Getting ready for setting off from Tinkersdale.
The Fountain and our final destination.
The Hawarden War Memorial and the Gladstone Statue.
"Keep to the footpath."
Beeston Castle and Peckforton Hill on the skyline from Cherry Orchard Road.
Chester churches on the skyline above Airbus.
Walking through Bilberry Wood.
Approaching the "awkward" stile.
Will it be under or over?
Walk stats:
Distance: 4.7 miles (5 miles if you went on the 15 minute stroll into Hawarden Park). Climb: 453'.
Time 2 hours 18 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.3 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.
Temperature: 19.8 Celsius at the start.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 - 1. Calm to light air, never enough to encourage me to stop and measure it!
Group: Martyn, Sue and Michel, Roger, Sue Pearson, Wendy, Nigel, Fran and David S.
A local walk and everyone left Chester by 09-00, so we were all ready to walk by 09-30.
Usually this would be a great start, but today we set off a little too early and arrived back at the start, before our chosen hostelry was open. To avoid being seen standing outside the Glynne Arms waiting for it to open, we went on a 15 minute extension to the walk by going into Hawarden Park and the castle grounds.
This was a good day for walking, mainly with intermittent cloud cover, but occasionally requiring us to wear sunhats, (especially those with little hair covering left on our heads).
You wouldn't describe the walk as being memorable, but at least it was quite varied and the paths were now well signposted (compared to the first time we did the walk a few years ago).
Although there were many stiles on the original walk description, most were avoided by using an adjacent gate or a gap in the fence. There were 14 stiles marked on the route description, but we probably needed to cross less than half of them. Unfortunately the two most awkward stiles near the end of the walk had to be crossed.
Everyone managed to cross both of them, although one young lady decided to go under the gap in the fence next to the stile!
Near the golf course we watched as wooden telephone poles were being renewed and possible the cables being replaced as the Beluga could be seen taking off in the distance.
As we went past an old barn ith Barn swallows flying in and out, we noticed an owl box i the barn as well. It would be nice to think a Barn owl was making good use of it.
We did stop brieflyon CHerry Orchard Lane for some of the group to have a drink.
Birds seen or heard on the walk and including the extension to Hawarden Park included: Barn swallow, Common blackbird, House spaow, Carrion crow, Wood nuthatch and Common buzzard.
After walk refreshments were had at the Glynne Arms in Harwarden. Most decided to have food as well as drinks. The brews we sampled were from the Conwy Brewery and Salopian Brewery. I wasn't convinced the Conwy brews were at their best, but everyone else thought they were OK.
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