The sun was shining but there was a cold easterly wind so you would imagine that a brisk start was necessary to keep warm.  However on this day we beheld a rare occurrence, something that only happens maybe once in a lifetime, John Grassby had finally bought some new boots.  We congratulated him that he had finally taken the plunge and binned his old boots which had been well past it for months, but he then admitted that they had not been binned but kept in reserve just in case – unbelievable!!  So finally at 10.10am we left the cars at the lay-by on the Manley road and walked to the South until we came to a field footpath leading to Manley Common.  Here we joined a track leading into the old Norman hunting grounds of Delamere Forest.  Ignoring the notice which informed us that we could be in danger from mad cyclists we entered the forest and turned to the left away from the Sandstone Trail which carried on straight ahead.  The trees should have sheltered us from the easterly wind but in this part of the wood they had all been felled apart from a few birch trees.  However this had its advantages with a good view of a Sparrowhawk flying though other birds were a bit scarce.  Keeping to the outskirts of the forest we passed Kingswood Cottage and now we felt much warmer with the tree cover keeping the wind away.  The track now ran along the perimeter of the forest with views over the fields to the area called the New Pale, a forest enclosure dating from about 1617, and New Pale Lodge where Cromwell and John Wesley are reputed to have stayed.  Good views and no wind , it was all too good to be true.  The track now degenerated into a total quagmire which was virtually impassable and definitely not to tried with John’s shiny new walking boots.  However on ducking under the fence wire into the adjoining field we joined a well beaten path along the boundary of the next two fields until we could rejoin our previous track.  On leaving the forest we came passed the old Crossley Hospital site on which a private estate of very attractive housing has now been built.  Though now walking on a quiet road after only a few hundred yards we left this road on a track to our right which passed a gatepost bearing an unusual face and then into a field where the path cut through a dense gorse thicket on the sides of Birch Hill.  At the far side of the field we crossed over a really bad stile (also no footpath sign to be seen) into another quiet road and then after a short distance left the roads as we joined a field path at Riley Bank which is an very attractive valley.  After good views of Greater Spotted Woodpecker and Treecreeper in the valley we came to a large pond with its resident Little Grebe and now joined a track which is part of the Sandstone Trail.  The track joined led into a road and then after a few yards we left the road at a signpost which informed us that theSandstone trail was about to pass along the Ridgeway.  Now crossing fields and walking through wooded areas the path underfoot was generally very good, we were sheltered from the wind, and we had good views to the Mersey river.  On passing Alvanley Cliff we came to Austerson Old Hall which was brought from the parish of Austersonsouth of Nantwich and rebuilt on this site by a local architect.  Approaching Simmonds Hill we rejoined the Manley Road and reached our cars in the layby at1.30pmjustas a Buzzard called.  It had taken us over 3 hours to cover 6 miles but that had included a few stops for birdwatching.  Spring is nearly upon us and with stops to look at flowers we will probably be even slower in future.  A few minutes drive took us the the Goshawk pub near Mouldsworth station where lunch completed a good days walking.

INDEX PAGE for the THURSDAY GROUP WALKS