Dates and Walks April 2019

Updated 26th April 2019.

Wednesday 3rd April 2019.

Beyond the Ro and Moel Fferna

Distance: 9-10 mile. Climb:1500'.
Start: Lay-by next to The Butterfly Man and Craft Centre on the A5. Grid ref: SJ115436.
Leave Chester 09-00 a.m.
This walk combines one of the walks from Dave Berry's book "Walks Around Llangollen and the Dee Valley" with an extension to the summit of Moel Ferna (weather permitting). We will decide the return route on the day. We have visited Moel Ferna in all sorts of conditions, some good, some not so good, hopefully it will be a good one this time.

Saturday 6th April 2019. 

A Tale of Two Quarries.
Postponed 
On Wednesday there was a great deal of snow on the hills above Rhewl, and there is a good chance that it will still be there on Saturday.

Distance:10-11 miles; Will be shortened to about 9 miles  Climb:2800'. (will be reduced)
Start: Opposite Capel Hebron, Rhewl. Grid ref:SJ182449.
Leave Chester 9-00 a.m.
Two walks taken from Dave Berry's book ""Walking Around Llangollen and the Dee Valley. The two quarries walk is described as an exhilarating walk exploring the foothills and attractive South facing side valleys of the Llantysilio mountain range.
The second walk is described as a walk that explores the beautiful Dee Valley and includes passing around the head of an attractive side valley beneath Moel Morfydd, offering superb views of the Dee Valley and beyond.
I will shorten this walk. This walk will be put on again later in the year.

Replacement Walk - an Ed Special from Llanrwst. 

Leave Chester 08-30 to arrive at Llanrwst car park and ready to walk by 10-00.
Start: Llanrwst Car Park. Grid ref: SH795617.

Wednesday 10th April 2019.

Around Minera and Ruabon Mountains. 

Distance: 9-11 miles. Climb: 1000'.

Start: Minera Lead Mine Centre Car park. grid ref: SJ276509.

Leave Chester at 09-00 a.m.

This walk is taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks Around Ruabon and Hope Mountain". The walk is described as being quite demanding, especially on the open access moorland. A walk for experienced walkers only. This will be the third time that mot of us have done the walk, so we should be OK . Can be boggy underfoot as we found out in 2013 when we first did the walk,

Saturday 13th April 2019.

A Walk Around Disley.

Distance: 9-10 mile. Climb: 1200'.
Start: Disley Station Car Park. Grid ref: SJ972845. (If the car park is full, we will go to Lyme Park and park there, so if you are a National Trust member, bring your membership card with you.)
Leave Chester at 08-45 a.m.
This walk combine a walk from Jen Darling's book "More Pub Walks in Cheshire and the Wirral", with a walk from the "Pathfinders Guide to Cheshire".
The latter route takes us along the Gritstone Trail through Lyme Park and up to the Bowstones, where on a good day you get good views of Shutlingsloe and the Cheshire Plain.  The other walk on the East side of Disley, climbs Black Hill and gives good views towards Kinder.

Wednesday 17th April 2019.

Maen Achwfan, Llyn Helyg, Crown Bach and Coed Pen-y-Gelli.

Distance:9-10 miles. Climb:1000’.

Start:Roadside parking opposite the church in Whitford. Grid ref:SJ147782.

Leave Chester 9-00 a.m.

This is a Bluebell Woods walk we first did in 2011.

The walk starts off by using one of the walks in Dave Berry’s book “ Walks Around Holywell and Halkyn Mountain. We have completed this one several times, including visiting the beautifully carved Maen Achwfan.  However this time we include exploring two new woods, Glol and Llyn Helyg woods.  Hopefully we will return through Crown Bach woods to Lloc and then return to Whitford via Twll Bach.

Saturday 20th April 2019.

The Lawley and Caer Caradoc.
Postponed - Replaced by a walk around the Great Orme.

Distance:10 miles; Climb:2000'.
Start:Church Stretton centre car park (pay and display). Grid ref:SO454911.
Leave Chester 8-00 a.m.

It's Dotterel time again, so this is another walk that may give us the chance of seeing them again. The walk combines two walks taken from Ian Jones' booklet "20 Walks From Church Stretton".It is a walk that we first did in 1998 and have done several times since then. This is a superb walk, especially on a good day. It is the nearest that you can get to a ridge walk, particularly along the Lawley!

