Day 38: 30 Apr 2014; Chester to Cuddington

Walk descriptor	LEJOG2014		Day	38
Date	Wed 30 Apr 2014		Start to end time	06h 59m
Start point	Chester		End point	Cuddington
Miles today	16.59		Cu miles	712.08
Ft today	917		Cu ft	111,277
Route miles left	771.09		Route ft left	87,184
Today’s weather	After light rain early morning, a fine sunny dry day. Little wind. About 17C

Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)		GPX based track of today’s walk (click here to access to access downloadable file)

Commentary

Today I broke through the 700 mile barrier and enjoyed a day in deepest rural Cheshire. It was a fine sunny day and I made an early start, once I had removed the night’s accumulation of slugs from my tent. (They seemed to be particularly abundant last night – the combination of a relatively mild night and a heavy dew must have enticed them out). I’d been camping on the outskirts of Chester at the attractive village of Christleton. From the number of Range Rovers, Jaguars and BMWs with personalised number plates delivering pupils to the local school, I got the impression that this wasn’t one of the more under-privileged areas of Britain.

I quickly joined the Longster Trail which, at 9 miles, must be one of the shortest long distance paths in the UK. It was reasonably easy to follow, though obviously not often walked as some of the stiles were falling into disrepair. I had to pass through a large field of cows, attended by two fearsome looking bulls, along the way. But despite some bovine glares in my direction, they left me alone and I got through unscathed.

After a brief stop at an excellent village shop /café for tea and flapjack in Guilden Sutton, most of the rest of the walk passed through the Delamere Forest Park. This is a large country park with lots of cycling trails and footpaths – easy to get lost without a map, I imagine – but very easy and pleasant walking. I also noticed that forests all have very individual smells. The Welsh forests, which are mostly Norway spruce, I think, smelled rather like scented candles. Whereas Delamere forest, which is mainly Scots pine had a much more distinctive “pine-like” smell.

Tonight I’m staying with friends so have a chance to do some washing (hooray!!) and to sleep in a “proper” bed. Mind you I’m so used to being in a tent now, I’ll probably have to sleep with my feet hanging out of the window. A long day tomorrow, through the industrial outskirts of Warrington, so an early night beckons.”

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


That’s an awful lot of mouths to feed – at Christleton duck pond this morning	I always approach fields like this which are full of cows with some trepidation as you don’t know how they will behave. I had an escape route planned but they were OK – though the 2 bulls in the field with them – complete with rings in noses – were alarmingly inquisitive..

Blakemere Moss in Delamere forst – full of migrating birds. Felt like the Everglades!	I came across what I assume must be a Segway-farm, hidden in the midst of the forest

Tree-sized woodcarving keeping an eye on developments	Wouldn’t you just like to live at this address??

Leaping around from tree to tree at great heights is fun for kids but terrifying for people like me who prefer to have feet firmly on the ground!