Following on from the previous Doorstep Adventure I continued the theme of following the waterways that passed through the place I live.

Looking at my OS Maps I decided to follow the River Dee starting in Eccleston Ferry, just ten minutes drive away. I have been here many times to walk the dog but tend to follow the river in the direction of the city, going with the river’s flow. I had yet to follow it in the other direction, for no other reason than I had never got around to it.
 
Parking in the small car park I headed towards the river taking the path to the right, instead of the left as I would normally do. The path entered a wooded area whose trees wore subtle hints that autumn was on its way. It still felt like summer though, with warm temperatures, blue skies and bright sunshine.

The path follows the river’s edge so I would often stop to watch the river slowly drift passed, waving to canoeists and people in small boats on the water. Walking through the woods I was surrounded by an array of beautiful birdsong and beams of light that shone through the high canopy. Further along the path passes behind Eaton Hall, its wrought iron fences coming into view. Here the stretch of the river feels quite wild with its banks overgrowing with vegetation and the wildlife was in abundance!

Meandering on, the path eventually left the riverside and took a curve inland passing a large field at the Crook of Dee. Passing by a lovely house on the edge of the Eaton Hall Estate it soon re-entered the woodland and took care on the muddy path that began to narrow. It eventually led to an access road where I joined it to cross the beautiful bridge over the river, re-joining the path on the other side.

It was evident that the path along this side of the river wasn’t used as much as the one I had come from as it was pretty overgrown in parts and I often had to duck under low hanging branches, using my walking pole to bushwhack through the thicket (a reason why I always carry a single pole with me). After a short while of feeling like I was in the jungle I came to a small cove on the river where I sat to have my lunch, watching the fishes in the shallow water. As time wore on, a couple of canoeist passed by and having given them a wave I packed up my flask and ventured on. Fortunately you can leave the overgrown path and follow it parallel at the edge of a field behind the village of Aldford. This made it much easier than trying to fight through overgrowing brambles.

Passing through a gate the path continued through woodland with the river still in sight before it opened up to a large area of lush green pastures. It was a lovely sight and I could see a tractor carrying out the harvest in the next field, followed closely by a flock of birds.

Here I sat down for a while to watch the natural world go by and enjoy the sun’s warmth on my face. I could have easily stayed there for hours but looking at my watch I decided that it was time to head back.

I retraced my route, enjoying being immersed in the natural surroundings. Passing through the woodlands, through the jungle and over the bridge I followed the path all the way back to where I had started, stopping to chat with some people along the way.

This was a few free hours on a Sunday very well spent and I promised myself that I would do the route again, this time walking all away to the village of Farndon. It really is easy to take for granted what you have on your doorstep and I have really enjoyed exploring areas around my hometown. There certainly is so much to see and experience!

I’m terrible for this. A free weekend inevitably sees me pack up my kit and head straight from work to the hills on Friday night for a couple days walking & wild camping. What’s the problem with this you may ask, and there isn’t one really, but it means that that I tend to take the place I live for granted. Sure, I don’t step out of my door to be met by a mighty peak or venture into a vast wilderness beyond the gate where I can walk for days without bumping into anyone but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t loads of lovely places brimming with wildlife in and around my area that I have yet to discover.

It happened that I had two weekends in a row where the Sunday was free so I decided to go somewhere new in and around where I live. The aim was also not to have to drive anywhere, or at least no more than ten minutes. Looking at the map I decided to follow the waterways in the area, one being the River Dee and the other the Canal.

And so, the first Sunday I looked at the maps to see how far I could walk down the Shropshire Union Canal and whether I could follow it all the way to Nantwich. It seemed perfectly doable and I reckoned I could get all the way to Nantwich in about 5hrs. Here I would then get the bus back home.

Of I set with a small rucksack with a couple of bits of kit and my lunch, closing the front door behind me as I made my way to the point where I could pick up the canal tow path.

Straight away I was met with the sight of the waterways and some bright and beautiful canal boats and barges, each adorned with their own individual names. This is a particularly busy part of the canal with people out on the tow path enjoying Sunday strolls and family bike rides, thus creating a lovely, easy-going atmosphere. I walked along passing ducks and moorhens eagerly waiting for snacks from passers-by, eventually entering part of the canal where people’s gardens met the water's edge.

I looked on in envy at each of these beautiful gardens that had direct access to the canal, some with decked areas where they could sit and watch the water world go by, many with small rowing boats tied up. The ones with the fire pits and chimineas were my favourite! After watching a cat try to stalk a few ducks that were hanging around one of the garden (unsuccessfully I might add) I was met with part of the path that had a tree overhanging, causing a bit of an obstruction. At this point I could see another person approaching so waited to let them through. They actually did the same and very kindly let me go through first. Here we passed some pleasantries before engaging in a full-blown conversation about mountains, climbing, Snowdonia and books about mountains and climbing. Who would have thought that I would have met a fellow mountain and adventure enthusiast on a canal tow path, just by absolute chance?

iIt was rather serendipitous and we had the most fantastic and fascinating conversation stood there by the canal. The chap actually lived on a boat there so gave me lots of information about the wildlife he often sees. The thing was that before we knew it we had been stood there chatting for an hour and a half! After saying farewell I continued on, soon realising that I would probably not make it to Nantwich in time to catch a bus. This really wasn’t a problem as I had enjoyed our conversation so much so decided to press on and walk as far as I could by a certain time, to which I would then turn around and retrace my route back home.

