Lymm and Thelwall 1st March 2014

Grantham's Bridge, the start of our walk in tio Spud Wood.

Lymm Church from the West side of Lymm Dam.

Approaching Lymm Village through the Dingle.

Flowers for St. David's Day. On the banks of the Bridgewater canal West of Lymm.

The Old Post Office at Thelwall.

The "Penny Ferry" crossing to Thelwall Eyes.

Walk stats: Distance: 12.6 miles. Climb: 472'.

Time: 6 hours 11 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.3

Group: Martyn and Mike.

What a glorious day for walking, should have been wearing my shorts. I was able to take my jacket off for most of the walk, but alas had to suffer my Paramo trousers, all be it with ventilation, all if the day.

 The first part of the took us in to Spud Wood, an area that is very popular with dog walkers, we were lucky to get a parking space, only  because someone was about to leave. We now know that the only exit from Spud Wood is the one described on the walk description!

 The walk around Lymm Dam was very pleasant, and used paths on the East side of the dam that weren't present on the OS map.

 We ended up having lunch just East of Thelwall Village, having already walked over 7 miles. This wasn't the best of spots, but at least we were able to sit on two fallen tree trunks overlooking open countryside. At Thelwall Old Post office we decided to investigate the detour suggested in the description as being a delightful picnic spot, something we didn't notice until after we had had our lunch.

 After visiting the "Penny Ferry" across the Manchester Ship Canal, we were tempted by a path that pointed back towards Statham and Lymm.  This concessionary path took us along the side of the Manchester Ship Canal and under the infamous Thelwall Viaduct.

 The rest of the walk involved us heading along the Trans Pennine Trail as far as Heatley and then heading back to Spud Wood.

 Overall a very pleasant walk through an area very popular with walkers (with or without dogs) and cyclists.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, European robin, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Blue tit, Great tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Common starling, Common buzzard, Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Great spotted woodpecker, Mallard, Moorhen, Black-headed gull, Grey heron, Great cormorant, Great crested grebe, Wood nuthatch, Mute swan and the star bird of the day the Yellowhammer.

 We attempted to have our after walk drinks at the Ring O' Bells at Frodsham, but we defeated as it was still closed. We ended up at the Netherton Hall, where the Lees bitter was a little on the cold side and the pot of tea went down better!