Seven members of the walking group set out today to do the last long walk of the year. Led by Dave Cadwallader we joined the Wirral Way at Hooton to walk the full length back to West Kirby, detailed to be 12 miles although in fact was nearer to 13!. Starting off in drizzly rain we concentrated on keeping our footing on the muddy paths, an indication that after the glorious summer, the weather has turned distinctly autumnal. Although the route is a well known path for walkers, cyclists and dog walkers, apart from the seven of us there were very few people in evidence today, especially at the early part of the walk.
Gradually the rain eased a little and we walked on, having our first stop at about 5 miles into the walk. By then the rain had stopped so we took advantage of some strategically placed logs to have a snack. We were quickly joined by a very friendly dog, whose owner said she wouldn’t attempt to take food, at which she promptly made a beeline for Terry’s sandwich much to the consternation of the owner!. Thankfully it was saved from doggy jaws, although the dog then decided it would prefer to stay with us rather than walk on. It took some effort on the owners part to get it back onto the path, although it stopped at frequent intervals to gaze back at the impromptu picnic party!
Moving on we encountered more drizzle, and views across the Dee Estuary were shrouded in mist. At nine miles we had another quick stop for more sugary treats to keep the energy levels up and thankfully the drizzle stopped, the sun came out and we were able to peel off waterproof layers and continue the rest of the walk in t shirts and short sleeves with clear views across the Estuary.
The Wirral way is a very safe path, but although the walk is nice, it is actually quite boring as it’s a long straight path seeming to disappear into the distance with no end in sight. Cries of “are we nearly there?” could be heard occasionally, and there was perusal of the maps along the way to see how much of the walk we still had to do! The last mile ( according to Dave) turned out to be considerably longer than that…we think he was just trying to encourage the tired legs to carry on. Anyway with the end in sight spirits rose again…or was it just that we were thinking of the spirits in Wetherspoons just along the road? Thanks to Dave for the recce and the walk, and well done to the Magnificent Seven, who didn’t let the rain stop the walk and who all completed one of the longest walks of the year.
The next walk is on Thursday 4th October and will be a circular walk of approx. 6.5 miles to The Dream at Bold Heath.