Day 26 - Running the stations

Having spent a lot of last night following the Western States 100 race online, I finally went to sleep after midnight with the knowledge that the winner would be finishing around 4.30am. My body clock must have woken me as I looked at the clock and it was 4:15! I know, I'll get up, follow the results to see who wins, then a quick snooze before going out on a run before it got too hot. Well the first part of the plan worked, well done to Brits Jez Bragg (4th) and Ian Sharman (10th). As for the quick snooze, before I knew it, it was 8.30! I must have needed the sleep! As yesterday was an out and back route, I thought today I would try an A to B route. The planned route was to run to Cuddington, closely following the course of the railway and catch the train back.

As I needed to carry money for the train and lots of water I took my camelback, plus some additional snacks. As it was Sunday the train service was less than frequent - actually every 2 hours! So the goal was the 13:27 train, so having figured the run was around 14 miles, I left at 10:45 to give me plenty of time. The first station was Plumley, I knew all the routes to get here as the fields around this area have been well run. The approach to the station is over a steep road bridge (which I am sure you could take off from if driven at speed!). The actual station building is now an office. Stations: 1 Miles: 4.5

Plumley

The route then took me through the village of Plumley and across some fields before crossing over the railway line via a very overgrown bridge. The next mile and a half followed an old road adjacent to the line passing an old signal box. The next stop Lostock Gralam, not much going on here. Stations: 2 Miles: 6.5

The route so far had been mainly off road and very scenic, I knew the next 2.5 miles would be very different as the railway goes through the town of Northwich. Back onto the main road and past several out of town shopping areas, B&Q was very busy, no doubt doing a roaring trade in barbeques! Approaching Northwich station, the land all around it has now been taken over by a Tesco's and petrol station. The station building itself dates back to 1897. Stations: 3 Miles: 8.25

Northwich

I was very glad I had taken my Camelback as I was now sweating loads, probably due to the built-up area I was now running through. The next 2 miles took me right through the centre of the town. The town of Northwich grew up around the salt mines and a series of interconnecting canals and rivers. The river Weaver is crossed by a road swing bridge built in 1899. It was the first swing bridge on floating pontoons and the first electrically operated swing bridge in Britain.

Enough of the history lesson and back to the run, after crossing the bridge there followed a long slog up a steep hill out of Northwich towards the town's second station of Greenbank. Man, that was hard work in the increasing heat (where had this weather come from!) A very uninspiring section of the run now ensued past a series of takeaway restaurants and the like before arriving at Greenbank station.

Stations: 4 Miles: 10.25

The road was now heading into the village of Hartford and the route became more scenic again with large houses on either side of the road. The railway line swung to the north whilst the road looped round to the south before finally turning up to the village of Cuddington and my final destination. I briefly dropped down to the main Chester Road whereupon my phone decided to not record the distance and I ended up stopping the session and starting a new one (ended with i) 12 miles and ii) 1.5 miles). The half a mile up the Chester Road was hard work before the final 1 mile into the village of Cuddington and the station. Stations: 5 Miles: 13.50

Cuddington

By now it was 12:40, so I had 45 mins to wait for the train. It would give me a chance to cool down and avail myself of a cold drink from the local shop. The station lived up to it's award above and also featured a picture gallery in the old station building. More and more station buildings are used for something else than their initial purpose to serve the railway. After sitting in the sun, the train finally arrive a couple of minutes late and made the 18 minute journey back to Knustford for the princely sum of £5. As pence per mile goes, I thought that was quite steep. Anyway it was a nice relaxing ride back and ended off a good Juneathon run. Only 4 more days to go...

Stats
Distance: 13.50 miles
Time: 1:53:29
Juneathon Total Distance: 234.24 miles