Friday 25 January 2019 – Around Aston

Rick, Paul and I duly assembled outside St Peter’s churchyard in Aston, just near Preston Brook, for the last in the current series of Friday morning walks.

Setting off opposite the War Memorial, a good path full of dog walkers took us quickly to Aston Heath, where we crossed the road and headed towards Birdswood Farm. We lost the dog walkers – they were far too sensible to venture anywhere near this slurry-bound establishment. With no clear indication as to the route of the footpath (it probably goes through the farmyard), we negotiated a bit of barbed wire and electricity and marched along the farm track towards Bird’s Wood. Not a pleasant experience, but some deep grass soon dealt with the residues left on our boots and gaiters.

Bird’s Wood looked bare in its ‘winter raiment’, but close inspection revealed that this will be blanketed with flowers later in the year.

Beyond the wood, we crossed a field to join a track that went under the busy Chester to Manchester railway line and drew us towards the Dutton Locks area of the River Weaver. A convenient bench allowed us to pause for tea and cake, with a great view towards the Dutton Viaduct mentioned in the previous posting. The white bridge behind us leads to Dutton Locks, across which our 19 October 2018 walk around Acton Bridge passed.

I’ve not really tried to master the Samsung S9’s camera yet, but I find I’m using it pretty much exclusively (on ‘auto’) at present. Today I tried the ‘panorama’ function, with the result shown below. This blog is in the wrong format to display the image properly, but it does seem to have worked. (To see a better version of this and the other images in this posting [OLW is still not working], try clicking on an image and scrolling through the slideshow at the bottom of the screen.

Suitably refreshed, we continued under the viaduct, beside Pickering’s Cut, where the River Weaver was straightened to enable ocean-going vessels carrying salt, and more recently chemicals from ICI Winnington, to ply their trade.

We couldn’t work out the meaning of this ‘200’ sign on a concrete plinth, beside which there was a smaller numbered plinth. Perhaps Judith knows about these? The picture also shows a permissive footpath that isn’t marked on the map (we are at SJ 579 763) – as if there weren’t already more than enough public footpaths in this area!

In Jen Darling’s ‘Walks in North Cheshire’ book, she describes ‘a picturesque Cheshire cottage, still sporting its original diamond-paned windows’. ‘Cottage?!’

Here’s another of the plinths – this time the number has been lost.

It’s inscribed ‘RWN 23/10 1922’; River Weaver Navigation?

Anyway, we scratched our heads and strolled on beside the cut, leaving it to pass the contrastingly clean (compared to Birdswood Farm) Aston Grange, and, serenaded by the sound of bird scaring machines, we strolled gently back to the hamlet of Aston.

We’d gone about 10 km, with less than 100 metres of ascent, in a little over two hours – a very pleasant outing in surprisingly warm and dry weather. Here’s the route we took.

So that’s it for the current batch of Friday morning strolls (apart from a short stroll next Wednesday), and we are now due to be away for a few weeks.

However, don’t dismay, I’ve planned a few from 22 February to 5 April – here they are (click here for any updates):

Friday 22 February
White Nancy and the Saddle of Kerridge. Meet at Adlington Road Car Park in Bollington (SJ 930 780), at 10 am for a 8 km outing, starting with a hill.

Friday 1 March
The Bollin Valley and Ashley. Meet at Bankhall Lane in Hale, near the junction with Ashley Road (SJ 773 858), at 10.15 am (to allow time for a 9.30 tram from Timperley!), for a 13 km outing in pleasant countryside.

Friday 8 March
Around Stretton Moss. Meet at the Stretton Fox (SJ 622 823), at 10 am for a 10 km meander. Access the pub from a NE side road from the roundabout at M56 jnc 10.

Friday 15 March
Stockport to Sale via the Mersey Valley. Start from Stockport railway station at 10.20 am for a 16 km or so stroll to a café in Sale. Trains run from Altrincham (10.00) and from Navigation Road (10.02).

Friday 29 March
Around Winwick. Meet at The Swan in Winwick Village (SJ 605 928), at 10 am for a 9 km bimble. M62 jnc 9, then north to a roundabout where you continue towards Newton-le-Willows on the A49. After a few metres bear right into Golborne Road in front of Winwick church, and the pub car park is on the right. Use the top car park.

Friday 5 April
Around Kelsall. Meet at the Boot Inn (SJ 531 672), in Boothsdale at 10 am for a 14 km walk in Sandstone Trail country. A556 past Northwich, turning into Kelsall soon after the A54 joins from the left. Go down Chester Road, then Willington Lane, from where the pub should be signposted.