The Coastal Path Between Flint Castle and Hawarden Bridge. 1st November 2025.

 

Flint Castle.

Flint Castle again.

I don't think he can a lot!

West Hide, the new road bridge and CQ Power Station towers on the skyline across Flint Marsh.

Flint Marsh information board.

The boggy Coastal Path across Flint Marsh,

Little egrets on Flint Marsh.

The boardwalk across Flint Marsh.

Back on the road at Oakenholt.

West Hide, Connah's Quay Nature Reserve.

The entrance to Connah's Quay Nature Reserve.

Oak leaves looking Autumnal.

I'm sure the birds will like these when it gets a little colder.

A good crop of Sloes as well.

Rockliffe done and dusted!

About to enter Connah's Quay, not far to go now.

The information board at the entrance to the park / green space in Connah's Quay that I didn't know existed until today.

The park / green space in Connah's Quay.

A helpful Coastal Path sign at Rock Road.

The Rock information board.

The River Dee from The Rock information board.

Looking towards Connah's Quay Dock from the play area east of Th Rock.

A Great cormorant with gulls on the river bank.

Connah's Quay Dock.

Th Connah's Quay Dock information board.

Yet another information board at Wepre Riverside Park.

Looking westward from mooring area.

A few boats still moored up on the quayside.

The last information board. This one about the birds you might see, but today I only saw five of them.

Historical artefacts near Riverside Park car park.

A Raven next to Wepre Brook outlet.

Hawarden Bridge from the west.

A Grey heron, Common redshank, Little egret an Great white egret in the flooded are by the river west of Hawarden Bridge.

The warm welcome at the Central Hotel, Shotton.

Distance: 7.0 miles
Climb: 266'.
Time: 3 hours 14 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h. Overall walking average: 2.2 m.p.h.
Temperature: 12.1 - 13.7 Celsius. BWF not measured, but not as windy as they forecast.
It was still raining as I arrived in Flint, but thankfully it was only very light, not enough to put my umbrella up. Arriving at Flint Castle, distant views across the estuary towards the Wirral we're not very clear. Looking at the OS map, they walk seemed to be divided into three, off-road, road and finally out off-road, with the road sector being the longest!
However, the Coastal Paths went across Flint Marsh, before joining the road at Oakenholt, cutting out some of the road walking.
The next surprise, was a small park/green space just near the Half Way House in Connah's Quay, again taking me off road briefly. The next surprise, came at Rock Road, where the Coastal Paths signs directed me away from the road on a path leading to the river and on to Connah's Quay Dock.
No more road walking and Hawarden Bridge soon came into view.
Arriving at The Central Hotel to be welcomed by a roaring fire, 1st November must be the date to start lighting the wood burning fire.
Birds seen or heard today included: House sparrow, Common blackbird, Goldfinch, Long tailed tit, Dunnock, European robin, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Skylark, Oystercatcher, Eurasian curlew, Herring gull, Black headed gull, Shelduck, Lesser black gull, Black billed magpie, Grey heron, Little egret, Great white egret, Common starling, Woodpigeon, Common redshank, Mallard and Canada goose.
Overall, an enjoyable walk, followed a good brunch and a pint of Abbott, before catching a bus home.

A RIGS Trail Around Mold 25th October 2025

My first port of call Mold Market.

The stall where I purchased my Snowdrops.

Lloyds Bank building.

I think this used to be the Scope charity shop.

The Llys-yr-Efail sign.

Bethesda Chapel.

The two plaques at Bethesda Chapel.

The Daniel Owen Statue.

St. Mary's Church.

Is this one of the limestone pillars mentioned on the trail leaflet?

Sheep sheltering from the wind, but still in the Sun.

A path that I need to explore sometime in the future.

Part of the old track heading towards the town centre.

The Afon Alun west of the bridge.

The Afon Alun flood plain.

The Afon Alun looking east of the bridge.

The Old Court House.

The Old Court House plaque.

The Millennium Clock with granite stones around the base.

The sculpture at the Bus Station.

My last port of call for pint of Lees bitter.

Distance: 3.0 miles. Climb: 200'. 

Time: 1 hour 45 minutes.
Overall walk average: 1.8 m.p.h.
Temperature: 9 Celsius. Feel like 5 Celsius, quite warm in the Sun and out of the wind.
BWF: 4 Moderate breeze.
The first port of call this morning was Mold Market to buy some Snowdrop bulbs.
Next was to call in at The Cold Cape for breakfast.
My walk today was The Rigs Trail Around Mold. I was able to find most of the things on the trail, despite shops and banks no longer existing.
Lloyds bank was the first, made from local sandstone. The next was supposed to be The Scope charity shop, but is now a betting shop. Here the base of the shop is made from igneous larvikite. Next came the Llys-yr-Efail sign made from a fast cooling igneous rock. Bethesda Chapel came next. The top plaque is made of marble on slate, whereas the bottom one is made from marble on polished basalt. Next came the Daniel Owen memorial is made from limestone and sandstone. St
Mary's church came next, like Lloyds bank it was made from sandstone.
The War Memorial, starts with a quartz stone at the bottom of the steps, while the memorial itself is made of marble.
I finished the walk by going down the road to the bridge over the Afon Alun and heading up Chester Street to the bus station.
An enjoyable and interesting walk, despite getting caught in a few showers.