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When? Started: 1993 Who? Started with staff and friends from U H S, Chester. Organiser: Martyn Harris We walk every Wednesday and Saturdays, New Years day and May Day. How many walk? Walks take place as long as there are at least 2 wanting to walk on that day. More walk on a Wednesday than on a Saturday. Most ever: 29. Current group size walking: 2-10 in mid-week and 2-4 on Saturday. Where do we walk? Saturday: Anywhere in North and Mid-Wales, Peak District, Shropshire and the Long Mynd and as far North as the Trough of Bowland. Thursday: Anywhere within about 40 miles of Chester. Type of walk: Distance: 6 – 14 miles (but usually under 10 miles). Climb: up to 4000’ (but usually very much less!). People involved on walks in 2020:- Martyn Harris, Fran Murphy, Sue and Michel Pelissier, Mike Dodd, David Savage, Wendy Peers, Celia de Mengle, Wendy and Ian Peers, Roger Smith, Paul Collinson, Ed Meads, Nigel and Elaine Taylor, Celia de Mengle, Sue Pearson.

Saturday 26 January 2013

Point of Ayr and Talacre to Prestatyn 26th January 2013

The well known lighthouse on Talacre beach.
The beach route towards Prestatyn.
Ringed plover on the beach between Presthaven and Prestatyn.
On Barkby Beach.
Windmills off Prestatyn.
Walk stats: Distance: 11.5 miles. Climb: 365'.
Time: 5 hours 54 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.
Group: Martyn, Mile and Carole.
This turned out to be a superb day for walking and after the heavy snowfall around Chester yesterday, this was positively barmy weather! Warm and sunny, I should have been in my shorts and I wouldn't have lost yet another right mitt!
It was anticipated that we would see lots of wild birds quite close as the tide came in, but in reality most of them were still a little to far away if you were only using binoculars.
However the birds seen or heard today included: Shelduck, Common teal, Pintail, Oystercatcher, Common redshank, Eurasian curlew, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Mallard, Knot, Great cormorant, Lapwing, Chaffinch, Black-headed gull, Herring gull, Great black-backed gull, Blue tit, Great tit, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Collared dove, Common blackbird, European robin, Ringed plover, Little egret, Little grebe, Moorhen, Tufted duck, Linnet, Twite, Black-tailed godwit, House sparrow, Stonechat, Common starling, Pied wagtail and Common kestrel.
We had lunch, using a bench at Barkby Beach, where Carole kindly provide us we a piece of her superb apple and raising cake.
Overall a good walk, but there is always something special about walking beside the sea.
After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Britannia Inn at Halkyn, where the Lees bitter went down well and real fires were again burning at both ends of the room, the sort of warm welcoming you appreciate when ice and snow is still on the ground.  I didn't dare park in the car park after Thursday's experience , and neither did anyone else!



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