Approaching Hadlow Station along the platform from the car park.
Looking along Hadlow Station towards the signal box.
Redwing in a field near Willaston.
Redwing in a field near Willaston.
Our first sighting of the Mill nea\r Willaston.
A close up fo the Mill nweaer Willaston.
One of the better bridleways on our route to Raby today.
Fieldfare and Jackdaws in fields North west of The Mill, Willaston.
Roger putting his best foot forward having hit the tired leg barrier!
Walk stats: Distance: 8.5 miles. Climb: 316'.
Time: 4 hours 17 minutes: On the move walking average: 2.6 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.
Group: Martyn and Roger.
This isn't a walk that has mustered up even a glimmer of enthusiasm amongst our normal group members with a remarkable number of excuses being offered :- having a tooth out yesterday, a second cataract done just a few days ago, walking two dogs, baby sitting and D,I.Y. and even more, although being in the over seventy bracket I have the excuse I can't remember the rest!
We set off from the start at Hadlow Station in glorious sunshine and blue skies. It was a little blustery at the start, as Roger soon realised has he nearly lost his Tilley as we walked through Willaston.
Our was nominally 7.5 miles, but thanks to our inability to look at strategic points we ended up doing a little more.
The bird count started well as we headed towards The Mill at Willaston, where we saw at least two Redwing foraging with Balckbirds.
The first problem we encountered was near Cherry Farm, South of Raby, where a kissing gate engaged us for some time. Thankfully with Roger pulling it as hard as he could , I was able to squeeze through without the inconvenience of taking my rucksack off.
Lunch was taking along the bridleway towards Willaston, where too advantage of a Ivy covered tree stump on which to perch, little rwalisinfg that just 50 metres beyond was a bench!
Our second mistake was to take the path heading for Benty heath Lane, but at least it enabled us to see two Common buzzards and two Browm hares as we approached the road leading to Raby House Farm.
Birds seen or heard today included: Blue tit, Great tit, Common blackbird, Greenfinch, Common chaffinch, House sparrow, Common buzzard, Redwing, Fieldfare, Mallard, Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Herring gull, Common gull, Jackdaw, Rook, Black billed magpie, Common crow, Song thrush, European robin and Eurasian jay.
We arrived back at the car with our boots needing cleaning, but this didn't stop us saying that we had experienced a good walk and our legs knowing this was true.
It suited us to go straight home, Roger was hopeful of going to his optician to pick up his latest new spectacles, and me to call at Morrison's in Saltney to pick up some of my latest tipple (Weston's Heritage Still Cider.
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