Wreche three

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Walked this route on St Davids day. A straightforward route from Chester, though the majority of the walk is alongside the main road. Too early for blossom but did enjoy the first iced ring of spring in the hedgerow. Does get a lot more interesting from Marford when the route diverts from the main road through a nature reserve and past the Flash pond.

Walked Chester to Wrexham on St David's Day hoping to get a sense of Wales and England meeting and see the history of this.
Highs: shrine to Minerva innocuously sitting in a park on the edge of council housing in Chester. St Mary's Church in Pulford (great place to eat sarnies round the back by the yews). Exquisite gothic revival black and white houses in Marford (meaning "ford of the mere" or "ford of the boundary") and rumours Ryan Reynold's got his eye on one. Signs of a bygone age - stone walls (incorporated into people's front gardens), some remaining old beeches from former country estates - on the Old Wrexham Rd. Easy to walk.
Lows: road, road, road. A roads, dual carriageways, busy B roads, busy roundabouts, not all with pedestrian crossings. Litter down the gulleys between houses where the path goes. Barbed wire on gates stopping access to fields for a look or a wee (admittedly not on actual path, but I've never seen barbed or razor wire on top of gates before). No fanfare or sign that you've crossed from England into Wales when you cross the grey Pulford Brook - though bilingual road signs a bit later let you know this is border territory - the Motte and Bailey beside it unloved and inaccessible.
Better if: could find access through fields away from roads. a major shift in consciousness about the grimness of litter. Sites of historical interest (earthworks) were upkept and had access.

Started the route in Chester with a pleasant walk through the town, over the weir and through a section of Edgar’s Field Park, site of a Roman quarry with a shrine to the Goddess Minerva etched into a rocky outcrop.

The route then leads through a residential area to connect with the A483. Ahead lies a long straight trek along the busy Wrexham road which is safe if dull. The route eventually veers off along the B5445 - take care when crossing the road before this turn; it’s a well marked but very busy crossing.

Again, the footpath hugs the main road but is easy and safe to walk along. It's a fairly monotonous plod; you'll pass the drive of the Eaton estate, set well back off the main road, and a large garden centre and cross the border into Wales over a small bridge just after the Grosvenor Hotel in the village of Pulford. From here there are beautiful old mills, more large estate houses and unusual neo-gothic houses and pub in the village of Marford.

From Marford the route finally diverts from the road and follows the railway line for a while, through a wooded nature reserve - with very welcome soft paths! - then veers through Gresford and pleasant lanes past the Flash lake before crossing a footbridge over the A5156 into Wrexham.

All in all a straightforward walk, easy to navigate, but bear in mind it involves a lot of road walking.

Leaving Wrexham, on a very wet morning, we followed suburban streets and off-road paths, and walked through Acton Park. We crossed the A5156 via a footbridge with shallow steps, then headed along the reasonably quiet Old Wrexham Road and past The Flash.
Gresford had shops and pubs, but we continued on through the rather lovely Maes y Pant Nature Reserve, where we looked down on the A483, relieved that we didn’t have to cross it! Coming out into Marford village was delightful, with the most beautiful cottages.
From now on, it was pavement beside fairly busy roads for about 50% of the route. This was safe but a bit tedious, but I couldn’t find any alternative to this without making the route significantly longer. However, we passed some enjoyable places, including Marford Mill, a nice pub lunch at Lavister, the Wales-England boundary at Pulford, Grosvenor Garden Centre and the exceptionally long drive of Eaton Hall.
Reaching the A483 and the A55, it helped to be on the correct side of the road, which I have indicated in the gpx file, to use the safest crossing points and paved sides of the roads. There were frequent buses available along the main road section, in case you need to bail out.
At Chester Business Park, we got away from the traffic noise briefly. Technically, this isn’t a public right of way, but we had no difficulties making use of this tarmac path.
The last section where we left the A483 to head into Chester had an unexpected rural feel, and then we crossed the River Dee to reach the end of the route, and then the station (via a couple of great pubs).

A safe, direct and relaxing walk. Lots of pavement, by roads and with occasional sections of footpaths in green spaces and a short section of quiet lane. It seems functional on the surface but delivers the odd sprinkle of magic, be it gothic style villages, chapels or watermills. Well provided for by a gamut of stopping options. On a morning of constant rain and occasional snow, the stop halfway at the Dog and Pickle was a welcome chance to dry off by the fire. A lot of the English half of the route is by a main road, which might not be to some tastes, but it is on a pavement throughout and offers some interesting buildings both beside the road and in the distance. Links to public transport are excellent throughout as it follows a lot of the route of the 1 bus between Wrexham and Chester. There is a railway station at the Wrexham end and near the Chester end. There are some steps. The plotting is excellent and denotes road crossings which helps deliver you safely. There is a section in Acton Park, Wrexham which is a bit awry and doesn't quite follow the path. This nearly lost it a star, but on reflection I figured that would be churlish. Full marks.

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