Saturday 6 December 7 miles
Jane + John
A cold sunny winter's day, there was ice on the ground and the car.
The writer of the walk suggested that the walk would be muddy in winter, it was quite muddy in places but the cold ground was still quite frozen as well, so we managed ok. The ice on the grass and weeds as we walked through the fields
Some of the fields were waterlogged, we were able to walk from tuft of grass to tuft of grass but still on occasion our feet ended up in the water. in the holes created by animal feet.
We walked down a grassy track and the brown leaves on the ground were edged in ice so looked very pretty.
We walked in the woods by the River Bollin.Then we came to the tunnel under the runway.
The tunnel was created to
carry Runway Two across the River Bollin and is 240m long, 18m high and 24m
wide, it is also an impressive piece of engineering.
We walked all around the end of Runway Two. We watched the aeroplanes taking off over our heads. We could have been plane watching except that we didn't know the tail colours except for Virgin Airlines!
Finding somewhere to sit for lunch was difficult, in the end we sat on some gravel by the side of a little lane (a passing place really).
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Monday, 24 November 2014
Get Together
Saturday 8 November
Phil's Birthday meal get together
We went to The Badger, Church Minshull.
Phil's Birthday meal get together
We went to The Badger, Church Minshull.
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Lindow Common Circular
Saturday 11 October 6.5 miles
Jane, Tracey and Hilary
The day started bright and sunny, with a pleasant drive through the countryside to Lindow Common. there is plenty of parking.
The grass was very wet.
Rossmere is a man-made lake and it looked beautiful in the sunlight I was busy looking at the map and stood in a cowpat!
The golf course did not seem to be in use, and not clear which way we should go.
There was still dew on the green, on on of them you could see bird and animal tracts.
We saw a kestrel flying above the trees and then it settled on it
As the grass was still very wet it was hard to find a place to stop to have lunch, in the end we sat by a gate into a farmer's field on a bit of tarmac.
We stopped at the alpaca farm and talked to the lady who spent her time spinning.
Tea and cake/scone at the Cheshire Smokehouse
Saw a buzzard as we got out of the car
Jane, Tracey and Hilary
The day started bright and sunny, with a pleasant drive through the countryside to Lindow Common. there is plenty of parking.
The grass was very wet.
Rossmere is a man-made lake and it looked beautiful in the sunlight I was busy looking at the map and stood in a cowpat!
The golf course did not seem to be in use, and not clear which way we should go.
There was still dew on the green, on on of them you could see bird and animal tracts.
We saw a kestrel flying above the trees and then it settled on it
As the grass was still very wet it was hard to find a place to stop to have lunch, in the end we sat by a gate into a farmer's field on a bit of tarmac.
We stopped at the alpaca farm and talked to the lady who spent her time spinning.
Tea and cake/scone at the Cheshire Smokehouse
Saw a buzzard as we got out of the car
Saturday, 6 September 2014
Church Minshull
Saturday 6 October 6.5 miles
Donna, Tracey, Jane + Hilary
A grey day but no rain - it was a little brighter later.
A local walk just for Donna as she didn't want to drive too far!
We decided not to park at the Badger, so we found a place a bit further along the road.
There was a cool wind as we started, we soon warmed up as we began to walk.
We turned off the B5074 on to Cross Lane, across the River Weaver and further up the road went on to the Shropshire Union Canal. There were a few boat travelling this stretch of water. We passed what had been an old stable block that has been turned into a home. It looked very attractive with the red brick and the old stable doors stained black with black metal furniture.
As we walked along the canal we were not far from the west coast line so we could see the a goods train and passenger trains travelling along the line.
We went under three bridges and then started across the fields. We followed the edge of a wood that curved around the river, but we couldn't see it. Then we came to our first field of maize so we had to walk along through it until we reached the old bridge with metal gates with latches and crossed The Weaver.
Lunch sitting near a stile by Paradise Green Farm, with the jersey cows looking over the gate.
The thistles in the field were very prickly and plenty of them! There were sheep in this field.
