Congleton Town Council has launched a set of local country walks, aimed at helping people discover and enjoy the town and its diverse green spaces.
The new walks have been published as a map and leaflet entitled ‘Discover Congleton From Your Door’, urging everyone to ‘leave the car at home and go for a walk around our beautiful local countryside.’
The eight walks range from 1.5 to 9 miles in length and include two step-free options. All of them start near housing and public transport in Congleton, and all are circular, allowing leisure-seekers to join at any point.
The leaflet gives clear instructions, and the accompanying map has way markers and colour coding for each route, as well as information about some of the important landmarks, historic structures and local curiosities walkers will encounter along the way.
The project was the brainchild of Cllr Kay Wesley as a legacy of her year as Town Mayor from 2024-25, and the walks were created by Congleton resident Heather Watson.
Cllr Wesley said “I wanted everyone to enjoy our beautiful local countryside and it occurred to me that we have a lot of new residents in the town, as well as visitors, who may not know where these footpaths are. I’ve also spoken to people who have lived here for years and have never heard of the Biddulph Valley Way or Lady Warburton’s Walk.
“You don’t need to jump into your car and go to the Peak District to enjoy the countryside. We have rivers, woods, meadows and lakes right on your doorstep. Walking and wheeling are good for your physical and mental health, and Congleton has lots of interesting landmarks and nature to enjoy.”
Mrs Watson added: “I really enjoyed mapping out this set of walks and there is a lot of variety in them, covering most of the landscape and natural features of Congleton. There are routes up past Congleton Hydro, through the park, along Macclesfield Canal, by the River Dane, in the Town Wood and the woodland of Lambert’s Lane, beside Astbury Mere and in open pasture like Rhead’s Meadows and Priesty Fields. All of them have great picnic spots and several have pubs and playgrounds en route.
“I hope and expect that people may start with one or more of these eight walks then perhaps see another trail off to the left or right and go to explore for themselves. There are so many places to go in Congleton!”
Cllr Wesley added: “Many thanks to Heather for giving her time to develop these walks. I’ve really enjoyed test-walking them and in fact used the longest one as a sponsored walk to raise money for my Mayor’s Charities. Thanks are also due to the designer, printers and Council Officers for making this stunning map and leaflet. I hope people will enjoy the routes for years to come.”
The walks leaflet is available at Congleton Information Centre and can also be downloaded:
