NCN 56 - Huyton to Chester

NCN 56 - Huyton to Chester is a 68.3 km road cycling route in North West England with 526 m of climbing, about 17% of it off road, and it splits into a single day at a moderate pace.

St Oswald's Church, Backford
St Oswald's Church, Backford. Photo: Jeff Buck / Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The route runs west from Bowring Park through the southern Liverpool suburbs, drops to the waterfront, and crosses to the Wirral by ferry. On the Wirral the line works through Wallasey and New Brighton before settling into the peninsula's low interior, passing Bidston, Upton and Woodchurch on quiet roads. South of Storeton the ground rises gently toward Thornton Hough and then falls to the Dee shore at Parkgate and Neston. From Little Neston the route cuts east across the Cheshire plain through Willaston and Two Mills to Chester, with the final kilometres through Hoole into the city centre.

Worth knowing before you go

The Mersey crossing is by ferry, so timetables and fares apply before you leave. Resupply is straightforward through Liverpool, Wallasey and Chester, and possible at Neston mid-route, but the stretch between Little Neston and Two Mills is thinly served. About a sixth of the route is off road, so a bike that handles mixed surfaces will suit it better than a pure road machine.

NCN 56 - Huyton to Chester in numbers

Water, food, campsites and stations along this route are shown on the interactive map.

Plan it and ride it

The map on this page carries the surface breakdown, the elevation profile and every point of interest. You can split the route into days against your own pace, see what it will cost to ride, and take it with you. Download the GPX.

Read the NCN 56 - Huyton to Chester route guide.

Getting to the start without flying · Browse all routes

Route from Sustrans.

Compiled by Ed Hunton, Cicerone guidebook author, from TourTrax's own route data.