Nine Strollers took the train to Liverpool Central to catch the 10:30 Ellesmere Port train to Hooton, We arrived on the Wirral Line platform at 10:15 to see that the train had been cancelled. No matter, we can catch the Chester train and the 10:15 to Chester was there in front of us. A Merseyrail official, however told us, “It’s gone. You can’t get on it.” Annoying when you can see it. Frustrated, we had to wait half an hour for the next Chester train. We arrived at Hooton to find the sunshine had appeared and made our way to the narrow path down to the Wirral Way. The following day, this path and the section of the Wirral Way to Hadlow Road is to be closed for widening and surfacing work, so we had planned our walk just in time. The path parallels the railway line before curving round and widening. Some of the vegetation here had already been cut back. The path is flanked by trees and protected from any winds, though there weren’t any today. We passed other walkers, cyclists and a couple of horse riders before reaching Hadlow Road Station.
The station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station and museum (although I think “museum” is pushing it a bit!). It has been restored to have the look and feel of the day the station was permanently closed to passengers in 1956. It has an authentic ticket office, waiting room and telephone box. Formerly the museum was a working railway station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway. The Friends of Hadlow Road Station (FHRS) help to maintain and develop the station as a community resource. There is a model of the station in the signal box, but it’s only open when FHRS are present. After our drinks, we crossed Hadlow road and continued on the Wirral Way for three hundred yards before passing through a kissing gate on to a footpath leading to Buckley Court and the Pollards Inn restaurant. We passed the Memorial Hall and reached Neston Road and the Village Green. The “Old Red Lion” stands here and was originally two houses dating from 1631. It was converted to a pub in the early 1800s but closed in 1928 and became a private house. It is Grade II listed and has a date stone showing the initials IBMB and 1631. IBMB may be the initials of the original owners. We then walked down Hadlow Road past Willaston Old Hall, a former manor house built for Hugh Bennet carrying the date 1558 and the initials HB, and turned into Smithy Lane. This took us past the Old School House and some large houses. A field alongside the path had been converted to a manège with very large mirrors at the end, presumably for use in training horses in dressage. We soon came to a narrow footpath past a farm. Care had to be taken here as many tree roots crossed the path creating trip hazards. A kissing gate at the end led to a slope down to rejoin the Wirral Way and we followed it back to Hooton. The group split here with some taking the train back to Liverpool and the others going two stops to Bromborough where we had an excellent meal at the Merebrook pub next to the station.
Thanks to Del for helping with the recce. See you all next time.