As I passed the chap’s boat I kept an eye out for the kingfisher he said he usually sees. Lo and behold, a quick flash of electric blue and there it was, perched on a post on the other side of the canal.

I walked further passing more interesting gardens and a barge that was certainly made for me called 'Mountain Dreamer'. As I began to leave the villages the canal took an interesting change. It became very overgrown either side with the evasive Himalayan Balsam blocking the edge.

It suddenly began to feel rather wild, not where you would expect a boat to cruise past. Here the wildlife truly flourished and I nearly bumped into a Heron who was stood on the path ahead of me. He only decided to fly off as I approached giving me a spectacular view of his wing span as he headed down the canal.

Passing under bridges and walking parallel to farmland I suddenly spotted something poking out of the hedge. A first it just looked like a small plastic box but on further investigation it was actually a Geocache. Popping it back in its location I walked further along the canal until I spotted something rather unusual fluttering in the wind. Attached to a moored barge was a black flag with skull and crossbones! Pirates!

Approaching carefully so not to disturb the infamous Canal Pirates I could see that next to the barge was a cool little shed and a large canvas tent with structures made from willow inside. There also seemed to be a stone pizza oven type structure. This was a full living set-up and a sign pointed out that you could do willow weaving courses there. How fantastic, this pirate’s life was not at sea but more so at the canalside.

Looking at my watch I realised that it was time to make a move back, so swung my rucksack on my back and off I set the way I had come, again saying hello to the waterside community and the Pirate. Back along the path, under bridges, watching the wildlife enjoy their surroundings I was soon back where I started on the tow path. Making my way back home I thought about all the things I had seen and experienced on my short walk down the canal that is so close to my home.

It is very easy to take for granted the things on your doorstep, especially with the lure of mountains and wild terrain. Let’s not forget though that there are so many places to discover that boast a different but equally fulfilling  experience. On that Sunday I was glad to have made the most of it.

As November approached and the rich colours of Autumn were in full vibrancy I decided to take this opportunity to experience autumn before it faded into winter, and headed across Cheshire for a low hill, woodland walk.

This took me to a circular walk up and over the hills that run on the Sandstone trail, a popular long distance walk that runs 34 miles/55 kilometres over Cheshire’s countryside. I chose this area as it features dramatic sandstone ridges and outstanding panoramas, which at this time of the year provides a beautiful scene of contrasting colours. It is also an area steeped in history with hill forts and settlements featured along the ridge dating back to the Iron Age.

Having parked at the Sandstone Pub, formally known as the Copper Mine, I crossed the A534 and headed through a gate and into the field alongside Fullersmoor Farm. At this point the skies were blue, holding a hazy, low-hung sun, whilst the air was crisp and filled with  the smell of chimney smoke, creating the perfect autumnal atmosphere. I made my way up to Park Wood which provided a great view across the north of Cheshire, where I could make out certain features, such as the River Dee and Stanlow Refinery, amongst the rich autumnal colours.

From here I continued on the path passing the enclosed woodland to the right and walked down into the small village of Harthill, passing the church and a house with an intriguing and abundant display of different ornaments in the front garden. After the Harthill Cookery School I continued down the narrow path, gradually increasing in gradient as I paralled the fields that contain ‘Hales Superbole’ track – a rugged trail with obstacles and such for a mountain style skateboard to be ridden on.

After stopping for a while to watch I then continued uphill to Bodnik Wood, an area where the true force of autumn was in full bloom as I crunched across the leaf scattered woodland. Here I stumbled across a bouquet of pheasants in all their squawking glory! Now, for those who are familiar to the sound of a pheasants call, I’m sure you will agree that for such a beautiful and graceful looking bird, its call is anything but. It is more like a broken fog horn, and can be a bit unnerving if you didn't know what was making the noise! 

For the next hour or so, this was the noise that dominated the sandstone ridge, which was actually quite nice once you had got used to the sound. Having come out of the woods and down the hill into a field next to a cosy looking house with its chimney going, I crossed the narrow track and continued on the path through a small beech wood which brings you to a quiet lane. Here I took a left and walked up the lane to a point where the path to Raw Head was signposted to the right. Here I walked through the woodland and stopped when I noticed a woodpecker flying to and fro, easily identified by its unique flight style. I watched for a while to identify it as a lesser spotted woodpecker, and then began to notice the abundance of small birds flying about the trees. From Nuthatch, Tree Creeper, to Robin and various others, it was a hive of activity and quite splendid to watch as the sun shone through the wood sending beams of light amongst the trees.

