Harris Hikers Adventures (Solo for some) Monday 8th June 2020

A Saltney Ferry and Roodee Round Finishing With A Closed Bridge.

A Greenfinch starts to sing.

A Grey heron on the banks of the River Dee, west of Bumper's Lane, Chester.

A Great cormorant has a problem washing down a fluke that it had just caught and eaten.

Men at work on the grass verges.

The Beluga flying in over Blacon.

A White tailed bumble bee or is it a Buff tailed bumble taking an umbel meal.

Saltney Quay from the Dee Coastal Path.

Chester Cathedral and Town Hall from the Dee Coastal Path.

A Common whitethroat singing on the Riverside.

A delightful path through a wooded area near Saltney Quay.

The Beluga heading for the clouds.

A male Common blackbird sings at The Riverside.

The fast flowing rising tide passing under the Saltney Ferry Footbridge.

The start of major repairs to Mold Junction Road Bridge.

Distance: 8.0 miles. Climb:127'.

Time: 4 hour 19 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.6 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.8 m.p.h.

This a good day for walking, dry, hardly amy breeze and a pleasant temperature. Plenty of walkers, dog walkers and cyclist about with many of the latter still persisting in passing walkers with less that half a metre clearance!

Once more Natural Resources Wales were out in force cutting the verges on both sides of the Wales Coast Path. They were the same team thata a week ago  had straightened the damaged gate on the other side of the river.

Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, House sparrow, Common whitethroat, Winter wren, Goldfinch, Black headed gull, Herring gull, Lesser black back gull, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Woodpieon, Collared dove, Blue tit, European robin, Dunnock, Greay cormorant, Grey heron, Black billed magpie, Mallard, Barn swallow, House martin, Common starling and the surprise of the day, a Skylark singing above a field south east of Saltney Ferry Footbridge.

On the return journey, the Mold Junction Road Bridge at Saltney Ferry was closed for major repairs to the stonework and later a full structural assessment of the main part of the bridge. Thankfully they will maintain a pathway for pedestrians throughout the times when the bridge is closed to all other traffic.

Back to a slower pace, as I noted lthe location of all of the birds that I saw as I went round, as well as time spent chatting to the various workers.