Chekel three

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Walked from Chester to Kelsall. Mostly enjoyable, and I'm pleased to report that the paths are all now walkable, just a few slightly awkward stiles, one field that obviously gets waterlogged and a couple of fields where the cut strips could have been wider. A deserved snail.

Having arrived in Chester by train, my first task was to find the meeting point, which meant that I walked the section from the meeting point to the canal in both directions. The meeting point was occupied by "Guitar Olly", a rather impressive 10 year old heavy metal busker who had attracted a small crowd, but it was at least good to be able to see a bit of the historic town centre before embarking on the walk proper.

The route to the Shropshire Union canal is on almost pedestrianised shopping streets (watch out for buses on Frodsham Street) and has one easy road crossing. We follow the canal for about three miles out of the city and into Chrisleton. We then use a narrow road bridge (single track with pavement) to cross the canal then turn right onto Chips Lane. Where the lane ends at a house, we take the narrow fenced path to the left into the fields. Some of the fields are planted with maize, about 8 feet tall at this time of year, and though there are cut strips, the plants are spreading into them, so a bit of persistence is required, though the path line is always clear. We soon return to the canal, on a rougher path than the towpath on the south side. We then branch left across a field and follow a fairly well trodden paths (with a couple of quite narrow static kissing gates, one of which I could only pass by taking the rucksack off).

Beyond the busy Brown Heath Road, we follow a farm lane and the path between the houses is well signposted, but the path beyond is waymarked but not always visible on the ground. There are three more maize fields in this section, the last one across to Plough Lane lacked a cut strip, but I was able to work my way round the edge of the field without any great difficulty.

Plough Lane is quiet, and Platts Lane, which only serves a few farm buildings, is even quieter. This was obviously an old packhorse road to Tarvin, and the middle part over the river Gowy is quite a narrow path that may get muddy in wet conditions, though the river's various channel are crossed on three charming old bridges. Just after the path opens out into a farm road again, we follow the field edge left, where the track appears to be heading for a locked gate until a gap to its left appears at the last minute. We continue on the drive of Hockenhall Hall to the Tarvin bypass of the A51. Crossing may require patience, but the sight lines are good.

We head straight on through a few trees and along residential streets then turn right at a T junction to head into the centre of Tarvin, where there are pubs, cafes, shops and a couple of benches. We then turn right again, then left through the church yard to the edge of a large cow pasture (which was empty, but there was plenty of evidence of previous bovine occupation). There are a few stiles on this section, and beyond Milton Brook the field beyond is clearly often waterlogged, and though dry in summer the surface is pitted and uneven which slowed my progress a little. A couple more stiles take us into Oscroft.

Here we turn left along a quiet road (no pavement) and follow it round to the second junction, beyond which we follow a footpath sign along a dead straight farm road. Just before the farm the path leaves the farm track to the right of a barn, then cuts back left beyond the farm into a large cow pasture (occupied but only by a very lethargic looking herd which showed no interest in me). We follow the edge of this field, then cross a slightly awkward hurdle stile into the next one.

Beyond the next farm a more popular footpath takes us left, over Salters Brook and into fields. The final large field has no cut direct line, but the edge of the field has wide cut strips which all the locals clearly use, and this only adds a short distance to the route. At its far side we turn left, crossing Flat Lane and continuing on a tarmac path between houses and through a small park into Kelsall. My timing was good, as I was less than ten minutes away from the hourly bus to Northwich that stops next to Hartford station.

Overall a very enjoyable route, but probably best avoided after heavy rain.

Walked in reverse, from Kelsall to Chester.

From the centre of Kelsall (local pub, cafe, shops), a tarmac path through a playground brings us to a road, which was in flood at time of writing. Once over the road, a gate onto a farmtrack, before a gate gives us access to a field. It can be muddy in places, but it's not too bad. Around The Commons farm, a few fields with stiles (one missing its steps) until we get to Common Farm, where the path goes around the farm buildings until we hit a good tarmac farm track.

At its end we enter Oscroft, which is paved, until we get to Oscroft Hall. Luckily, we take a footpath not much further. Here the fun began! The field was a little muddy, but downhill, but the stream at the centre was in flood and, once over the footbridge, the next field, uphill, was muddy and had had muck spread!

Luckily, on the other end was the pretty village of Tarvin, which has pubs and cafés in which to stop! The next part moves along its well-paved residential roads before we meet a short wooded footpath. Crossing a busy-at-times bypass, the path ahead is an unpaved road, which only serves the farm we pass. It becomes a footpath, and eventually we come to the lovely site of the packhorse bridges of Hockenhull Platts.

Over the bridges, another footpath, then track, then a short stretch of unpaved, but quiet, road before ducking once more onto fields. Once over the fields, past a couple of houses, a track leading to a road, which we cross and enter one more field. At time of survey, this was very muddy, but passable. Once across, we move along a footpath adjacent to the Shropshire Union Canal. A small field crossing brings us to a residential road, then, once over a bridge, we access the towpath of the canal.

The next phase is a long, but pleasurable canal walk (you can break the journey at the Cheshire Cat pub, which is recommended!), until we reach Chester, where we leave the canal just past the Lock Keeper pub onto Frodsham Street. At the end, along Foregate Street through the tourist trap that is Eastgate, and so to the end at the cross at the crossroads near St Peter's.

A good walk across country, and along canal and roads. Definitely a foot-only route due to terrain, gates and stiles, and probably better to walk in spring and summer, as in winter it was very hard going in with deep mud and floods in places.

This route will probably be lovely in nice, dry weather, but when we walked it in December, after a fair bit of rain, it was absolutely sodden from overflowing streams. My boots were overtopped at one point! There was also very recent muck-spreading that we had to traverse, and worst of all, three strands of new electric fencing entirely surrounding a field that our well-used footpath crossed, probably because of sheep about to lamb. I’ll report that to the local council!
We managed to get through all these problems, and I think normally this would be much easier, although I suspect there may often be some mud present.
There was a delightful section in the middle at Hockenhull Platts with three cute packhorse bridges, which I’m pleased to say had remained fairly dry. Also the last third of the walk into Chester was along the Shopshire Union Canal, and was very pleasant.
There are good pitstops at Tarvin and Christleton, one third and two thirds through the route.
So 2* or 3* after a lot of rain, but 4* or even 5* in good, dry weather.

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