Kieran Day 6 Northwich to Blackburn

Another sunny day!

Set off late 11.30am having got Doron's spoke fixed and had a leisurely coffee in Northwich.We then traversed many lanes and the odd A road to Blackburn.
The cycle magazines discuss at length where and how to cross the River Mersey so we decided not to worry about getting lost in Runcorn or Widnes and took instead a northerly route down lots of lanes through Arley Hall, skirting Lymm to the east and on up to Leigh. I recall at some stage a long toll bridge crossing a canal (The Manchester Ship Canal ), but it looked just like any canal to me!

Apart from that sights were few and far between. The route was surprisingly hilly and therefore tougher than we had expected (need to sharpen up my map reading skills) . There were a few stunning views the there was Bolton and other not very pleasant towns.

We pressed on from Leigh north and west of Bolton, to Bury and on the B6214 through Hallingden (a big mountain !) through Accrington to our stop with friends at Great Harwood overlooking the Ribble Valley.
.
Tomorrow is our first scheduled day off so we are off to the pub to enjoy ourselves and forget the odd twinges in knees, shoulders and backs that have crept in...funny how legs don't ache!

Statistics
Miles today 55
Miles so far 464.3
Time in saddle 4 hours 30 mins
Average 12.2 mph
Max speed 30.1mph