The path eventually leaves the woodland and brings you up to an exposed hillside where I could look down to the valley and see where I had walked from. Turning right, I followed the path along the sandstone ridge passing a meadow to my left which feature a grand view across the south of Cheshire behind it. After a short while I reached the summit of Raw Head (227m Highest point in Cheshire, west of the Pennines) where a trig point sat and there was a great view across the Cheshire Plain and beyond, thought a couple of trees slightly obscured what used to be an open view.

Though the view was incredible, what really intrigued me with this part of the walk was in fact a cave that is situated a few metres away from the summit. This cave is said to be ‘Mad Allen’s Hole where apparently, in the 18th Century, a hermit used to live having chosen to live this way after being spurned by a girl he had asked to marry him. Having got the hump, he sold his possessions and went to spend the rest of his years living in caves, firstly this one before up scaling to another cave on Bickerton Hill. The cave itself is pretty impressive, not huge, but features some tunnels and goes back fairly deep so makes for a decent enough shelter.
 
I’m sure with a little ‘je ne sais quoi’ it would have made a nice home!

Having explored the cave and spooked myself enough (there was no one else about but I could have sworn someone called out), I continued on the path that leads from the summit and down through the wooded hillside to the road to Chiflik Farm. Here I crossed the A543 and headed down the road to Bickerton Village, passing the church and taking the path on the right into the woodlands that lead up to Bickerton Hill, where again, the full colours of Autumn were on display. This was a busy area with many people about with families or dog walkers even though it was fairly late in the afternoon, with the sun promising to set within the next hour or so.

Having followed the well trodden track I came to near the summit of the hill, where again you were welcomed with a splendid view of the surrounding area and I was able to trace where I had walked so far, starting from the Sandstone Pub. Talking of caves, I decided it was time to look for Mad Allen’s next dwelling which I had been told lay beneath the sandy outcrop on which I was stood. There was no path leading to the cave as such, so it was a bit of a renegade approach to getting there. Not that I actually knew where I was going. 

Eventually, having done some jungle style trail-blazing, that I would not recommend, I came across a tall sandstone wall which I figured was the outcrop I had been standing on. Sure enough there was deep cut outs in the wall and a rather cosy, albeit small, cave. I took a look inside and wondered just how mad Mad Allen had become in his later years as this cave was pants compared to the other at Raw Head. Well. The ghost of Mad Allen did not seem too happy with insult to his abode and before I knew it I looked up only to see some scary looking face in the sandstone! I made my excuses and left before questioning my own insanity and continued to nosey around the sandstone wall, only to become face to face with a cave fit for a king (kind of). 

The first cave was just the out-building it seems, as the next cave across was much bigger with all sorts of features one would require in their abode. There were a number of ‘rooms’ of all different size that were linked to each other and lead to the main area that seemed to have its own shelves in the sandstone walls. This was probably down to erosion more than a mad man’s DIY attempts, but still added a nice touch to the cave. It even featured a mezzanine floor and has an incredible view from the front!

Now we were talking. This is ‘cave life’ at its best and it's no wonder that Mad Allen stayed here until he died aged 70yrs!

I struggled back up the hill and onto the path which lead to the Kitty Memorial, a really beautiful memorial stone for a lady called Kitty who was from the area. It was laid by her husband and features some of the most beautiful poetry written by him in memory of her. It tells of her love for the hills and their times spent walking here,  as well as their times spent on the islands off the west coast of Scotland which resonates deeply with me. How amazing it would be to have someone love you that much that they create this as a testament of their love and also of your love for the hills.

The sun was soon to begin to set so I left the memorial and continued on; stopping only when something to the left of me caught my eye. There in amongst the bracken, complete with twigs and leaves in its hair, was a wild pony. What on earth is a wild pony doing on top of a hill on the Sandstone Trail? Before long, I was seeing a fair few of them dotted about and still could not understand why they were here looking like those that I had encountered many times in the wilderness of Scotland.

Confused, and again questioning my sanity, I picked up the pace a bit and arrived at Maidens Castle on Larkton Hill, the remains of an Iron Age fort dating back to first century BC. This fort was part of a group of hill forts which lined the central ridge of Cheshire and the history surrounding those who built it and lived there is really interesting and is worth further investigation.

Leaving the hill I walked on until I came to a cross road in the woods. Here I turned right and followed the path which eventually ends at a wooden gate where there is an information board, which I decided to read and actually answered my questions as to why there were what seemed to be wild ponies on the hill. Apparently they were brought there as part of the Forestry Commission’s project to deal with the overwhelming amount of bracken that is taking over and causing other plant life to suffer.

Happy that I had not imagined them and that I had not gone Mad like Allen, I continued down the path until it came to a T-junction where I took a right and followed the road down into the village of Brown Knowl. Here I walked on until I came to the Sandstone Pub where I had started just as the sun had begun to set.

This was a great walk which provided a real sense of Autumn as the warm, rich hues of both the leaves and sandstone ridges created a vibrant display of colour. It also allowed for a great ridge walk and some great views across Cheshire and beyond. Add in the crazed sound of pheasants, crazed eyes of wild ponies and mad men living in caves, and you have an endearing walk filled with wonderment and intrigue.