We crossed the plank bridge but were faced with maize growing in the field, we couldn't find a path across it. We went around the field edge alongside the edge of the maize, but that left us in the wrong place. We followed the track, but still couldn't find the path across the next field. A couple were burning plant material behind the barn conversions in Church Minshull.
Minshulls Garden Centre for tea/latte and cake (we all had toffee, pecan and cranberry cake!)
Donna, Tracey, Jane + Hilary
A grey day but no rain - it was a little brighter later.
A local walk just for Donna as she didn't want to drive too far!
We decided not to park at the Badger, so we found a place a bit further along the road.
There was a cool wind as we started, we soon warmed up as we began to walk.
We turned off the B5074 on to Cross Lane, across the River Weaver and further up the road went on to the Shropshire Union Canal. There were a few boat travelling this stretch of water. We passed what had been an old stable block that has been turned into a home. It looked very attractive with the red brick and the old stable doors stained black with black metal furniture.
As we walked along the canal we were not far from the west coast line so we could see the a goods train and passenger trains travelling along the line.
We went under three bridges and then started across the fields. We followed the edge of a wood that curved around the river, but we couldn't see it. Then we came to our first field of maize so we had to walk along through it until we reached the old bridge with metal gates with latches and crossed The Weaver.
Lunch sitting near a stile by Paradise Green Farm, with the jersey cows looking over the gate.
The thistles in the field were very prickly and plenty of them! There were sheep in this field.
We crossed the plank bridge but were faced with maize growing in the field, we couldn't find a path across it. We went around the field edge alongside the edge of the maize, but that left us in the wrong place. We followed the track, but still couldn't find the path across the next field. A couple were burning plant material behind the barn conversions in Church Minshull.
Minshulls Garden Centre for tea/latte and cake (we all had toffee, pecan and cranberry cake!)
Sunday, 10 August 2014
Conwy Mountain
Saturday 9 August 5miles
Donna, Martin, Jane + John
We parked in Conwy near Mountain Road, and this gave us easy access to the Conwy Mountain path.
Beautiful day, lovely views. We couldn't see the wind turbines so clearly from the top of the mountain there was a little cloud cover.
Pen Pyra house looked lovely in the sunshine with the stone outbuildings and the dry stone wall surrounding it.
From the Mountain we could across to The Great Orme, with the white cafe stuck on the top.
We crossed the Sychnant Pass Road, there were a few cars parked here - mainly dog walkers we thought! The ice-cream van also made an appearance. We stopped here to look at the map, as there was a bit of a breeze blowing we were trying to find some shelter to open up the map.
We sat and had our lunch facing the hills covered in purple heather and yellow gorse it made the hills look soft and velvety.
On our return journey the cloud had risen so that we could see across to the wind turbines and as far as Liverpool.
Coffee and tea with cake in L's coffee shop on the High Street
Donna, Martin, Jane + John
We parked in Conwy near Mountain Road, and this gave us easy access to the Conwy Mountain path.
Beautiful day, lovely views. We couldn't see the wind turbines so clearly from the top of the mountain there was a little cloud cover.
Pen Pyra house looked lovely in the sunshine with the stone outbuildings and the dry stone wall surrounding it.
From the Mountain we could across to The Great Orme, with the white cafe stuck on the top.
We crossed the Sychnant Pass Road, there were a few cars parked here - mainly dog walkers we thought! The ice-cream van also made an appearance. We stopped here to look at the map, as there was a bit of a breeze blowing we were trying to find some shelter to open up the map.
We sat and had our lunch facing the hills covered in purple heather and yellow gorse it made the hills look soft and velvety.
On our return journey the cloud had risen so that we could see across to the wind turbines and as far as Liverpool.
Coffee and tea with cake in L's coffee shop on the High Street
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Shropshire Weekend
Saturday 5 - 6 July approx. 4 miles
Hilary, Tracey, Jane + Carol
Saturday 5 July
A walk in the beautiful Shropshire Hills
It rained heavily on Friday so we weren't sure what to expect, so we were lucky to have such good weather.
