The next ramble will be on Thursday 7th February. This will be to West Kirby. Travel on 9.43 train from Maghull North, 9:46 from Maghull. Transfer at Liverpool Central to West Kirby train. 9 mile ramble to Grange Hill Beacon, Caldy Hill and Royden Park, then onwards to Thurstaston Hill, Wirral Way and West Kirby Village. Please bring a packed lunch.
For more details contact Margaret Schumacher 07960 435235.
The first ramble of 2019 took place yesterday ably led by Alan Carr. Setting off from the lovely village of Croston, the group trekked across open countryside through to the village of Eccleston, and then onward in a circular route to complete the 8 mile ramble. Although the day was cold, it was clear, but the recent rain made the going very heavy underfoot with lots of mud in places. An encounter with a group of horses, one being very bad tempered, gave a little more excitement than we had bargained for, but the least said about that here, the better! Thanks to Alan for organising the ramble and lunch.The next ramble is on Thursday 7th February, to West Kirby. Details to follow.
Kick start 2019 with an 8 mile circular ramble starting in the lovely village of Croston. We will use flat rural footpaths and quiet country lanes. There are 3 stiles to be negotiated and some sections could prove muddy after the rain, so appropriate footwear is essential. There will be an opportunity to have a pub lunch after the walk. Meet at 9:30 at Maghull Baptist Church to organise car share. Further details of ramble can be obtained from leader, Alan Carr 07949 379266. No need to book ,just turn up!
3rd January Croston Alan Carr 07949 379266
7th February West Kirkby Margaret Schumacher 07960 435235
7th March Peckforton Alan Carr 07949 379266
4th April Beamers trail Witton Country Park Margaret Kendall 07810 730936
2nd May Douglas Valley Peter Willox 07899 103122
6th June Malham Tarn Dave Cadwallader 07790 081778
Eighteen intrepid walkers braved the rain today and completed a 5.5 mile walk around Burscough, trekking across muddy fields and paths before adjourning to the Hopvine for a lovely Christmas lunch. Thanks to Sue for leading the walk. Can I take the opportunity to thank all those who have recced and led walks throughout the year? Without the support of these people the group would not be able to function, and your help is very much appreciated, not only by me, but by everyone who goes on the walks. As notified the walking group takes another turn next year, when we split into Ramblers and Easy Walkers. Both groups will go out on Thursday 3rd January. Full details will be published here in the New Year.
Following discussions with members of the group it has been decided that from January 2019 there will be two distinctive walking groups. The first group will be Ramblers, who travel further afield using car share for transport and the walks will be more challenging. The second group will be Easy Walkers. This group will use public transport and will undertake shorter walks, mostly on the flat. The changes reflect the differing needs of U3A members and should accommodate the abilities of all walkers. Both groups will still walk on the first Thursday of each month.. Details of both walks will be posted on the website and on the noticeboard at the coffee morning.
Details of 2019 program can be found below. Continue reading
16 of us set off from Maghull today and made the very short journey to the outskirts of Leigh where we started our walk around Pennington Flash Country Park. This 200 hectare country park is located between Leigh and Lowton in Greater Manchester, but we could have been miles away from the urban conurbations. The 70 hectare lake at the centre of the park was formed as a result of mining subsidence and flooding. This has now created a haven for wildlife and is known as one of the UK’s premier sites for bird watching, which might be of interest to the bird watching group. There are many bird hides located throughout the park, which apparently attract over 6000 birdwatchers annually. Continue reading
11 members of the walking group completed a 6.5 mile circular walk today. Starting at The Griffin Pub at Bold Heath, an 18th century inn on the old Warrington to Prescot turnpike road, we walked along country lanes to reach the site of Bold Old Hall, where the stone piers and now dried up moat are still in evidence. The land all around here formed part of the old Bold family estate, but is now intersected by the M62 motorway which created something of an obstacle on our walk. Continue reading
Seven members of the walking group set out today to do the last long walk of the year. Led by Dave Cadwallader we joined the Wirral Way at Hooton to walk the full length back to West Kirby, detailed to be 12 miles although in fact was nearer to 13!. Starting off in drizzly rain we concentrated on keeping our footing on the muddy paths, an indication that after the glorious summer, the weather has turned distinctly autumnal. Although the route is a well known path for walkers, cyclists and dog walkers, apart from the seven of us there were very few people in evidence today, especially at the early part of the walk.
Continue reading
17 members of the walking group set off today to walk the Tolkien Trail, in the area of Hurst Green. Many areas of the UK aspire to have links with J.R.R.Tolkien, but the author certainly spent much of his time at Stonyhurst College, where we started the walk, writing his novel Lord of the Rings. Rumour has it he modelled Middle Earth on this area. Stonyhurst is an independent college set in a 300 acre rural estate and is owned by the Society of Jesus. Certainly it is a very imposing building and students are very privileged to study in such a magnificent place. Continue reading