Harris Hikers Welsh "Stay at Home" Lockdown Walk 7: Monday 2nd November 2020. The Riverside, Saltney and the Wales Coast Path to Sealand Pumping Station.

The Riverside, Saltney and the Wales Coast Path to Sealand Pumping Station.

Cowslip?                                     Dandelion?

Horsetail?                      Common reed?

A shy Grey heron on the bank of the River Dee.

Geese in flight.

A great cormorant goes fisging.

Canada geese on maize stubble field.

Distance: 7.1 miles. Climb: 108'.
Time: 2 hours 41 minutes. On the move walking avwerage: 3.0 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.6 m.p.h.
Group: Martyn.

An earlyish start to the walk, I set off just after 08-00, hoping that I would complete my walk before 11-00 when the Met Office forcast rain showers. I did complete my walk by 11-00, but the rain shower came early at 10-20, but thankfully it was only short and the Sun came out afterwards so that I was completely dry by the time I got home.

The Wales Coast Path was very quiet, only a few cyclists (no lycra louts), a couple of joggers and several dog walkers to be seen.

Birds seen or heard today included: Mallard, Moorhen, Common blackbird, Black billed magpie, House sparrow, Dunnock, Blue tit, Great tit, Common chaffinch, Son thrush, Meadow pipitCarrion crow, Common starling, Grey heron, lack headed gull, Herring gull, Common gull, Greylag goose, Winter wren, Pink foot, Canada goose, Great cormorant, Jackdaw and Woodpigeon.

Once again, there were over 1000 Canada geese on maize stubble fields with a few Greylag, but no pnk foots. The only Pink foots were those seen in flight.

I decided to include the four stainless steel sculptures erected between The Riverside, River Lane, Saltney and the Saltney Ferry Footbridge. The following is the information that I found on Deeside.com bout the sculptures erected in 2015.

"The four bespoke 7 ft. sculptures by notable artist Mike Johnson have been created to reflect coastal light and the local plant life, which was identified by local school children on a site visit with Mike."

“Each of the sculptures is different and depict cow parsley, horsetail, dandelion and common reed but the beauty is in the detail” said artist Mike Johnson. “Incorporated into each sculpture are items reflecting the industrial and natural heritage of Saltney and the River Dee, from cockles to candles, rivets from boatbuilding and items from the railway.”