Wednesday 24th April 2019.

Coed Pen-y-Gelli and More.

Distance:9-10 miles. Climb:700’.

Start: Roadside parking at Lloc. If approaching from Holywell on the A5026, turn left by the public house (now a private house) into St Asaph Road. Park in left. If approaching on the A5026 from its nearest junction with the A55 (Prestatyn junction), Turn right in front of the public house (now a private house) into St Asaph Road. This is just after the the Pant Y Wacco sign and the road starts to bear left. St Asaph Road is one way and can only be approached from then A5026.

Grid ref:SJ145765.
Leave Chester at 09-00 a.m. This is one of our annual Bluebell Wood walks. It is a figure of eight walk based on Lloc. he walk includes parts of two walks taken from Dave Berry's booklet " Walks Around Holywell and Halkyn Mountain."

Saturday 27th April 2019.

Bluebell Woods Around Parbold. 
Reluctantly cancelled - I didn't fancy battling against strong winds and getting soaked as well!

Distance: 10 miles. Climb: 800'.

Start: Hunter's Hill Quarry Nature Reserve on Bannister Lane WN6 9QD. Grid ref: SD503123
It is 48 miles from Saltney, so should be a little less from Chester and should take just over an hour to get there.

Leave Chester at 08-30 a.m.

This walk is a walk that we have done for the last three years, and each time the Bluebell have been superb. This walk is on the East of Parbold, and visits up to ten different woods, After the"beast from the East" the Bluebells are blooming a little later than expected but hopefully they will be still in flower.  The walk also includes part of the Leeds - Liverpool Canal as far as Appley Bridge. This is a walk that we have done a few times now.    The first timet we did this walk, the Bluebells and wild garlic in Fairy Glen were quite stunning. As this is a little earlier than usual, hopefully they will be just as good.  In the past we have seen Brown hares, so hopefully we will today too. Bring binoculars with you just in case. There is no description, just the OS map.

Coed Pen-y-Gelli and Part of the Gorsedd Round 24th April 2019

Bluebells in Coed Allt-y-tywod.

On the path to Coed-y-Garreg.

Bluebells in Coed-y-Garreg.

Bluebells in Coed Pen-y-Gelli.

More Bluebells in Coed Pen--Gelli.

Bluebells in woods near Barrow by Wendy on the Thursday..

This way to Chwarei Pen-y-Gelli - not any more!

Lime kiln on St. Asaph Road, Gorseddd.

Walk stats: Distance: 11.0 miles. Climb: 1166'.

Time: 5 hours 44 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, Nigel, Wendy and Ian.

The morning was almost perfect for walking, overcast but not to cold. In sharp contrast to a week ago, the Bluebells were at their best in all three woods that we went through. Lots of other Spring flowers were showing well as well.

 the route today took us along the the road from Gelli Fawr to Coed Pen-y-Gelli, in order to avoid the usually boggy section on the approach to crown wood and Ffordd Las.

 On reaching the St. Asaph Road on the South side of Coed pen-y-Gelli, Wendy and Ian left us and headed back to the car, whilst we went in the opposite direction to have lunch in the Chwarei Pen-y-Gelli Nature Reserve.

 After lunch, we set off o the Gorsedd Round, initially heading North towards downing and Mertyn.

 Even on the roadside banks there were plenty of Spring flowers including many Bluebells.

 It started to rain during the the last twenty minutes of the walk, but thankfully it was only very light, and within minutes of arriving back at the car the rain stopped entirely.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Common pheasant, Woodpigeon, Comon blackbird, Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Dunnock, European robin, House sparrow, lack-billed magpie and Eurasia jay.

 Overall a very enjoyable walk, celebrated with a good pint of Lees Bitter at the Britannia Inn at Halkyn.

Around The Great Orme 20th Aril 2019

Looking across the sea towards Conwy Mountain from Llandudno West Shore.

A pair of Fulmars nesting on the west side of the Great Orme.

A pair of Fulmars at their nest site.

More loal residents on the Great Orme.

A wild goat trying to hide in a thicket.

Looking east towards the limestone pavement on the Great Orme.

Our first Grey seal sighting of the day.

Our second Grey seal sighting of the day.

Looking across Llandudno pier towards the Little Orme.

The Cromlech seen from the Copper Mine.

Distant views across the etsuary still misty.

