An Early Morning Walk Along River to Chester 24th June 2026

Wildflowers at the Saltney Ferry Footbridge Parking area.

A better picture of the wildflower at the Saltney Ferry Footbridge parking area.

The Ox-eye daisies haven't woken up yet!

The Cornflowers are looking good.

Looking towards Saltney from the Saltney Ferry Footbridge.

The footpath all to myself! 

I rarely had the path to myself, even during the solo walking days of the pandemic!

The Black Poplar 

(Grown at Chester Zoo and the sapling was planted here on te Welsh side of the border before the pandemic).

Lady's bedstraw next to the Coastal Path.

Pedestrian traffic lights on the riverside path at The Cop on Sealand Road, Chester.

Major works requiring pedestrian traffic lights at The Cop, Sealand Road, Chester.

Looking towards Crane Wharf on the way to Chester.

Gateway to The Roodee Racecourse.

The Riverside Promenade past the racecourse.

Spot the Great cormorant perched on the branch of a dead tree.

The Groves, Chester.

Grosvenor Park, Chester.

Preparing for a major event in Grosvenor Park.

I think this is that event.

Distance: 5 miles. Climb: 200'.
Time: 1 hour 50 minutes. 
Overall walk average: 2.7 m.p.h.
An early start, I was on Saltney Ferry Footbridge before 07-00, when the temperature was very pleasant, around 20 Celsius. However, by the time I arrived at Chester Roodee Racecourse, it was already starting to feel too warm and quite muggy. The feel-like temperature must have been getting close to 30 Celsius.
Ideally, I should have left home and hour earlier than I did, but had I done that I might have arrived before the Square Bottle was open, and I would have to wait for my breakfast!
Today was more of a bird hearing walk than a birdwatching walk.
Birds seen and heard  today included: Carrion crow, Jackdaw, House sparrow, Winter wren, House martin, Barn swallow, Long tailed tit, Mallard, European robin, Great cormorant, Herring gull, Lesser black back gull, Black headed gull, Oystercatcher, Common blackbird and Woodpigeon.
Birds only heard: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Greenfinch, Common buzzard, Sedge warbler, Greater whitethroat, Collared dove
and Black billed magpie.
The newly created wildflower area by Saltney Ferry Footbridge car parking area was still looking good, even if the Ox-eye daisies hadn't fully opened up.  The Cornflowers were even better than they were on Sunday.
Plenty of early morning dog walkers were out along the riverside path (Coastal Path), as well as a few cyclists (thankfully none were lycra louts!).
I arrived at the Square Bottle, thankful that I had decided to have a walk in the "coolest" part of the day, but still needing to change my shirt  before going on for an excellent full English breakfast.

I arrived home and measured the temperature at home. It was 29.7 Celsius in the shade and 36.7 Celsius in the direct sunshine in front of my house.

Wildflowers growing in the pots at home.

Wildflowers growing in the pots at home.

Wildflowers growing in the pots at home.

Chirk, Chirk Bank, The Temple and Chirk Castle 13th June 2026

Welsh poppies next to the path. 

One of the willd flower meadows that we crossed on the way to The Temple Folly.

Buttercups next to the path.

The permissive way to the Temple Folly.

The Temple Folly.

At the Temple.

Views towards Chirk and beyond.

White valerian.

Red valerian.

First views of Chirk Castle.

Alpacas on the run.

A type of Cornflower.

Kilns next to the road leading to the "Crogen" bridge.

The Afon Ceiriog from the Crogen Bridge.

The commemorative plaque on the bridge over the Afon Ceoriog.

One of three information boards about the Battle of Crogen next to the permissive path leading to Chirk Castle.

The informative totem pole in the Mindful Meadow in the grounds of Chirk Castle.

Yellow rattle in the meadow next to our lunch spot.

Our closest view of Chirk Castle.

The dead and living side by side.

An information boards celebrating the beauty of waterways aeound Chirk.