After our drive into Shropshire we started at the Bog car park. We visited the toilet and checked out the crafts for sale and the cakes for later.
The instructions for the walk were not very easy to follow so of course we went the wrong way.
We climbed up to the Stiperstone ridge. We followed the Shropshire Way and went down a hill and sat and had our lunch. We could hear plenty of birds whilst we sat on the grass. We saw a raven sitting on the top of a tree.
Then a group D of E girls came up the hill out of the woods looking hot and bothered in the heat with the large bags on their backs, we did not envy them.
We continued down the hill to a lane, crossed the road and went over the stile and down a further hill. It didn't quite seem right especially as we were supposed to be going towards a farmhouse, so we returned to the lane to try and work out where we should be going. Tracey and I tried to find another path amongst the nettles but we couldn't find one. Fortunately two people and two dogs came over the stile, they became our saving angels as we were able to work out from the map that we had gone in the wrong direction!
We walked back up the hill. The quartzite was very sparkly. As we were walking into the sun we didn't notice how shiny the rocks were until we had the sun behind us.
We decided to walk up to the Cranberry Rocks - sat taking in the beautiful view. There were a couple of caterpillars on the path about 10 cm long.
Had tea and cake at The Bog, the young girl serving us was not up to speed and didn't keep up with our orders so we had to repeat them. Then when we sat outside our orders came in three or four batches as the order was wrong, also there was not enough milk for four having tea so we had to ask for more! Tracey bought a bracelet and Carol two tea towels.
Saturday night is not a good time to find somewhere to eat in Shrewsbury - we tried a number of places either they were full or we were going to have to wait an hour. We ate at the A Hole in the Wall - we just managed to order food in time as they stop serving food at 8pm. and then start the disco, so the music was VERY loud whilst we were eating our meal.
We had a wander around the town. Hilary wanted to show us Tanners.
At the Lion and Pheasant we stopped for tea and hot chocolate, a boutique hotel with a mix of the old and the new.
Sunday 6 July
We walked from the hotel along the river to the park. We had a drink at the swimming pool cafe. We decided we had better walk back, but noticed a gap in the hedge and when we went through it there were beautiful planted beds with hundreds and hundreds of plants in them.
Hilary, Tracey, Jane + Carol
Saturday 5 July
A walk in the beautiful Shropshire Hills
It rained heavily on Friday so we weren't sure what to expect, so we were lucky to have such good weather.
After our drive into Shropshire we started at the Bog car park. We visited the toilet and checked out the crafts for sale and the cakes for later.
The instructions for the walk were not very easy to follow so of course we went the wrong way.
We climbed up to the Stiperstone ridge. We followed the Shropshire Way and went down a hill and sat and had our lunch. We could hear plenty of birds whilst we sat on the grass. We saw a raven sitting on the top of a tree.
Then a group D of E girls came up the hill out of the woods looking hot and bothered in the heat with the large bags on their backs, we did not envy them.
We continued down the hill to a lane, crossed the road and went over the stile and down a further hill. It didn't quite seem right especially as we were supposed to be going towards a farmhouse, so we returned to the lane to try and work out where we should be going. Tracey and I tried to find another path amongst the nettles but we couldn't find one. Fortunately two people and two dogs came over the stile, they became our saving angels as we were able to work out from the map that we had gone in the wrong direction!
We walked back up the hill. The quartzite was very sparkly. As we were walking into the sun we didn't notice how shiny the rocks were until we had the sun behind us.
We decided to walk up to the Cranberry Rocks - sat taking in the beautiful view. There were a couple of caterpillars on the path about 10 cm long.
Had tea and cake at The Bog, the young girl serving us was not up to speed and didn't keep up with our orders so we had to repeat them. Then when we sat outside our orders came in three or four batches as the order was wrong, also there was not enough milk for four having tea so we had to ask for more! Tracey bought a bracelet and Carol two tea towels.