Descending the path "Y Dref".

West shore comes into view.

Walk stats: Distance: 7.4 miles. Climb: 1240'.

Time: 4 hours 53 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.1 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.5 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn and Jim.

A last minute switch saw us head for the Great Orme, rather than Shropshire Hills where we would have been exposed to the full heat of Sun through the entire walk.

 Tthe walk started by taking the cliff side path towards Gogarth before talking the Monks' Path to reach the limestone plateau on the Great Orme.

 Distant views were quite hazy, but still giving offering something special.

 The Orme today was very busy, the superb forecast had brought out people in their droves.

 After passing St. Tudno's Church, we dropped down to Marine Drive and walked in the shade of northern cliffs of the Orme, much appreciated as it was approaching the hottest part of the day.

 Once again we were lucky enough to see two Grey seals swimming quite near to the shore line below Marine Drive. One section of he cliffs above and below Marine Drive still had a magnificent display of Primroses.

 Lunch was taken in Happy valley, where we took advantage of the seats in the shelter at the top end of the valley  and out of the Sun's glare.

 After lunch we climbed past the ski slope along the slopes of Mynydd Isaf and onto the Great Orme before descending by the Igam Ogam and back to the West Shore.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Greenfinch, Mute swan, Herring gull, Great cormorant, Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Raven, Fulmar, Wheatear, Meadow pipit, Skylark,Red billed chough, Great black backed gull Winter wren and Black-billed magpie.

We arrived back at the car, having had an enjoyable walk, and agreeing that it had been long enough on such a warm day (24 Celsius and hardly any wind).

 After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Blue Bell Inn at Halkyn, where the Lees Bitter and Black Dragon Cider slaked our thirst admirably.

Two Bluebell Walks Around Whitford 17th April 2019

Walk 1: 

Whitford, Coed Ffriddoedd, Coed y Garreg, Glol, Llyn Helyg Wood, Crown Bach wood and Coed Pen-y-Gelli.

Lambs taking the shade.

Lapwing South east of Plas-uchaf, Whitford.

Teal South east of Plas-uchaf, Whitford.

Bluebells in Coed Ffriddoedd.

Wood anenome in Coed y Garreg.

Willow warbler singing in Coed y Garreg.

The watch tower in Coed y Garreg..

Hazy views of the Glop.

Views from our lunch spot on the North side of Crown Bach.

Yes that is where the stile should be.

Walk stats: Distance: 7.5 miles. climb: 611'.

time: 4 hours 3 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.2 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.8 m.p.h.group: Martyn and Ed.

This was a good day for walking, pleasantly warm and dry, but distant views remained hazy all day.

 This was the first of our Bluebell wood walks in 2019, yes they were there, but not in their full glory. Last year we were a little late, this year we were a little too early.

 Nevertheless Spring flowers were well represented including: Bluebell, Wood anemone, Green alkanet, Periwinkle, Daisy, Dandelion, Self heal, Lesser celandine, cowslip, Hawthorn and Gorse.

 As we contoured around the Glol Nature Reserve, we had our best Bluebells so far, but they would still be a lot better in a couple of weeks time. however the Glol did provide us we our best sightings of butterflies, including: Peacock, Red admiral and Painted lady.

  We decided to miss out the circuit of Llyn Helyg, but even finding the right path South east towards Crown Bach didn't prove easy.

 Lunch was taken on the East side of Crown Bach, where a fallen tree provided good seating. We enjoyed lunch, at the same time considering how e would get round the fact that the tree trunk in which we were sitting had also fallen across the stile that we wanted to cross.

 Fortunately there was another stile a little further along the fence to the East.

 Coed Pen  y-Gelli did have a few Bluebells in bloom, but hopefully they will be better next week when we return.

Birds seen or heard: Common blackbird, Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Rook, Jackdaw, Blue tit, Great tit, Blackcap, Winter wren, Woodpigeon, Eurasian jay, Carrion crow, European robin, Common buzzard, Mallard, Shelduck and Grey heron and Common chaffinch.

We arrived back at the car quite early, so we decided on and extension that explored the are North east of Whitford.

Walk 2: 

Whitford, Rhewl Mostyn and Whitford Wood.

The bridleway leading North east to the Rhewl Mostyn road.

Speckled wood on the bridleway.

Drybridge Lodge.

Bluebells in Whitford Wood.

