Walks and Dates April 2025

 Saturday Walks.

I have decided that it has become pointless for me to plan Saturday walks in advance as most weeks I am the only one around.

However Saturday walks can be arranged on request.

One short walk a month could be included on request.

Wednesday 2nd April 2025.

Alderley Edge, Hare Hill and Over Alderley.

Distance: 8-9 miles; Climb: 1100'

Start: National Trust car park near The Wizard Grid ref:SJ860773

Leave Chester 09-00 a.m. and meet at the car park.

To get to the car park from Chester take the A51 then A54 towards Winsford, Middlewich and Holmes Chapel. From Holmes Chapel take the A535 to Chelford (Aldeley Edge). at Chelford turn right on to the A537 to Monks Heath. At Monks Heath take the A34 to Aldeley Edge. On the outskirts of Alderley Edge take the B5087 (Macclesfield Road). The National trust car park is just after The Wizard (pub). This is a pay and display car park but free to National Trust Members. The Car Park closes at dusk! 

Those planning to walk: Martyn, .

Those not walking: .

This walk combines two walks taken from Graham Beech's book "East Cheshire Walks". The first walk heads north-east to Waterfall Wood, Daniel Hill, Alder wood and Hare Hill. Just after Finlow Hill Wood it links in with the second walk that then heads south to St., Catherine's Church with its unusual octagonal tower.

Saturday 5th April 2025.

No planned walk - see below for a list of possible walks.

Wednesday 9th April 2025.

Above Helsby and Frodsham.

Distance: 7-8 miles. Climb; 1000'.

Start: Helsby Quarry Woodland Car Park. Grid ref: SJ490750 Post code: WA6 9PT

Leave Chester at 09-00 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, Phil Marsland.

Those not walking: .

This walk is taken from the book "Pathfinder Guide to Cheshire". Much of it we have done before when following walks on the Sandstone Trail. However part of the walk around Helsby Hill is new to me and it is the first time that we have started from this car park. On a clear day, the views across the estuary is superb. The walk is described as being energetic. As the walk is a little shorter than usual, we may wish to explore the Woodhouse Hill fort a little more.

Saturday 12th April 2025.

No planned walk - see below for a list of possible walks.

Wednesday 16th April 2025.

Fron Hen, Loggerheads and More.

Distance: 7-8 miles. Climb: 1250'.

Start: Layby on the A494 Mold to Ruthin Road, about 1/2 mile South of Llanferres. Grid ref: SJ187597.

Leave Chester 09-00 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, Phil Marsland.

Those not walking: .

This walk explores the lower slopes of the Clwydians on the way to Loggerheads and eturns to Llanferres along the Western edge of Big Covert.

This a walk that Mike and I dide in February this year, but hopefully the weather this time will be a little kinder.

Saturday 19th April 2025.

No planned walk as I am going birdwatching to Pennington Flash

Wednesday 22nd April 2025.

Moel Fferna and Nant-y-Pandy.

Distance: Including Moel Fferna. 9 miles. Climb: 2000’.

Distance: Without Moel Fferna 6.5 -7.5 miles depending on return route taken.

Climb: 1375' - 1600'. depending on return route taken.

Start: Lay-by adjacent to the Butterfly Man Craft Centre on the A5 Llangollen to Corwen road

near Glyndyfrdwy. Grid ref:SJ1586942449.
Leave Chester 09-00 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, .

Those not walking:  .

The described part of the walk is taken from Dave Berry’s book “Walks Around Llangollen and

the Dee Valley”. He describes it as a fascinating walk through the wooded.

Nant-y-Pandy with its old slate works. The extension takes us to the summit of Moel Fferna,

in the past most of the group have left out the visit to the summit of Moel Fferna, but the option

is still there for those that do.

Saturday 26th April 2025.

Ed is joining us, so I will use one of the suggested walks (towards the end of this post).

Wednesday 30th April 2025.

Ed is joining us, so this walk will be replaced by one of the suggested Welsh Walk (towards the end of this post).

Ffrith Mountain and the Alyn Gorge.

Distance: 9 miles. Climb: 1010'.
Start: Lay-by on the Cadole to the Pantymwyn road. Grid ref: SJ205627. Approaching Loggerheads on the A494, Mold to Ruthin Road and after passing the former Rainbow Inn (now a smalll new housing estate), take the next road on the right just before the newsagent. The lay-by is almost immediately on the right by the telephone kiosk.

Leave Chester: 09-00 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, .

(Those not walking: .

This walk is taken from Dave Berry's Book " More Walks in the Clwydian Hills" He describes it as an excellent walk exploring beautiful valleys and foothills. We usually start at Loggerheads, but as it is £5 to park for more than 4 hours we will start up the road in Cadole.

