WE couldn’t have asked for better weather on at least two days over Easter so it was a great time to get out and about and enjoy what our town has to offer.

Now that Warrington and Lymm have been named in the top places to live in Britain, what better time to explore our great countryside.

So on Good Friday we walked along the canal to Walton (the Walton Arms to be precise). It’s mandatory to include a good pub with a walk. We took with us our son’s dog a Westie named Dougal, he’s always happiest when he’s walking or eating.

If you’ve never ventured along that stretch of the canal it’s truly lovely. Not surprisingly it was busy with many narrow boats passing by, many of the occupants waving or saying hello.

There were plenty of other walkers too, with or without dogs, as well as some anglers, a few lads using kayaks (with a can or two of beer on board) and plenty of revellers enjoying the sunshine and a few drinks in the beer garden of the London Bridge.

In fact the only thing spoiling this idyll were the cyclists. We had to keep stopping to let them past. There really isn’t room for them along the canal towpath, it’s pretty narrow anyway. And, it would seem, they are actually not allowed along there.

Look at any of the bridges on that route and signs are displayed saying ‘No cyclists’.

Now while I think Bradley Wiggins has a lot to answer for encouraging so much cycling (and Lycra really should be left to professional cyclists, not the middle aged) I honestly don’t have a problem with cyclists, providing they are courteous to others.

Some had no intention of slowing down and seemed to expect us to have such cracking hearing that we should immediately know when they were behind us. And these were adults not children. We did our best to stand aside and at times even scooped the dog up, but not all bothered to say thank you.

So this is the dilemma. Are cylists banned or is this an outdated bylaw?

Our canal towpaths are owned by the Manchester Ship Canal company and I have tried to find out if these signs still apply or if the bylaws have changed in recent years. Only this information doesn’t seem to be readily available.

However, the Canal and River Trust which has taken responsibility for British Waterways for more than 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales, is a more useful site.

The trust encourages cyclists to enjoy towpaths but does urge caution with a recommended ‘Greenway Code for Towpaths’.

This includes: * Share the space, consider other people * Drop your pace, considerate sharing of the limited towpath space is the key * Pedestrians have priority * Be courteous to others, a smile can go a long way So before I get inundated with hate mail from cyclists, perhaps they should heed what the cycling-friendly trust is advising.

We can all share the valuable green spaces we have in our town if we take the time to be considerate to one another.