Hungry lambs in a field South of Whitford Wood.

Walk stats: Distance: 2.7 miles. Climb: 130'.

Time: 1 hour 13 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.6 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.2 m.p.h.

 This pleasant stroll in fact provide our best Bluebell sightings in Whitford Wood, as well as contributing to the need to clean our boots when we got home.

 The unusual feature of the day was the Drybridge Lodge, that has the unusual feature of a road beneath it and a carriageway through it that went from Mostyn Hall to Whitford.

 addition butterflies seen included: Speckled wood and Small white.

 Birds seen on this section included: Common blackbird, Common chaffinch, House sparrow, Winter wren, European robin, Greenfinch and Common buzzard.

 Overall a good day walking in warm temperatures that must have reached the high teens. 

Disley and Lyme Park and Stanley Hall and the Peak Forest Canal 13th April 2019

Disley and Lyme Park

The Cage in Lyme Park seen as we headed South long Green Lane (the Gritstone Trail) from Disley.

Red deer in Lyme Park.

Red deer in Lyme Park.

Looking North over Horse Coppice Reservoir.

A different  view of The Cage.

Red Deer in Lyme Park.

Shutligsloe from the Bowstones.

Looking across Bollinhurst Reservoir towards The Cage in Lyme Park.

Lams in  field on the North side of Bollinhurst Reservoir.

Walk stats: Distance: 7.1 miles. Climb: 1144'.

Time: 3 hours 58 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.group: Martyn and Wendy.

This was another good day for walking, dry with mainly sunny periods, but the cool Easterly breeze meant that we did have our fleeces on for the whole walk.

 Distant views were good, but somewhat hazy at times.

 Walking through Lyme Park, we were pleased to spot several small herds of Red deer. They were all a few hundred yards from us, but we still managed to get good views, especially through binoculars.

 As ever, Lyme Park was pretty busy with the overspill car park in use.

 As we climbed from Knightslow Wood to the Bowstones, we were fortunate enough to hear and also see several Meadow pipits and a couple of Skylarks.

 Heading North from Cock Knoll, a flock of about thirty Fieldfare flew west in front of us.

 Lunch was taken in the wood south east of Bollinurst Reservoir, where a fall tree provided a dry place to sit. It was so close to another tree that the trunk of the tree provided a back rest if you wanted one.

 As we approached Cockhead, it suddenly went colder and we had to endure a minute or two of hail.

 Birds seen or heard today included: European robin, wood nuthatch, Carrion crow, Rook, Common blackbird, Mallard, Tufted duck, Canada goose, Woodpigeon, Skylark, Meadow pipit, Jackdaw, Blue tit, Great tit and Black-billed magpie.

 Arriving back at the car quite early we decided to extend the walk by completing a short circuit on the north side of Disley.

Stanley Hall and the Peak Forest Canal.

The path allowed us to escape from the golf course into Stanley hall Wood.

The chimney - apparently all that remains of the old bone mill (Springwater Mill).

The path leading to the Peak Forest Canal.

A Canada goose on a nest adjacent to the Peak Forest Canal.

A Moorhen on Peak Forest Canal.

Checking the route.

No. 25 Swing Bridge and the way back to Disley.

Looking North towards the Peak District.

Walk stats: Distance: 2.8 miles. Climb: 298'.

Time: 1 hour 14 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.8 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.3 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn and Wendy.

This was quite a pleasant extension to our earlier walk, although the walk did involve walking through the middle of a golf course before we could escape into Stanley Hall Wood.

 The return route followed the Peak Forest Canal, and at one point the path was almost as good as a road.

 Along this section we passed two swing bridges, and witnessed one being raised to allow a narrow boat to pass through.

 It was along the canal that we saw a male Mandarin duck, but two narrow boats forced it to take to the air and fly off into a nearby stretch of woodland.

 Birds seen or heard included: Canada goose, European robin, Wood nuthatch, Moorhen, Mandarin duck, Mallard, Common blackbird, Blue tit, Great tit and Long-tailed tit.

 We arrived back at the car having had a good day walking around Disley and looking forward to some Lees Bitter at the Netherton Hall in Frodsham. 

 Alas I was to be disappointed, they had run out. I sampled a brew called "Rock"N" Roll Star", OK, but no match for their stock bitter. However the G and T sampled didn't present any issues.