I restart my walk from the Waterloo end of Crosby. (Why the name ‘Waterloo’? This area seems to have an obsession with Wellington – from Anglesey to here, he has roads, pubs, monuments connected with him.) The path takes me along the southern edge of the Marine Lake. Ahead are the dunes of Crosby Beach… can’t wait to get there.
I buy my £5.20 Saveaway Ticket from New Brighton station, Wallasey, and take the train to Hamilton Square. From there it’s a short walk to the Woodside Ferry terminal.
Everybody is queuing for tickets. I’m not convinced my Saveaway ticket is really valid, so I queue too. Without batting an eyelid, the lady at the desk gives me a ferry ticket. Additional cost? Nothing. Continue reading
I return to West Kirby. The lifeguards are back. And the route to Hilbre Island looks enticingly easy… I’m nearly tempted to walk out again…
… just kidding! Continue reading
It’s 6:15 pm, and the light is bright in my eyes as I look westward towards Hilbre Island. There are figures out there, crossing the sand. It looks an easy stroll.
I drive to Heswall, but it’s raining heavily this morning so I sit in my car and make notes for the piece I’m writing for Countryfile Magazine. Yesterday – in a howling gale – I had my photo taken for the mag. Now, I must get on with the actual writing.
Midday. The rain stops and it’s time to heave my rucksack onto my shoulders and get going. I walk down a narrow road, totally misnamed as ‘Broad Lane’. The tarmac is silver with water.
The day is breezy, with dark clouds scudding overhead and the constant threat of rain. I return to the weird promenade at Parkgate, and leave my car.
I’m back in England. The new cycle way winds through the Wirral marshland, first on tarmac and then along a wooden boardwalk surrounded by waving bulrushes.
I arrive back in Shotton on a damp and misty morning. I walk through the railway stations (both of them)…
… and have a little difficulty finding the correct path. It’s unsigned, at the end of a platform, and soon I’m walking down the remembered cycle way, hemmed in by metal fences… Continue reading
Shotton isn’t really a town in its own right, more a continuation of Connah’s Quay to the west and Queensferry to the east. So it’s a little hard to tell when you’ve arrived, but I recognise the bus stop from yesterday and manage to get off in the right place.
Next comes a brisk walk through the two stations, down the cycle route, and I’m back at Hawarden Bridge. From under one of the arches I take a photograph looking down the River Dee to the road bridge, Flint Power Station, and the forest of pylons.
Leaving Flint castle behind, I continue my coastal trek. The path is wide and I realise I’ve joined cycle route number 5, again. I’ve been playing tag with this particular cycle way since Anglesey. But I don’t meet any cyclists, just a few dog walkers.
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Response ID: 328,436,497 Report number: 1222 Location: Ceredigion Coast Path (part of the Wales Coast Path) between Gwbert & Mwnt Date: 04/02/26 2 walkers, no dog, meet about 40 Welsh Black bullocks Pips report: “On the return stretch of our walk we encountered extremely treacherous terrain and a herd of about 40 Welsh Black bullocks […]
Incident number:1220 Response ID: 328,248,081 Location: Back Forest Farm, River Dane, near Wincle & DaneBridge, Peak District ///wasps.promote.homelands Date 26/01/26 Single walker, no dog SY’s Report: “I was heading back to DaneBridge/Wincle from Gradbach/Black Forest. I’d walked by Back Forest Farm along the path between their fields and came to a gate/stile. As I crossed […]
Incident number: 1218 Response ID: 320,795,463 Date of incident: 29.12.2025 Location: Below Denston Hall, Denston Suffolk Status: Lone walker with dog on lead on PROW L.Cooper’s story “I saw a group of cows ahead and waited to see if they would move. As I couldn’t get past without going near to them I backtracked and […]
Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 