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When? Started: 1993 Who? Started with staff and friends from U H S, Chester. Organiser: Martyn Harris We walk every Wednesday and Saturdays, New Years day and May Day. How many walk? Walks take place as long as there are at least 2 wanting to walk on that day. More walk on a Wednesday than on a Saturday. Most ever: 29. Current group size walking: 2-10 in mid-week and 2-4 on Saturday. Where do we walk? Saturday: Anywhere in North and Mid-Wales, Peak District, Shropshire and the Long Mynd and as far North as the Trough of Bowland. Thursday: Anywhere within about 40 miles of Chester. Type of walk: Distance: 6 – 14 miles (but usually under 10 miles). Climb: up to 4000’ (but usually very much less!). People involved on walks in 2020:- Martyn Harris, Fran Murphy, Sue and Michel Pelissier, Mike Dodd, David Savage, Wendy Peers, Celia de Mengle, Wendy and Ian Peers, Roger Smith, Paul Collinson, Ed Meads, Nigel and Elaine Taylor, Celia de Mengle, Sue Pearson.

Thursday 8 October 2015

Caergwrle - An Ancient Packhorse Trail 8th October 2015

I couldn't resist putting a couple of photos of this Sparrowhawk hoping to catch breakfast as birds visited the feeders in my garden. 
As far as I now it went away hungry!
Crossing a former packhorse bridge - slightly modified.
We did a lot of this - trekking across fields.
Another field to cross, but on this occasion no inquisitive young cows in tow.
One of the better stiles encountered - well we did managed to cross it.
Another stile, but we didn't even attempt to cross this one!
Don't argue with the Caergwrle mafia!
or
You shouldn't have gone on that fat-free diet!
Walk stats: Distance: 9.4 miles. Climb: 476'.
Time: 5 hours 26 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.2 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.7 m.p.h.
Group: Martyn, Annie, Celia, David S., Tim, Phil and Paul.
We set off from Caergwrle Public Car Park with the prospect of good weather all day. In fact it was largely bright and sunny, but at times a little on the humid side. The morning part of the walk went without any problems except for a few fields that were a little on the claggy muddy side.
 A suitable lunch spot wasn't easy to find, so we had to put up with a verge on the roadside at Burton Green or around a tree just inside a field with an open gate.
 After lunch Paul left us and headed along the road directly for Caergwrle as he needed to get back in time for his Thursday grandparent duties. 
 We decided take a more circuitous route back, in the end not a particularly beneficial decision, but we did get to chat with a friendly local mole catcher before we started to encounter stile after stile that were in great need of a  little TLC.
 After missing one path we did a little quick re-routing to get back on track and arrived back at the car to find that Annie can no longer lay claim to being the only one to have found notes left on her windows screen.  We had notes written by a local resident we had met earlier and who had suggested that ramblers shouldn't park in this car park as it would prevent locals using it. The note however suggested we should use a mini-bus so that we didn't take up more than one space!
 Birds seen or heard today included: House sparrow, Common pheasant, Common buzzard, Jackdaw, Rook, Woodpigeon and Pied wagtail.
 After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Red Lion at Penyfordd, where Timothy Taylor's Landlord and a Young's brew were sampled by some of the group.

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