Water and air, rather than solid ground
When reviewing the OS Map, it's hard to imagine what the English Coast Path is going to be like at Parkgate on the Wirral.
The Dee estuary opens out to an expansive sweep of saltmarsh and mud. In the distance, the Welsh mountains. Despite the warning, there are some people out in the marshes. For us, it's a case of "stay on the path, boys".
I'm unsure I have ever seen an area as saturated with Geocaches. Which makes it a shame that one of the dogs in our care starts barking the minute you stop walking. The numbers for a seven-mile walk could have been off the scale. Instead, I manage about 1 in 3. When the little bugger is ahead.
We turn off and head inland to Ness. Some good public footpaths but really, if the truth is told, there's nothing much to see. The Wheatsheaf forlornly boarded up with a printed sign on the door saying "Apologies, we will not be opening for the foreseeable future".
So it's a good job that Parkgate has everything we need.
Chip Shop - packed with pensioners. Rich pensioners. The chips are £4.80.
Ice Cream Shops - one famous, one offering ice-creams that are "home-made". Mrs M spends longer than you would think on Tripadvisor for someone who wants a cornet.
Pubs - An immediate choice of the Red Lion or the Ship. As I have never been in a bad pub called the Ship, that wins today's custom.
There's been a long history of pubs at this location, before the current building was constructed in the Victorian era. At one point, in the 1970s, it was a Trust House Forte. Remember them? They had the best loyalty scheme available for any jobbing IT professional installing Citrix MetaFrame around the UK.
The most recent review (2012) on Pubsgalore has it down as a hotel still. It's definitely a bar, and despite the sign saying Freehouse, they are having the exact same Oktoberfest as the Ring O'Bells visited yesterday. The barman knows nothing about them being part of the same group. Thank god for the Internet. Stange & Co - with 10 pubs in their stable across North Wales and the Wirral.
A very decent Brightside Brewing Grafter bitter one of the 5 casks available.
Walk Details
Distance - 7.5 Miles
Geocaches - 19
Walk Inspiration - Best Pub Walks in Merseyside, Walk 29