Suggestions for Saturday Walks.

Bollington to Bowstones.

Distance: 9-10 miles.

Climb:1800' at a guess.

Start: Pool Bank Car Park, (B5090) Palmerston Street, Bollington (Opposite the Spinners Arms). Post Code SK10 5PW.

Grid ref: SJ93687789

Leave Chester at 08-30 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, .

Those not walking: .

This walk is taken from Graham Beech's book "East Cheshire Walks", and is the second walk from this book that we will undertake. He describes this walk as an exhilarating walk to the Bowstones, and is a popular walk. It includes a fair portion of Lyme Park and sections of the Gritstone Trail. He describes the walk as strenuous, but I think we can still cope, even though it is over fifteen years since we last did it.

Long Mynd, Wild Moor and Pole Bank.

Distance:10-11 miles. Climb:2100’.

Start: Centre of Church Stretton car park (Pay and display). Grid ref: SO454930.

Leave Chester 8-30 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, .

Those not walking: .

This walk is taken from Ian R. Jones’s booklet “20 Church Stretton Walks”.  All of the walks around Church Stretton are popular, although this walk does include a few sections that are a little less visited by the throngs.  Another possible Dotterel day, but if we do see any, it will be our first on the Long Mynd.  Even without Dotterels this is a superb area of the country to walk in, especially as you explore the moors around Pole Bank.

Wales.

Traeth Lafan and Its Foothills.

Distance:7-8 miles. Climb:1000'.

Start: Abergwyngeryn Free Car Park Grid ref: SH0652728. Post code: LL33 0LF

PC (opens about 09-30) nearby and a cafe at the outdoor centre that allows walkers to use the toilets (opens earlier than PC.)

Leave Chester at 08-30 a.m.

This walk taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks On the North Wales Coast". The Traeth Lafan and it Foothills. This walk is an annual favourite and has in the past given us some wonderful experiences, especially in Winter trampling through soft fluffy knee deep snow, that didn't stick or wet our legs.  You never know we may get some  snow, this time too. It should be worthwhile bringing binoculars with you as we may visit The Spinnies Nature Reserve on the way back to our car.

This walk is described as walk of contrasting coastal and upland scenery with good views from the higher points on the North Wales path.

 This time we will use the road to The Spinnies, and avoid the unpleasant smelly muddy experience of taking the path through the farm yard,

We may see a Kingfisher at The Spinnies, but that often depends on whether the tide is coming.

Moel y Garneddd.

Distance: 7-8 miles.

Climb: 1200'.

Start: Fronfeuno Snowdonia National Park Lakeside Car park Grid ref: SH917351.

Leave Chester 08-30 a.m.

This walk is taken from Dave Berry's booklet "Walks Around Y Bala and Penllyn". The walk explores the undulating countryside West of Bala. The route follows a a bridleway up to moorland, eventually crossing Moel y Garneddd at a height of 1170'. We can expect to see superb views as we cross the open moorland. The return route goes through attractive woodland. This is a walk for experienced walkers only and should not be attempted in poor visibility. Careful navigation is required.

Caer, Gai, Cwm Dyfrydwy with an extension over Garth Fawr.

Distance: 9.1 miles. Climb: 1100'.

Start: Roadside parking in Llanuwchllyn on B4403. Park opposite the PC and chapel. Grid ref: SH875302.

Leave Chester 08-30 a.m.

This walk combines two walks from Dave Berry's booklet "Walks Around Y Bala and Penllyn". One walk is described as a fascinating walk featuring a Roman fort and historic houses and the other explores both sides of the Dyfrdwy Valley. The optional extension explores the countryside South of Llanuwchllyn, climbing to open moorland around Garth Fawr at a height of 1079'. It returns along the Western side of the Afon Twrch (Cwm Cynllwyd).

Conwy Mountain and Its Southern Hinterland.

Distance: 9-10 miles. Climb:1800' at a guess!

Start: Long stay car park on the B5106 at Conwy. (Pay and Display.£6-70 for more than 4 hours). Grid ref:SH781773.

Leave Chester 08-30 a.m.

This walk is taken from Carl Rogers's book "Walking in the Conwy Valley". Much of the routes as far as Conwy is the same as we have done on the last two occasions,. It goes through the harbour, follows riverside before passing the school and then climbing to Conwy Mountain along he North Wales path. The return route goes South towards Henryd. The last time this walk was on the list was in April 2022.

Deganwy Castle with either a Gunsite Extension or The Gunsite and part  of the Great Orme Extension. 

Distance: 6 miles; Climb: 750'.s (Gunsite extension: Distance: 3-4 miles. Climb: 666', with Part of the Great Orme Distance:   included 4 miles. Climb: 954').
Start:Roadside parking near the Public Conveniences on the West shore of Llandudno. Grid ref:SH773819.
Leave Chester 08-30 a.m.

Those planning to walk: Martyn, .
Those not walking: .

The main walk today is the Deganwy Castle walk taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks on the North Wales Coast". Sections of this walk have been known to be muddy in the past.

This walk visit a watch tower and the site of Deganwy Castle, both giving extensive  views

The extension to the walk starts after returning to the car and is weather dependent.

One posibility is to explore the gunsite area north of Llandudno West Shore.

When we did this walk in May last year, the Bluebells around Deganwy Castle were superb, so hopefully they will this year as well.

Morda Valley and the Welsh Borders 29th March 2025

On Offa's Dyke Path on the west side of Selattyn Hill.

The first lambs seen today.

Old and new way marker signs.

A furrowed track, even after 9 years.

The first time that I have seen sheep drinking from a trough.

Lambs on the run.

Lambs on the run 2.

The well-preserved section of Offa's Dyke.

More of the well-preserved section of Offa's Dyke.

Looking back on the well-preserved section of Offa's Dyke.

The Morda Valley Road.

Solar farms are getting everywhere!

The view from our lunch spot today.

The same view from our lunch spot in 2016.

The border stone.

The view west from the Ceiriog Trail to Llechrydau.

Twins?

Heading to Caemor Wood along the Ceiriog Trail.

Northern views from Caemor Wood.

Storm damage on the northern edge of Caemor Wood.

We took the middle road.

Distant views of Shropshire?

The Offa's Dyke Path to Craignant and the start of our walk.

Invasive Comfrey taking over the verge

Distance: 9.6 miles. Climb: 1572’.Time: 5 hours 4 minutes.

On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.
Temperature: Around 8 Celsius for most of the walk. Mx 10.5 Celsius. Min 7.7 Celsius.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 – 4. In the main, just a Light breeze, but it did gust to a 16.1 m.p.h. Moderate breeze as we crossed the more exposed and higher sections of the walk.
Group: Martyn and Mike.
The weather forecast today was looking dry with some Sunny intervals, so we were hoping to see the partial eclipse around 11-00 (paper with a pin hole at the ready).
With think we managed to catch the partial eclipse using the pin hole in a piece of paper and catching the image on another piece of paper, but the image was very small, so maybe not!
It was in 2016 when I last did the walk, so it was almost like a new walk for both of us.
Part of the walk was along a well-preserved section of Offa’s Dyke alongside a woodland.
Distant views weren’t very clear, but we could still see the Berwyns on the skyline as we had our lunch break.
We did see more lambs today, and unusually we saw one you with two lamb, one black, one white, both suckling at the same time.
Another surprise today, was seeing the amount of storm damage along the north side of Caemor Wood.
Birds seen or heard today: House sparrow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Common blackbird, Carrion crow, Chiffchaff, Blue tit, European robin, Common buzzard, Great tit, Woodpigeon, Raven, Shelduck, Jackdaw, Red kite, Skylark, Greenfinch, Song thrush, Mistle thrush, Mallard, Blue tit, Great tit, Common pheasant, Eurasian curlew and Wood nuthatch
Much of the walk was on hard surfaces, tarmac or stony tracks, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the walk.
After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Pant-yr-Ochain at Gresford. It was very busy, and we were asked to move from the empty table, because they wanted to lay-up the table for someone else. They said we should have booked in as we came in. We ended up sitting on bar stools at the bar. Perhaps we will have to think of a different hostelry for refreshments in the future!

Conwy and Around Conwy Mountain 26th March 2025

Conwy Castle Walls near the start of the walk.

Conwy Harbour ahead.

A  Greenshank in Conwy Harbour.

A different  form of training rowing boat used on the sea.

The second boat coming home.

One of last years cygnets, not quite in adult plumage.

A Little egret on the stream flowing into the estuary.

On the North Wales Path, heading for Conwy Mountain.

A lone Mountain pony feeding next to the North Wales Path.

The higher path leading to Caer Seion (taken from the lower North Wales Path).

Caer Seion information board next to the North Wales Path.

Caer Seion is somewhere up there!

On the North Wales Path.

My first views of the sea  from the North Wales Path near our lunch spot.

Descending from Caer Seion to our lunch spot.

The old quarry from our lunch spot.

A few more Mountain ponies on Conwy Mountain.

Conwy from bridle path we used returning to Conwy.

Another good view of Conwy Castle from bridle path we used returning to Conwy.

Distance: 5.5 miles. Climb: 912’ (1100’ for those that visited Caer Seion)
Time: 3 hours 50 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.2 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.4 m.p.h.
Temperature: Max 17.2 Celsius at the end of the walk. 16.2 Celsius in the late morning along the North Wales Path and 14.7 Celsius at lunch.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 – 2. In the main, hardly much wind at all, although it did gust to a 6 m.p.h. Light breeze on the North Wales Path below Caer Seion.
Group: Martyn, Nigel, Fran and Mike.
The weather forecast today was looking good, dry with hardly any wind and temperatures in high double figures. This time the forecasters got it right!
I followed the lower North Wales Path, whilst the rest of the group took the higher path over Cer Seion.
Both routes give good distant views, the North Wales Path views inland towards Allt Wen, Maen Esgob and Tal-y-Fan and the Caer Seion Route giving in addition views towards the sea and the Great Orme.
Lunch was taken by the seat that had good views towards coast, Penmaen-bach and the path descending from Caer Seion. After lunch we decided that the right option was to cut the walk short and return to the car by the shortest route – the lower bridle path / off-road track on the south side of Conwy Mountain.
A few Spring flowers were out. These included Lesser celandine, Primrose, Greater periwinkle, Green alkanet and Daffodils.
Birds seen or heard today: House sparrow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Common blackbird, Carrion crow, Chiffchaff, Blue tit, European robin, Black billed magpie, Common buzzard, Great tit, Woodpigeon, Raven, Shelduck, Mute swan, Greenshank, Little egret, Jackdaw, Red-billed chough, Meadow pipit, Common kestrel and Wood nuthatch
Overall, a very enjoyable walk, done at a leisurely pace.
As one member of the group wasn’t feeling too good, we decided to miss out calling in at the Albion and headed straight home.
Home early, in plenty of time to clean my boot, feed the washing meal before enjoying something to eat – beef and onion sandwiches and a cheese and onion sandwich, accompanied by a pot of tea!

Chirk, Chirk Bank, Temple Wood and Chirk Castle 19th March 2025

St. Mary's Church, Chirk.

A delightful on the way to Temple Wood.

Mike climbing over one of the fallen trees that crosse6d our path today.

The delightful path goes under a road bridge.

The way to Temple Wood.

Emerging from the tunnel in Temple Wood.

The Temple ahead.

The Temple at Weston Rhyn.

The Temple at Quinta Hall, Weston Rhyn.

The replica stonehenge was built around 1830 / 1840 by Major West of nearby Quinta Hall.

At The Temple.

Fungi feeding dead wood.

Lesser celandine on roadside bank near Pont-faen. 

Distant views of Chirk Castle.

Our lunch spot by the canal at Chirk Bank.

The riverside path, heading for the aqueduct the viaduct.

Two young lambs approach.

Lambs in the Ceiriog Valley.

The viaduct and aqueduct from the west.

Starting o clear up the fallen trees  on the path leading to the grounds of Chirk Castle.

Daffodils and Chirk Castle.

A "dead" tree still standing after the Winter storms.

A roadside bank of Primroses.

Still a lot of work o b e done on the narrow gauge railway at Chirk Station.

A nice avenue of Daffodils in the park at Chirk.

Distance: 8.75 miles. Climb: 923’
Time: 5 hours 5 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.7 m.p.h.
Temperature: 8 Celsius at the start. 12.2 Celsius at lunch by the canal. Max 15 Celsius in the late morning sunshine near The Temple. Celsius at the end of the walk.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 – 2. In the main, hardly much wind at all, although at times it just about made a Gentle breeze.
Group: Martyn, Fran and Mike.
The weather forecast today was looking good, dry with hardly any wind and temperatures in double figures.
It was very noticeable that many trees had been blown down since Ed and I did the walk in August 2024. Both Temple Wood and Chirk Castle grounds were littered with several fallen trees.
Lunch was taken by the canal at Chirk Bank, where a convenient bench in the Sun, provided two of us with a good resting place before starting on the Chirk Castle part of the walk.
This was very varied walk, with the highlight being the young lambs seen in the field below the viaduct.
A few Spring flowers were out. These included Lesser celandine, Primrose, Greater periwinkle, Wood anemone and Daffodils.
Birds seen or heard today: House sparrow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Common blackbird, Carrion crow, Rook, Chiffchaff, Blue tit, Coal tit, European robin, Black billed magpie, Common buzzard, Great tit, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Mallard and Wood nuthatch
Overall, a very enjoyable walk.
After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Pant-yr-Ochain at Gresford. Purple Moose’s Cwrw Eryri went down well as did Titanic Brewery’s Plum Porter. Fran enjoyed her pot of tea.