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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.

Wednesday 29 January 2020

A Willaston and Raby Round 29th January 2020

Approaching Hadlow Station along the platform from the car park.
Looking along Hadlow Station towards the signal box.
Redwing in a field near Willaston.
Redwing in a field near Willaston.
Our first sighting of the Mill nea\r Willaston.
A close up fo the Mill nweaer Willaston.
One of the better bridleways on our route to Raby today.
Fieldfare and Jackdaws in fields North west of The Mill, Willaston.
Roger putting his best foot forward having hit the tired leg barrier!
Walk stats: Distance: 8.5 miles. Climb: 316'.
Time: 4 hours 17 minutes: On the move walking average: 2.6 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.
Group: Martyn and Roger.
This isn't a walk that has mustered up even a glimmer of enthusiasm amongst our normal group members with a remarkable number of excuses being offered :- having a tooth out yesterday, a second cataract done just a few days ago, walking two dogs, baby sitting and D,I.Y. and even more, although being in the over seventy bracket I have the excuse I can't remember the rest!
 We set off from the start at Hadlow Station in glorious sunshine and blue skies. It was a little blustery at the start, as Roger soon realised has he nearly lost his Tilley as we walked through Willaston.
 Our was nominally 7.5 miles, but thanks to our inability to look at strategic points we ended up doing a little more.
 The bird count started well as we headed towards The Mill at Willaston, where we saw at least two Redwing foraging with Balckbirds.
 The first problem we encountered was near Cherry Farm, South of Raby, where a kissing gate engaged us for some time. Thankfully with Roger pulling it as hard as he could , I was able to squeeze through without the inconvenience of taking my rucksack off.
 Lunch was taking along the bridleway towards Willaston, where too advantage of a Ivy covered tree stump on which to perch, little rwalisinfg that just 50 metres beyond was a bench!
 Our second mistake was to take the path heading for Benty heath Lane, but at least it enabled us to see two Common buzzards and two Browm hares as we approached the road leading to Raby House Farm.
Birds seen or heard today included: Blue tit, Great tit, Common blackbird, Greenfinch, Common chaffinch, House sparrow, Common buzzard, Redwing, Fieldfare, Mallard, Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Herring gull, Common gull, Jackdaw, Rook, Black billed magpie, Common crow, Song thrush, European robin and Eurasian jay.
 We arrived back at the car with our boots needing cleaning, but this didn't stop us saying that we had experienced a good walk and our legs knowing this was true.
 It suited us to go straight home, Roger was hopeful of going to his optician to pick up his latest new spectacles, and me to call at Morrison's in Saltney to pick up some of my latest tipple (Weston's Heritage Still Cider.
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