Saturday night is not a good time to find somewhere to eat in Shrewsbury - we tried a number of places either they were full or we were going to have to wait an hour. We ate at the A Hole in the Wall - we just managed to order food in time as they stop serving food at 8pm. and then start the disco, so the music was VERY loud whilst we were eating our meal.
We had a wander around the town. Hilary wanted to show us Tanners.
At the Lion and Pheasant we stopped for tea and hot chocolate, a boutique hotel with a mix of the old and the new.
Sunday 6 July
We walked from the hotel along the river to the park. We had a drink at the swimming pool cafe. We decided we had better walk back, but noticed a gap in the hedge and when we went through it there were beautiful planted beds with hundreds and hundreds of plants in them.
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Tarporley
Sunday 8 June 7.5miles
Jane, Tracey. Donna and Hilary
On our way we got caught in the traffic going to The British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park so rather than attempting to travel along the A49 we drove round to the A51 and to Tarporley.
We parked in Tarporley behind the Rising Star pub.
In walking over the golf course we had to keep an eye out for golfers. Fortunately the golf course wasn't too busy.
There is quite a contrast with the golf course when we got to the A49 as the traffic seemed very fast and noisy, it took a little time to cross the road. As we went downhill away from the road the long grass was wet, and there were plenty of nettles. The warm and damp weather had made everything grow well. Hilary wore her shorts so her legs must have been stung as she walked through the nettles!
When we got to the the Sandstone trail we sat and had lunch.
There was plenty of mud!! I suppose so many people had walked the route that the surface was semi-liquid making it hard to walk in. Once our boots were covered with mud we certainly had a job to walk, also the path was narrow in places so we couldn't avoid walking through the mud. Donna had worn her lighter shoes so had a task in trying to avoid the mud!
There was a little rain in the air as we went over the fields near the end of the walk, but fortunately nothing came of it.
We went to the Old Fire Station for tea and cake, we sat outside in the courtyard as the sun came out again.
The rain started as we drove back in the car
Really rained once home, so we were lucky.
Jane, Tracey. Donna and Hilary
On our way we got caught in the traffic going to The British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park so rather than attempting to travel along the A49 we drove round to the A51 and to Tarporley.
We parked in Tarporley behind the Rising Star pub.
In walking over the golf course we had to keep an eye out for golfers. Fortunately the golf course wasn't too busy.
There is quite a contrast with the golf course when we got to the A49 as the traffic seemed very fast and noisy, it took a little time to cross the road. As we went downhill away from the road the long grass was wet, and there were plenty of nettles. The warm and damp weather had made everything grow well. Hilary wore her shorts so her legs must have been stung as she walked through the nettles!
When we got to the the Sandstone trail we sat and had lunch.
There was plenty of mud!! I suppose so many people had walked the route that the surface was semi-liquid making it hard to walk in. Once our boots were covered with mud we certainly had a job to walk, also the path was narrow in places so we couldn't avoid walking through the mud. Donna had worn her lighter shoes so had a task in trying to avoid the mud!
There was a little rain in the air as we went over the fields near the end of the walk, but fortunately nothing came of it.
We went to the Old Fire Station for tea and cake, we sat outside in the courtyard as the sun came out again.
The rain started as we drove back in the car
Really rained once home, so we were lucky.
Monday, 12 May 2014
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Kingsley Circular Walk
Saturday 10 May 6.1 miles++
Tracey, Jane, Carol and Hilary
The forecast was for rain, so when we got to Kingsley Community Centre we put on our waterproof trousers. It was just as well as it started to rain whilst we were putting on our boots.
This proved to be a lovely walk through the Cheshire countryside, lots of fields and woods, bridges over streams. I managed to slip on a stone slab bridge near the beginning, fortunately I landed on my side on the slab and not in the stream!.
There were still bluebells out in places and the wild garlic was lovely with the white lighting up the woodland floor. The hawthorn was also flowering so it was a good time of year for the walk.
The instructions for the walk were not always clear, sometimes it wasn't easy to find the direction we were meant to go in when we were crossing undulating fields.