Distance: 6.3 miles. Climb: 715’.
Time: 3 hours 44 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h. Overall walking average: 1.8 m.p.h.
Temperature: 13.5 Celsius at the start. In the main around 17.8 Celsius, although the breeze meant it felt cooler.
Beaufort Wind Force: Max 3, just a Gentle breeze.
Group: Martyn, and Mike.
The weather forecast looked pretty good today, except for strong winds, so we made a last-minute decision to walk from Chirk.
The walk took us through several wild flower meadow where “No Mo May” had been followed.
Permission to walk through the field to The Temple Folly has now granted, so there is no need to feel guilty when you walk to the folly.
Approaching Pont Raen, we forgot to take a minor road to the right, and ended up at the bridge with the plaque commemorating the Battle of Crogen.
This had the advantage that we didn’t have to walk the long access road through the grounds of Chirk Castle. It did however, shorted the walk by a couple of miles!
Lunch was taken in the “Mindful Garden” in the grounds of Chirk Castle. This a very pleasant, peaceful spot with plenty of picnic tables in a wildflower meadow, that thankfully seems to be ignored by the crowds visiting he castle.
After lunch, our route from the castle followed field paths through the grounds, eventually arriving at Chirk Station.
Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, Common pheasant, Chiffchaff, Winter wren, Great tit, Blackcap, European robin, Common kestrel, Common buzzard, Common chaffinch, Goldfinch, House martin, Mallard, Rook, Barn swallow, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Blue tit and European robin.
We arrived back at the car, with a strong smell of chocolate in air, a legacy of a nearby factory.
Overall, it was an enjoyable walk, despite it being a little on the short side.
Once more, we headed to the Pant yr Ochain for some liquid refreshment. Mike enjoyed his pint of Purple Moose’s Cwrw Eryri with some Sweet Chilli crisps, and I enjoyed a pot of tea with extra hot water.
I dropped Mike off in Upton, and it was still early enough to cross Chester before the races on the Roodee had finished.

Around Minera Mountain 10th June 2026

The start of our walk today.

"Fran you are going the wrong way!"

It's the Buttercup season

Red clover is doing well here too/

Ragged robin next to the path in Minera Mines Country Park.

Common spotted orchid next to the path in Minera Mines Country Park.

Foxgloves showing well

Guinea fowl, but they ae not included on the birds seen today.

So this is the Nature Reserve.

Lime kilns near the Minera Quarry,

Minera Quarry.

"Come on, can't you go quicker?"

"Mum, reading the notice is easier in English."

Just in case you wanted to read it as well.

Another view of the Minera Quarry.

Bird's foot trefoil in the field as we approached Minera Mountain.

Guess what, I can see Moel Famau!

A helicopter coining into land.

Approaching the trig point on Esclusham Mountain

Arriving at the trig point on Esclusham Mountain.

Hold on to your hats!

Annie with her patient friend on approaching the trig point on Esclusham Mountain

The disused mine area on Minera Mountain.

Another view of the disused mine area on Minera Mountain.

Walking through the bracken.

Fran says "Is this they we should be looking after the environment?"

Nearly back on track to the path leading to Fron Deg.

Not the easiest gate to negotiate!

Ox-eye daisies at the Minera Lead Mine Centre.

Distance: 6.9 miles. Climb1037’.
Time: 4 hours 36 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.2 m.p.h. Overall walking average: 1.5 m.p.h.
Temperature: 12.6 -13.7 Celsius.
Beaufort Wind Force: 3-4, mainly a Gentle breeze, but reached a 17.2 m.p.h. Moderate breeze near the trig point om Minera Mountain.
Group: Martyn, Mike, Fran, Annie and cockerpoo.
The weather forecast wasn’t brilliant, and we were anticipating frequent showers, possibly heavy.
We thought we had got away with it, but with less than a mile to go we had a downpour that made some of us grateful that we were sheltered enough to use our umbrellas!
We had a similar downpour just as we arrived back at the cars, one of the worst times for it to rain!
This was another day when natures the beauty showed well with lots of spring / summer flowers evident.
We saw plenty of Common sotted orchids, but they couldn’t match the splendour of the orchids seen last Saturday.
Route finding was easy s far as the trig point on Esclusham Mountain, but after that, it became more of a challenge!
We set off on what looked like a path that would be a short cut to the path we wanted that would lead to Fron Deg. Alas it ended up being a challenging tramp across bilberry and bracken terrain, at one point even Annie’s dog decided to lay down for a rest!
Lunch was taken much later than usual, as we all wanted put the moorland challenges behind us before relaxing at lunch.
It was 13-30 before we had lunch, and even Fran had only asked once “when are we stopping for lunch?” Outputs from Solar panels never even mentioned!
Luch was taken near Fron Deg, where all four of us manage to sit on a stile.
After lunch, we decide that the easiest option was to return to the start by using several sections of roads as well as on section of field paths.
Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, Common pheasant, Chiffchaff, Winter wren, Great tit, Willow warbler, Meadow pipit, Skylark, Carrion crow, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Eurasian curlew and Cuckoo.
We arrived back at the cars, having had an enjoyable walk (for some), and worthy of celebrating at the Pant yr Ochain with a pint of Titanic s Plum Porter and a Guinness Zero (Chilli crisps included!).
However, I don’t think this route across Mineral Mountain will be repeated!