NCN 6 Manchester to Preston — Where my wheels go

Stage 7
Manchester to Preston
Although a short stage, (if you are riding the whole of the NCN 6), there is a great deal to enjoy, not least the riding in deeply wooded valleys, which alternate (after the climbs!) with fine moorland views. The route is through the old industrial heart of Lancashire and there are many remnants of the past, not least the wonderful Manchester Science and Industry Museum and the Helmshore Textile Museum. Much of the riding is off road, alongside canals and old railway tracks both of variable quality, but as ever with the National Cycle Network, all the tracks are rideable with touring bikes whose tyres are 28mm or more. The centre of the towns through which the route passes are, like the views, grand Impressive Victorian civic buildings dominate places such as Bury and Accrington. Away from the grand edifices, the cobbled backstreets with their terraced housing still exist and provide the archetypal foreground to the rising moorlands behind. Until the far side of Blackburn, the route is virtually all traffic-free. It is a lovely, and very varied ride, and worth taking time over.

Ride details
Distance:80km
Start: Manchester Science and Industry Museum
Finish: Preston Town Hall
Nearest Mainline station: Manchester, Deansgate
Nearest Mainline to the finish: Preston
Time needed: 1 day. (riding time approx. 4 hours) Plenty of attractions to stop off at along the way.
Difficulty: Moderate. Riding on cobbled paths can be tiring and there are a few steep pulls along the route.
Traffic and Surfaces: Shared paths, quiet country lanes, canal and railways paths. Section between Blackburn and Preston is on roads without NCN signage, where traffic can be fast.
Cycle Paths: NCN 6, NCN 622 (The Guild Wheel, a 21 mile circular ring of Preston)
Recommended café/restaurant stops; There are plenty of options on route. Preston has a range of eating
Recommended Stay; Aparthotel - No.10 Preston. Another excellent and very spacious Aparthotel.
What to see: Blackburn Cathedral, Industrial architecture of textile mills, Wet Earth Colliery.
What to visit (£): Manchester; Science and Industry Museum, The John Rylands Library, The Manchester Museum, The National Football Museum, Manchester Art Gallery, People’s History Museum. Helmshore; Textile Museum, Hoghton; Hoghton Tower, Salmesbury; Salmesbury Hall.

Links to Stage 6 and Stage 8

Bury
The route out of Manchester is mainly on traffic-free paths, including the Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal with its still intact cobble stones. You pass near to the Wet Earth Colliery which is one of Britain’s first deep coal mines and where James Brindley famously made water flow uphill. You cycle through a post-industrial landscape, which has its own appeal, to Bury. There are some fine civic buildings in Bury and its a nice place to wander. It’s market on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays is ‘world famous’ according to the Tourist Office(!) and is famed locally for supplies of Black Pudding.

Accrington
The route to Accrington is mainly traffic-free and runs alongside canals and on sections of old railways. You ride through steep sided valleys with views of the surrounding moors. The Helmshore Textile Museum is well worth stopping if only to see the old machinery in noisy action.

Blackburn
There is no NCN6 signage between Blackburn and Preston. The route described below uses as quiet a selection of back lanes as possible. The historical houses of Hoghton Tower and the spectacular Samlesbury Hall - with its Great Hall dating from 1325, are good places to stop off at. Blackburn City Centre is not conducive to traffic-free cycling. There are many mills along the route, some crumbling into ruin, some restored and re-purposed into flats.

Preston
Preston, like Manchester, has a cycling ring road - the NCN 622, which is known as the Guild Wheel - which is as smooth and as wonderful as any cyclist could dream of. Once on it, you’ll pick up signs for the NCN 6 which leads you into the centre of the city. Preston, despite winning Golden City status in 2002 and becoming Britain’s 50th City, it wears its long neglect warily. It’s in need of some love and significant investment.