Quite a few of the fields had long grass so it was hard work walking through them. Sometimes we followed the leaders footsteps so it wasn't as hard.
Lunch by the Weaver Cut, even though it had just rained on our way down to the river we actually had our lunch in sunshine sitting on a bench, near the rusty winding gear. There were some people water skiing on the river.
Lots of cows by the river, mainly bullocks. As they were a bit scared of us they would move suddenly, but that was more scary for us!
We managed to make the walk longer than it should have been. But the walk along the river was lovely. We decided not to retrace our steps but to follow the road back as instructed by a gentleman at the caravan park in Crowton.
Stopped at Blakemere for tea and cake (and hot chocolate). Went to The Village coffee bar and Restaurant this time, it was very nice inside and had lovely carrot cake.
Tracey, Jane, Carol and Hilary
The forecast was for rain, so when we got to Kingsley Community Centre we put on our waterproof trousers. It was just as well as it started to rain whilst we were putting on our boots.
This proved to be a lovely walk through the Cheshire countryside, lots of fields and woods, bridges over streams. I managed to slip on a stone slab bridge near the beginning, fortunately I landed on my side on the slab and not in the stream!.
There were still bluebells out in places and the wild garlic was lovely with the white lighting up the woodland floor. The hawthorn was also flowering so it was a good time of year for the walk.
The instructions for the walk were not always clear, sometimes it wasn't easy to find the direction we were meant to go in when we were crossing undulating fields.
Quite a few of the fields had long grass so it was hard work walking through them. Sometimes we followed the leaders footsteps so it wasn't as hard.
Lunch by the Weaver Cut, even though it had just rained on our way down to the river we actually had our lunch in sunshine sitting on a bench, near the rusty winding gear. There were some people water skiing on the river.
Lots of cows by the river, mainly bullocks. As they were a bit scared of us they would move suddenly, but that was more scary for us!
We managed to make the walk longer than it should have been. But the walk along the river was lovely. We decided not to retrace our steps but to follow the road back as instructed by a gentleman at the caravan park in Crowton.
Stopped at Blakemere for tea and cake (and hot chocolate). Went to The Village coffee bar and Restaurant this time, it was very nice inside and had lovely carrot cake.
Goostrey Village circular walk
Saturday 5 April 4.25 miles
Carol, Hilary, Jane, Donna
We parked at the Red Lion.
Went past St Luke's Church.
The walk through the woods was lovely, the bluebells and the wild garlic will be out soon.
Over the fields and into the village, passed the houses.
We went to The Tea Room at Goostrey Home and Leisure.
Carol, Hilary, Jane, Donna
We parked at the Red Lion.
Went past St Luke's Church.
The walk through the woods was lovely, the bluebells and the wild garlic will be out soon.
Over the fields and into the village, passed the houses.
We went to The Tea Room at Goostrey Home and Leisure.
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Daresbury
Sunday 2 March 8 miles
Tracey, Jane, Donna, Hilary
It wasn't supposed to rain until the afternoon, but of course it did!! Fortunately it only drizzled on and off.
Bridgewater Canal
Sheltered by a hedge and sat on an old bit of fence to have our lunch.
Donna and Hilary said they were hungry at 11.15, but we said they had to wait, and they were good and waited another hour
Hilary saved a sheep that was stuck in a fence.
We got muddy as the walk was on wet ground pretty much all the way around. We certainly got some exercise.
Tea and cake - we went to Davenports, but they didn't want to take an order from us, so we left. We went to Blakemere instead.
Tracey, Jane, Donna, Hilary
It wasn't supposed to rain until the afternoon, but of course it did!! Fortunately it only drizzled on and off.
Bridgewater Canal
Sheltered by a hedge and sat on an old bit of fence to have our lunch.
Donna and Hilary said they were hungry at 11.15, but we said they had to wait, and they were good and waited another hour
Hilary saved a sheep that was stuck in a fence.
We got muddy as the walk was on wet ground pretty much all the way around. We certainly got some exercise.
