Tuesday 17 September 2024 - Whitegate

This is Tony Bowerman's 'Walks in Mysterious Cheshire and Wirral' number 11. It was a beautiful day on which to stroll around this scenic 5km route. Longer walks are available from this starting point outside St Mary's Church, the history of which can be deciphered from a nearby information board.

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I started up Vale Royal Drive, at the end of which parking is available, though I found a spot on nearby Grange Lane. Wrens busied themselves in the undergrowth.

After 300 metres beyond a gate, a partly obscured sign pointed across a field of harvested crops.

Looking back across the field, I wondered what crop would be sown next.

After wrestling my way along a path littered with fallen trees and unkempt undergrowth, I emerged at a fence on the boundary of a massive lawn. I turned right and soon entered this dewy expanse by way of a ladder stile.

After cutting off the corner of the lawn, field paths took me along to the River Weaver, and a narrow path through more woodland to meet a tarmac driveway where two right turns took me over a black and white bridge to Vale Royal Locks, part of the Weaver Navigation that saw large ships pass this way until 1969.

After some tea and cake beside the locks, I made my way back over the black and white bridge and onto the tarmac driveway.

After turning left along the driveway, a few metres on were some steep sandstone steps that I followed to reach another harvested field.

My route then crossed this 500 metre expanse of field. You can see in the next picture the undulating path, with some people on it just beyond a pylon in the distance.

There followed a short strip of woodland before entering a golf course and carefully making my way along a well marked path and past an ornamental pond.

Exiting the golf course, a stroll along St Mary's Drive brought me to a thin path that led to a right turn along Vale Royal Drive to return to Whitegate and this picture taken from the corner of Grange Lane.

Here's the 5km route. Ascent is minimal. It took me little more than an hour plus stops, of which there were many, with numerous folk enjoying these nice paths on a wonderful summer's day.