The Ancient Highway

A walk along Sutch Lane Bridleway

This is a lovely 1 mile walk along a little-used bridleway – an ancient highway – which runs from Lymm to Oughtrington.

Prior to the construction of Church Road in 1824, Such Lane would have been part of the main route between Lymm and Altrincham.

This narrow path runs alongside the Bridgewater Canal, through mature trees and lush vegitation.

Unfortunately, for many years the path was very muddy (very deep in places) which made the route unpopular.

However, many are unaware that extensive works were carried out in September 2022, greatly improving the surface. It’s still a bit muddy in places but a lot better than it was!

Head your way up Pepper Street and you’ll come to Ravenbank Primary School on your left. Continue on Sutch Lane (unmarked).

Along the way, you’ll have some lovely canal views and also a good view of St Peter’s Church – one of two parish churches we have in Lymm.

Lloyd Bridge

Such Lane leads you to Oughtrinton Lane – and a canal bridge on your left. This is officially Lloyd Bridge – but also locally known as Oughtrington Bridge / Dog Bridge.

The bridge was built around 1770 and was named in honour of the Lloyd family who worked for the canal company for many years.

Dog Bridge

It’s also known locally as Dog Bridge – in memory of a building which was once home to Cllr & Mrs Dawson-Kent and The Dog Inn which sadly closed it’s doors in the 1960’s. It was later demolished to make way for the modern housing development you see today.

From here, you can retrace your steps – or turn right, walk up the hill towards St Peter’s Church and take the footpath to the right back towards the centre of Lymm.

Isn’t it time you had a walk along an ancient highway?