The route follows a circular path clockwise. Some sections can be very wet underfoot if there has been a lot of rain.
[1] Turn left out of car park along the cobbles of Pepper Street. Pass Grove Rise on the left. After 200m cross the road to turn right into Longbutt Lane that winds uphill between a wall on your right and an earth bank on the left (ignore the road to the right marked “The Peppers”). On reaching steps in the wall on your right go up them, taking the path straight ahead towards the houses. The path soon reaches the tarmac of The Crescent. Continue up the slope to reach the main road (Higher Lane). There is a small shop on the corner.
[2] Cross the road with care (the road is busy) turn left and immediately right into Tower Lane. Where Tower Lane bends to the left continue straight ahead along a narrow path between the water tower and a bungalow. On reaching the field turn left and after a further 60 m follow the track right down the field. 400m further on the track bends right and skirts round the houses on the left to reach Crouchley Lane.
(A) Lymm Water Tower is a semi-rural retreat. Once a derelict Grade II listed water tower, this finalist in the 2006 Grand Designs Awards has been renovated with a double-height glass extension and decked out in uber-chic luxury. Taking minimalism and mod cons to extremes, in stylish, spacious living areas, under-floor-heating and stunning suites.
[3] On meeting the tarmac of Crouchley Lane, turn left down into a dip and up again, turning left at the top. At Yew Tree Farm the road bends right and in 350m left again.
[4] After a further 140 m turn right down an un-named narrow road that leads over Mag Brook. Continue along this road.
[5] Immediately after a left bend there is a stile on the right leading to a footpath across the adjoining field. The path can be a bit indistinct at times depending on the crop. Keep close to the hedge on the right. At corner of hedge strike straight across the field making for the gap in the trees ahead. If there is a crop a path is nearly always left through it. The path leads to a wood plank bridge over a stream and then a stile. After crossing the stile the path is directly ahead but may be indistinct. You are aiming for a point slightly to the left of the right hand edge of the deciduous copse which lies ahead. Make for the edge of this copse and a few meters in from the edge you will find a stile. If you have walked more than 200m from the stream you have gone too far!
[6] Enter the copse over the stile and follow the path around to the left that can be quite overgrown through a pheasant rearing area. (Do not cross the stream). The path soon reaches a wide open field, via a stile. Enter the field and walk forward keeping close to the boundary on the right. After 120m the footpath takes a sharp turn to the left straight across the field. There is a marker post in the hedge on the right but the way through the crop can be indistinct. Usually the track of other walkers can be discerned. Make for the blue M Way sign if in doubt. If the field has been ploughed recently it can be muddy. Continue across the field and on reaching the M56 turn right and following the line of the M Way continue to reach the A50 and turn right. Pause to admire the view towards Winter Hill on your right.
[7] After 500 m there is a footpath sign on the right over a stile. Take this and, bearing very slightly left, make for a stile in the opposite hedge. Bear right after passing the stile and make for another stile in the hedge ahead. Cross it and turn left onto the track and then almost immediately cross another stile. Keep straight ahead with a ditch on your right down towards the woods of The Bongs and Lymm Dam. This field has wet sections whatever the weather. Enter the wood over a stile, turning left and then right to follow the path that can also be very waterlogged.
(B) ‘Bongs’ is a mediaeval Cheshire dialect word (corrupted from ‘le bancs’) which means ‘wooded banks’. The Bongs is one of only a handful of areas of semi-ancient woodland in the Borough of Warrington (the phrase ‘semi ancient’ means the woodland itself is older than the oldest trees in it). The wood is privately owned but a public footpath runs through it .
[8] The path has steps leading to a board walk over some open water (take care). After crossing the water there are a number of paths to take but they all end up at the same place. The path up the steps ahead is the straightest. Continue through The Bongs until it emerges onto a crossing track over Crossfield Bridge.
(C) At the beginning of the twentieth century, George Dewhurst sold Beechwood Estate* (of which Lymm Dam was a part) to William Lever. William Lever intended to make considerable changes to the area and develop the site into housing for his workers. Lever’s proposed development was to be based around three roads, (currently Lakeside Road, The Avenue and the bridleway running along the eastern boundary of Lymm Dam). The roads were to meet at the Crossfield Bridge and were planted with alternating Lombardy poplar and English elm. The elms unfortunately succumbed to Dutch elm disease in the 1980s but the poplars remain. The bridge itself was constructed just after the First World War, the work being carried out by local contractors Harry Fairclough.
Cross the track and continue along a gravel path through the oak and beech wood. At the wooden bridge, ignore the path to the right. Pause to admire the view over the Dam towards St Mary's Church before eventually reaching the main road.
(D) History of Lymm Dam
In the early 19th century, the Warrington and Stockport Turnpike Trust constructed the road which became the present day A56. On the Lymm section of the road, theTrust had to find a way to cross the ‘pool and stream’ in the valley below St Mary’s Church. In order to do this, an earth dam was constructed across the valley in 1824. As a consequence, the lake we now call Lymm Dam was created. A toll bar was situated on the church slope and this section of the road is still sometimes referred to as ‘Penny Hill’.
[9] Cross the main road where the pavement has been dropped and go through the archway opposite and down the steep steps (take care). Follow the path ahead that soon skirts Lymm Lower Dam on the right. On reaching the road through the village turn right and make for the cross at the centre of the village. Pepper Street and the starting point can be seen ahead.
(E) The purpose of the cross remains a mystery. Many have commented that it resembles a market cross in a market square but there is no evidence that there has ever been a market in Lymm. The Cross may originally have been built to mark as a meeting place or a designated point for religious services before the church in Lymm existed. It is also rumoured that the sandstone base of the historic Lymm sandstone cross, was part of the original shrine to Minerva who was the Roman goddess of Wisdom, arts and trades. All that is known for sure however is that the distinctive sandstone landmark can be traced back to the 14th century.