The Two Saints Way is the latest long distance path to be opened up in our part of the world and some of you may recall seeing a news item on the East Cheshire website last year.
The path is essentially a pilgrimage route and runs between Chester Cathedral and St Chad’s Church which is located close to Lichfield Cathedral and visits a number of historic churches on the way over its 92 mile length. The name, ‘The Two Saints Way’ refers to St Werburgh, who is the patron saint dedicated to the former abbey church of the Benedictine monastery at Chester, whilst St Chad is dedicated to Lichfield Cathedral. The way-marking of the route follows in two forms. If you are walking from Chester towards Lichfield then the purple way-markers are displayed as a cross which is the symbol for St Chad and in the other direction the purple way-markers are displayed as a swan which is the symbol for St Werburgh.
During this spring I have walked the entire length of the Two Saints Way and this path can be walked by using public transport to get back to where you left your car. You can even walk this path entirely by using public transport from Macclesfield but this does mean some lengthy days out.
I walked the path by splitting it into six day sections and I briefly give details as follows;-
Day 1 – CHESTER TO BARBRIDGE. (distance 18 miles). Park in Barbridge Village where there is plenty of parking. Bus number 84 to Chester is a hourly service then walk back. The walk is very much along canal towpaths with welcome diversions off to visit churches at Christleton and Bunbury and the whole route is fairly level but the canal sections can prove a bit monotonous after awhile.
Day 2 – BARBRIDGE TO WESTON (distance 16 miles). Park in Weston Village near Crewe (there is side street parking) and catch the bus number 85 to Crewe Bus Station and a second bus number 84 to Barbridge then walk back. Initially more towpath walking but then a visit to Nantwich comes as a welcome change. The rest of the route is field walking passing through the interesting village of Wybunbury.
Day 3 – WESTON TO STOKE ON TRENT STATION (distance 16.5 miles) For this, I caught the bus 38 to Crewe Bus Station then the bus 85 to Weston. I then walked to Stoke on Trent and caught the train back to Macclesfield. This section of the walk starts on a high but ends on a low. It begins with quiet lane and field walking via the most attractive village of Barthomley followed by crossing some higher ground with views after which the good scenery gives way to the rather dull suburbs of the Potteries. A little bit of towpath walking makes a welcome change before being plunged into a rather run down industrial area of Longport to reach Hanley. The canal towpath is joined again towards the end.
Day 4 – STOKE ON TRENT TO STONE (distance 12 miles). From Macclesfield the easiest way was to do this is to buy a return rail ticket to Stoke on Trent then walk to Stone Station and purchase a single rail ticket back to Stoke. Other than the Minster Church at Stoke there is very little of interest initially and you leave the town by following the canal towpath south. Having walked through Trentham village, Trentham Park comes as a pleasant surprise and now follows some of the best walking to be had on the trail via Tittensor to reach Stone.
Day 5 – STONE TO MILFORD VIA STAFFORD (distance 15 miles). Park close to Stone Station and walk to Milford then catch bus number 825 to Stafford – a half hourly service then train back to Stone. There is also a frequent bus service between Stafford and Stone (service 101). The first half of this section follows the Trent Valley and there are two sections alongside the canal which is reasonably pleasant. Beyond the village of Salt, the landscape becomes hillier and the walking is interesting before you reach the suburbs of Stafford but the walk into the town is of little interest. From Stafford eastwards to Milford there is riverside walking which is prone to flooding and a couple of sections where narrow busy roads need to be followed. The field walking on this section proved to be very overgrown and little walked.
Day 6 – MILFORD TO LICHFIELD (distance 18.5 miles). The most ambitious walk. Buy a return rail ticket from Macclesfield to Stafford then catch the bus number 825 to Milford. Walk to Lichfield and catch the train back from Lichfield (Trent Valley) to Stafford and change for Macclesfield. The bus number 825 is an alternative from Lichfield but takes much longer. In complete contrast with the walk so far, this section of the walk crosses the well wooded Cannock Chase and is much hillier. There are some pleasant heath lands to cross but with many paths to chose from it is very easy to lose your intended route as way-marking is a bit thin on the ground. Castle Ring Hill Fort is the high point on the entire route where there are good views. Beyond Cannock Wood the route continues on field paths and again many I found overgrown. There is lane then road walking as you enter Lichfield and the end to your pilgrimage.
There is a good guide book which describes the route in both directions with maps at a fairly small scale and enlargements where the route is more complicated. I found it was useful to carry the appropriate Ordnance Survey Explorer map to aid navigation. You also need to religiously read the directional text as you will go astray especially crossing Cannock Chase as I did a couple of times!
Details of the route can be found on the following website;-
My conclusion;- The main aim of this trail is to visit numerous and interesting religious sites many of which have connections with either St Chad or St Werburgh but having said that, some of these sites lie in urban areas and to get there means walking through some less attractive areas. Much of the trail is fairly level and will not be of interest to everyone especially if you don’t enjoy walking along many miles of canal towpaths. On the plus side, the trail does pass through many historic locations and tucked away villages and passes close to good points of communications for buses and trains. Not all churches were open on my walks but those that were I was made most welcome and even offered coffee more than once.