Preamble
At the start of the year I decided that I was going to make an effort
to go walking at least once a month. It doesn't sound much but
something else always seems to crop up. I was on target for the first
few months of the year - going for Sunday afternoon strolls round the
Wirral if I couldn't be bothered heading further afield. However, I
soon realised that starting a walk from home means that I have to
traipse the same roads and paths that I've been walking for 30
years....... so I got my bike back on the road and spent the summer in
the saddle. So that's my excuse; I've "been walking" less than once
a month but I've been out on "self-powered" trips at least once a
month (including one 50-miler on my bike!)
OK, excuses over.
Trip Report
I decided, last night, that it was about time I walked the whole of
The Wirral Way. I've done bits of it on my bike and *might* have
walked it all on a sponsored walk when I was at Junior School, but
I've certainly not done it as an adult.
The Wirral Way runs the course of a railway line which was
decommissioned in the 1960s. I chose to start in Hooton and walk west
then north towards West Kirby.
I got the first bus and train which would get me to Hooton and was
pleased to find that today was the first day of the Merseyrail "Xmas
Cracker" 50p Sunday fare. I started walking at 9:15 and, knowing that
the route was about 12 miles long, decided that I should be finished
by 1pm-ish. Nice flat route, no intention of dawdling - should easily
be able to maintain 3mph. I set off at a hare's pace.
The Wirral Way has obviously had a lot of work done on it recently. I
can remember that it used to be a real mudbath in places but most of
it seems to have hard paths now. Still muddy in parts, though. It
was still quite early for a Sunday morning but, as expected, there
were "serious" cyclists and dog-walkers aplenty. You probably know
the sort - the ones who'll nod and acknowledge your presence, not like
the Sunday Afternoon Hoards who appeared later. Come on, general
public! It's not hard to say "hello", is it?
Approaching Willaston I lost the path! I'd left my map in my bag, as
there's no way one could get lost following a railway line(!) and got
to a stage where the horse lane and cycle/walking path seemed to
merge. However, I decided to stay on the path I was on and ended up
taking a short detour, literally, "round the houses". This was
entirely due to me still being in "full steam ahead" mode - 6.1 kph
according to the GPS. I had to slightly double-back in order to visit
Hadlow Road station. The station has been preserved in 1950's style -
apart from the plumbing, which was surprisingly good. (If you ever
visit, you'll not see any signs, outside, for Toilets but they are in
the ticket/booking office.)
I pressed on to Neston which contains a section of tree-covered
cutting. My GPS decided this would be a good time to throw a wobbler.
"Have you moved several thousand miles?", "Are you indoors?", "Is it
4th Dec?" - No, No, Yes - but it still decided that I had now walked
36km (rather than 7-ish) and that my average speed was 30kph. Bother.
I've snipped out the rogue spike in MemoryMap but, at the time, it
meant I couldn't rely on the GPS to tell me how far I had walked etc.
Although Wirral and Cheshire Councils have obviously put some time and
money into fences, signs and path maintenance, I reckon they could
improve things even more by adding just a couple more signs in the
places where it is no longer possible to follow the route of the old
railway line. I believe the line closed in the mid 60s but it was not
until 1973 that the Wirral Way opened - so it has to deviate round the
newly-built houses in a couple of places in Neston and Heswall. I've
got no in-built sense of direction, so a simple "It's that way >>>>"
sign would be very handy. Luckily, I guessed correctly and re-found
the path in Heswall - complete with a sign, pointing back where I had
come from, saying "Wirral Way 1/3 mile" - Cheers, fellas!
I'd had a brief sit down and a sip of coffee at Gayton. On standing
up, I noticed that my hips were aching. Oh bother, I'd seized up in 3
or 4 minutes and every step now hurt a bit. Hm, perhaps my 4 mph pace
was a bit daft. I slowed down a bit but, even now, my hips feel a bit
sore - perhaps all the summer biking was good exercise for my legs but
I've forgotten how to walk?
I was now starting to pass signs that had fewer "to" places ahead of
me than lay behind me. Regardless of whatever claptrap the Etrex was
making up, I knew I was more than halfway there.
I can recommend the facilities at the Thurstaston visitor centre
although they could do with turning their heating down. (Is this a
sign of my age? I never used to give a second thought to "PC" on an
OS map!)
The final stretch through Caldy to West Kirby was uneventful apart
from the marked increase in path users. It was now Sunday lunchtime
and the families were out in force. I nearly made one poor women
faint with fright when I boomed "Good Afternoon!" in my jolliest
do-not-ignore-me voice.
I got to West Kirby station at 14:02. The train had left at 14:01.
Oh well, nevermind. Time for some chips.
Summary
An easy walk (ie no hills, no bogs, mainly easy to navigate) of 12
miles. I really must get out more, though, if I'm to stop my hips
aching on such easy paths.
Judith
PS - Erm, this was supposed to be a brief TR, so thanks for reading if
you're still here!