A Bank Holiday and the Wirral Way. . .

In the U.K. we get two bank holidays in May and we certainly made the most of the first one, especially since we had decent weather.  I weeded the garden and bought a cheery pot of bright daisies to welcome us beside the front door. 

I also finished knitting my eight squares (two were blocking) for the second clue of the Rowan Mystery Afghan.  In the spirit of the knit-a-long I also tried something new with this pattern  - intarsia.  It was a bit sloppy at first but I got plenty of practice untangling the bobbins and I'm quite pleased with the results.

On Monday, we wanted to go for a long walk, without having to drive anywhere.  So we jumped on the bus and underground and went to the other side of the Mersey to tackle the 12 mile Wirral Way.  This is a very flat walk from Hooton to West Kirby via a disused railway track converted into a pedestrian/cycle track.  It's very similar to the Beltline in Toronto, just a lot longer. Here's the pretty and shady start of it.

About two miles in, you come across one of the former train stations.  This is Hadlow Road which has been left as a very tiny museum, showing what it would have looked like in 1952.

Further along, you walk through deep rock formations and under very extensive tree tunnels.

There are pockets of pretty views overlooking the surrounding fields and countryside.  Those hills you see in the distance are part of North Wales.

We took a detour off the official path up to the village of Heswall to have some lunch, coming down through Heswall Dales which is an overgrown nature reserve.  You can see the river Dee in the distance.

And the water accompanies you on the last third of the walk.  Here is the Dee estuary seen from the cliffs at Thurstaston.

Closer to West Kirby and the end of the Wirral Way, there is a man-made lake cordoned off from the river which is used by beginner windsurfers and sailors.  You can walk right around it, although on windy days, you run the risk of the waves crashing over your feet.

And in the distance is Hilbre Island which you can walk out to during low tide - something I'd definitely like to do one day.

Though it has its moments,  a good chunk of the Wirral Way is just one very long and flat path and a bit dull.  I'm glad to have done it, but wouldn't rush out to walk the entire length of it again, although it would be a lot of fun to cycle it and then continue on from West Kirby around the peninsula along the path to New Brighton and back towards Liverpool.  I've not felt comfortable enough to bike in Liverpool traffic yet (too many large buses and not enough dedicated bike lanes), but I do miss cycling and am keen to source more traffic-free routes.  I'm determined to get the bike out of the shed at some point this summer.