Tea and cake - we went to Davenports, but they didn't want to take an order from us, so we left. We went to Blakemere instead.
Year Eight Summary
Walk 1: March 10 2013 Bridgemere 6.5 miles Tracey, Donna, Jane, Carol and Hilary.
Walk 2: April 13 2013 Disley Hilary’s walk Hilary +
Walk 3: May 18 2013 Tal-y-Fan Donna, Jane, Hilary and Tracey,
Walk 4: June 22 Plumley Station
Walk 7.75 miles Jane, Hilary, Tracey and Carol,
Walk 5: July 20 Carol’s Walk Carol +
Walk 6: September 7 Weaver Valley and Vale Royal Abbey 7
miles Tracey, Jane and Hilary
Walk 8: October 12 2013 Village walk has unspoilt view Hilary, Carol, Tracey and Jane
Walk 9: November 9 2013 Plumley Station 5 miles Donna, Carol, Tracey, Hilary and Jane
Walk 10: December 7 2013 Brook Lane to Merryman's Lane
5.3 miles Jane, Hilary and Carol
Walk 11: January 4 2014 A walk from Carol’s
House Carol, Hilary,
Donna, Tracey and
Jane
Walk 12: February 8 2014 Ravensmoor 4 miles Hilary, Jane, Tracey and Carol.
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Ravensmoor
Saturday 8 February 4 miles
Hilary Tracey Jane Carol
Hilary parked the car on the road near the Farmers Arms in Sound Lane. We decided to put on our waterproofs as rain was forecast but there was also a cold wind so the extra layer helped.
The book that the walk was in suggested that we looked out for the friesian cows, and we saw one! In the minutes that we were walking passed the field it disappeared over a slope in the field.
We turned off the road at Sound Oak farm.
We passed the lovely looking Baddiley Hulse Farm on the corner.
Lots of sheep and lambs in the fields.
At Baddiley Church we had lunch sitting on a grave stone
Hilary had just commented that we had done well to not get too muddy so we then had to follow the path between the hedges that was very wet.
Rain was forecast but it only started as we got back to the car
We travelled back to The Gallery Cafe at the Aqueduct Marina for tea and cake. It was just as well that we arrived early as they were closing early for an event.
Hilary Tracey Jane Carol
Hilary parked the car on the road near the Farmers Arms in Sound Lane. We decided to put on our waterproofs as rain was forecast but there was also a cold wind so the extra layer helped.
The book that the walk was in suggested that we looked out for the friesian cows, and we saw one! In the minutes that we were walking passed the field it disappeared over a slope in the field.
We turned off the road at Sound Oak farm.
We passed the lovely looking Baddiley Hulse Farm on the corner.
Lots of sheep and lambs in the fields.
At Baddiley Church we had lunch sitting on a grave stone
Hilary had just commented that we had done well to not get too muddy so we then had to follow the path between the hedges that was very wet.
Rain was forecast but it only started as we got back to the car
We travelled back to The Gallery Cafe at the Aqueduct Marina for tea and cake. It was just as well that we arrived early as they were closing early for an event.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
A walk from Carol's House + Planning
Saturday 4 January 5.8 miles
Carol, Hilary, Donna, Tracey, Jane
Shropshire Union Canal
Church Minshull
Wet and muddy underfoot!!
Had lunch sitting on a log. Carol noticed a newt.
It started to rain but not hard and not for too long.
Avoided the cows by walking around - the cows followed us along the electric fence.
Back to the canal, and went over the bridge and along a track.
Tea and cake at Carol's house.
Planning meeting
Carol, Hilary, Donna, Tracey, Jane
Shropshire Union Canal
Church Minshull
Wet and muddy underfoot!!
Had lunch sitting on a log. Carol noticed a newt.
It started to rain but not hard and not for too long.
Avoided the cows by walking around - the cows followed us along the electric fence.
Back to the canal, and went over the bridge and along a track.
Tea and cake at Carol's house.
Planning meeting
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