Bucche one

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This 19km route took me ~5.25hrs to walk in the Chester -> Buckley direction. It takes in views of the Dee from the southern bank (complete with aircraft using Hawarden airport), then works its way up into the foothills of the Clwydian range. Food/toilet options are available in Chester, Sandycroft, Hawarden and Buckley. Much of the route is on well-worn and potentially muddy grass paths with the occasional gravel section, but some sections (especially towards the Buckley end) involve traversing active fields with less-than-clear signage. As a result, this route is only suitable for those with sturdy footwear and confident navigating with a map. It helps if you like cows as well...
I have made a few route change suggestions for safety reasons, but a few points to highlight here. The section through the Chester racecourse is sometimes shut for events, and accessing the start of the path around Chester golf course requires climbing two large flights of stairs (photo 1). Also, when coming off River Ln in Saltney and onto the walking path, the blue cycle route sign says 'Chester' even though you are travelling away from it! (photo 3) An alternative option is to follow the Wales Coast Path on the north bank until Higher Ferry, taking the footbridge across to the south bank (photo 4). Beyond this footbridge there are no exit options until you reach Sandycroft, and some parts are clearly used for cattle grazing, judging by the intermittent cow pats.
Moving on to Sandycroft, the route leaves the Dee on the outskirts of the industrial estate, and you emerge through a rather narrow (and somewhat overgrown) path between two metal fences onto a side road (photo 6). I felt ok as a lone female walking in bright sunshine, but I would keep your wits about you. Further up where Station Rd meets Chester Rd east, the current route suggests walking down a 60 mph road with no pavements and a large ditch. I would suggest crossing straight over Chester Rd east and heading up Moor Ln instead (photo 15). The route from there towards Hawarden currently follows right-of-way paths through fields to Crosstree Ln, but I could not find the entrance in the farmyard off Moor Ln, so I went along Duckers Ln to Leaches Ln, then Sunnyside, Ash Ln, and finally left on to Crosstree Ln up to Glynne Way, picking up the original routing. These are very quiet and pleasant roads to walk along (just avoid Crosstree Ln at school start/end times, due to the volume of traffic).
The final stretch to highlight is between Hawarden and Buckley. The entrance to this leg is a metal gate on the A550, opposite the bottom end of Tinkersdale car park (photo 7). This gate is prone to disappearing into the hedge, but it is there, taking you down a steep loose-gravelled path before levelling out onto grass around the edge of the golf greens. Unlike Chester golf course, there is nothing but a bit of string between you and the greens, so keep aware of any low-flying golf balls. The route is obvious until you get past the railway bridge beyond the horse farm. Here you need to (mostly) stay straight ahead and avoid the multiple side paths which are part of the golf course (mostly with blue 'private' signs - photo 9). You then travel between two hedges until you reach the next farm (arable crops), where the path splits - one way is part of a circular loop trail, while the other way is us (photo 10). At the end of that field is a double stile over a brook (photo 11), and then you are in the first of two cow pastures. In my case, the cows had recently departed for another field, but the patties were still in abundance and the ground quite rough. It is hard to see the gate out of this field from here, but follow the hedge on your right (northern side) until you see the clear path pointing diagonally left. From there it is an obvious route towards the bridge over the A55. If you are not a fan of cows, your best option is to stay on Glynne Way (which becomes the Highway) in Hawarden, then go left onto Wood Ln which takes you up and over the A55, becoming Burntwood Rd and bringing you onto Drury Ln just down from the path towards Knowle Hill park (photo 13).
The route from Drury to Buckley through Knowle Hill is very straightforward, as long as you can negotiate kissing gates. Just mind what appears to be either sheep or rabbit poo within Knowle Hill park itself. When exiting the park, the route becomes paved for a short distance as it enters a residential area. When the paved path peels off to the right into a housing estate, be sure to follow the gravel path straight ahead to reach Chester Rd/A549 (photo 14) without a significant detour.
If you are travelling from Buckley towards Chester, I will mention that some of the entrances to the route are less obvious at the Buckley end. To enter Knowle Hill park, look for the brown and green signs where Army Ln meets the A549 (photo 14). In addition, the route off Drury Ln into the fields takes you up what appears to be a gravel driveway, which ends in a kissing gate. There's a green sign on Drury Ln, but it only points the right way if you know where to go (photo 12)! Finally, at the horse farm in Hawarden, the path towards the golf course and the A550 is well back from the green sign (photo 8).
I have created new route Bucche two to address the safety matters raised above. Apart from them, a really good walk made all the better in the sunshine. Wouldn't recommend it if it's been raining much beforehand (some of the paths at the back of the Chester golf course were sodden and moss-covered in the shade, and this was during a dry spell), though!.

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