A Staffordshire potter, where should try the local delicacy, the Staffordshire Oakcakes. You can usually have them with a filling of your choice, be it mushrooms, bacon, tomato, or cheese at most cafes in the area.
The start is in Uppermill, Saddleworth. If you drive here, it's handy for M62 junction 22 and there is free all-day parking at the car park by the leisure centre. If arriving by train, Greenfield Station has connections to Manchester and Leeds. TransPennine Trains allow a limited number of bikes on trains which they insist must be pre-booked, a policy ruthlessly observed.
From Saddleworth, the Perm goes south through Stalybridge and Hyde, Prestbury and Broken Cross. You follow some of the Cheshire Cycleway on quiet lanes to reach the first control at Alsager.
Continue south through Audley, Silverdale and Keele. The ride goes over the M6 at Keele services, a place with which most of us might be familiar but only when travelling by different means.
You pass a couple of pumping stations at Hatton and Millmeece which were built to pump water from bore holes to supply the nearby Potteries area.
The ride returns at Eccleshall, via Loggerheads to Audlem, where you'll find the excellent Old Priesthouse Cafe. Although you are now in Cheshire, don't forget to try those Oat Cakes.
Return to Saddleworth vai Sandbach and Alderley Edge before retracing the outward trip through Hyde and Stalybridge.
☕ Some Useful Café Suggestions:
64km: Alsager, Costa 96km: Eccleshall, Garden Centre, Star Cafe 100km: Sugnall, Walled Garden Cafe 121km: Audlem, Priest House cafe
