Chester to Shotton Via The North Wales Coastal Path 29th June 2019

The path from The Cop on Sealand Road.

The main dock on the River Dee on the Saltney side of the river.

The start of the North Wales Coastal Path.

Heading towards the Higher Ferry Footbridge.

The Arenig Fawr tugboat at the A380 barge terminal.

Approaching Queensferry.

At least three, maybe four bridges and a power station.

Common mallow - very abundant along the coastal path.

Approaching Hawarden Bridge.

The HQ of the John Summers Iron Works - hopefully to be restored and used again sometime in the future.

Looking through the Hawarden Bridge railway bridge arches towards Connah's Quay Power Station.

Shotton Station looking towards Flint.

Walk stats: distance: 8.5 miles. Climb: 137'.

Time:3 hours 40 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.2 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn.

As nobody was available to join me on the planned walk in the Goyt Valley, I made a last minute decision to undertake an early morning walk from Chester to Shotton using the North Wales Coastal Path.

I caught the 06-40 bus to Chester and had started my walk just before 07-00. It was pleasantly cool at this time and Chester was still quite quiet. Thankfully there was  no sign of the throngs of racer goers that would no doubt arrive from about mid-day, making Chester a place to be avoided.

 it was overcast until about 10-00, making it quite pleasant for walking, when the Sun broke through and it started to warm up.

 There were a few walkers, dog walkers and cyclists embarking on early starts to avoid the heat of the day. The surprise of the day as being able to note that most cyclists had a bell and actually used them to warn of their approach.

 There were lots of birds around, particularly long the first part of the Coastal Path. Birds seen or heard today included: House martin, Common swift, Barn swallow, Mallard, House sparrow, Common whitethroat, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Black headed gull, Lesser black back gull, Herring gull, Carrion crow, Rook, Greenfinch, Blue tit, Chiffchaff, Feral pigeon, Common blackbird, Great cormorant, Common starling, Mistle thrush, European robin and Pied wagtail.

 Both sides of the path were adorned with flowers, most of which I couldn't identify. Flowers included: Red clover, white clover, Common mallow, Self heal, Herb robert, Common vetch and Meadow vetch.

 A few butterflies were also spotted including Meadow brown and Small white.

 I had anticipated having lunch at the Central Hotel, Shotton, but arrived just after 10-30, much too early, so I had to be happy with a couple of refreshing pints of Snowdonia Ale brewed by Purple Moose.

 Overall a good walk, taken at the right time and avoiding the unpleasant heat of the day that materialised after mid-day.