: Countryside: weekend walk.Byline: Gillian McKenzie What's the attraction? Gentle canalside amble amble a slower, non-racing version of pace gait in horses. broken amble has many characteristics of the amble but there are four beats to the gait with each foot contacting the ground independently. Called also single-foot. with views of Cheshire's mountain fortress. How far is it? One hour (at least an hour longer if you visit castle). How do we get there? By car or bike only. To reach Beeston, C83 bus from Chester or train. Where's the start? Shady Oak Pub (GR: 533603). Let's go! If you're intending to use the facilities, the Shady Oak offers not just a car park but also an idyllic canalside setting for a post-amble drink. Cross the humped bridge over the Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals, sometimes counted as branches of the SU, lie mostly in Wales. The canal lies in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west midlands of England. and turn left onto the canalside path. Note the converted house which has combined practicality with invention to install a wynchable steel gangplank to its front door. Follow the canalside path for 1.5 miles. This is part of the cross-county Sandstone Trail The Sandstone Trail is a 32 mile (51 km) long-distance walkers' path, following sandstone ridges running north–south from Frodsham in central Cheshire to Whitchurch just over the Shropshire border. The path was created in 1974 and extended in the 1990s. . You'll pass a canalboat lock and, more than likely, several canalboats moored at the side. A swan with her four young signets has nested on the far bank. On reaching Beeston, emerge onto the main road, turn right under the bridge and then right again into Beeston Livestock Market, one of the largest in Cheshire which operates four days-a-week. Although there are signs warning against pedestrians, there is a legitimate public footpath running through the market. However if you live on or have visited a farm recently, you should brush your boots with disinfectant (provided in the yard). Carry on straight through the market, picking up a track at the far side. This leads to a footpath through a delightful small wood and then through a corn field. Turn right at the Tarmaced road, then bear right towards Beeston Castle Beeston Castle is a castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ537593). The castle, which perches on a rocky sandstone crag 150 m above the Cheshire plain, was built in 1225 by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester, (1170-1232), on his return from the Crusades. . At the junction you have a choice: turn left, if you want to visit the castle, or right to return to your car. The medieval ruins of Beeston Castle stand on a rocky summit 500ft above the Cheshire plain. Its fortification fortification, system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hastily constructed in the field in time of war. dates from 1225 when it was built by Ranulf, the sixth Earl of Chester, and contains one of the deepest castle wells in the country. Beeston castle was seized by King Henry III in 1237 and used by him and later his son, King Edward I, as a base for their campaigns against the Welsh. The castle was finally destroyed at the end of the Civil War. There's a steep climb to the castle but the views are worth the effort. To return, retrace your steps round the base of the crag and turn right back towards the Shady Oak Pub. l Beeston Castle: Open Mar 31-Sep 30, 10am-6pm daily; Oct 1-31, 10am-5pm daily Nov 1Mar 31, 10am-4pm daily. Closed Dec 24-26, Jan 1. Adult: pounds 3; concession: pounds 2.30; children under 16: pounds 1.50; children under 5: free. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion