threads through the western fringes of Chester, linking canal-side heritage with the city's historic core. Starting near the David Kinsell Memorial, the path traces Finchett's Gutter before opening out at Taylors Graving Dock, a reminder of Chester's shipbuilding past on the Shropshire Union Canal.

From the waterside the route heads towards the medieval Water Tower, part of Chester's celebrated city walls, then follows Hoole Way beneath the ring road and out through the streets north of the centre. Along the way you pass the Stanley Arms and the statue of Thomas Brassey, the great Victorian railway contractor born in Cheshire.

At six miles with only modest ascent, it makes a satisfying half-day outing that stitches together canal, wall and cityscape. Small detours reward the curious: The Belvedere and the Lead Shot Tower stand nearby, along with the War Memorial and the quiet Life for a Life and Fallen for the Fallen commemorative plantings.