Day 62 - Farndon to Chester

The consensus is that this is not so much a "boutique" establishment (as advertised) but more a pub with well furnished and decorated rooms. The breakfast isn't too bad, but perhaps a tad disappointing given that The Farndon is one of the most expensive places at which we've stayed. Still, it has the great advantage of convenience, avoiding the cost of Colin yesterday evening and this morning. Just a few minutes' walk back down the High Street to the bridge and the beginning of a day when, for most of the time, the Dee Way actually follows the banks of the...er...Dee which today has mist rising from it on a beautifully crisp, sunny morning. The first six miles are along the east side of the river past a fish farm (where our navigation goes slightly awry) and, to quote the estate agent wording of the guide book, "featuring riverside wooden chalets of various designs" (nice). To check the Farndon owner's comment yesterday evening about water levels, we've done our own very basic calculation of the movement of "ap atom" (long story) from the source of the Dee. However, the accuracy of that calculation does depend on having a vague idea of the length of the river, and all our estimates prove to be embarrassingly wide of the mark. A more reliable check is through a visual inspection which reveals that, on this topic at least, the owner may have known what he was talking about - the river level is now very high. We pass Aldford and cross to the west of the Dee where the next hour of the walk is on a path between the river and the boundary of the Eaton Estate, the not inconsiderable family home of the Duke of Westminster. The side of Chester to which the path eventually leads also seems quite prosperous - boathouses, riverside bars/restaurants and smart looking houses - and, after passing bridges leading into the city centre, we reach our second racecourse (London buses?), the Roodee. And it doesn't simply involve a "good view" of the course like yesterday, but a semi-circumnavigation on a path along the back straight and behind the stables. After a brief discussion about how far to walk in order to maximise convenience/timings on our next trip, we go through the Old Port and a short way along the Shropshire Union Canal towards Saughall. Short enough that we can walk back to the centre in 30 minutes, stopping at a pub on the road to the station which is of such a "standard" as to make us abandon it after one pint and sample the delights of the station buffet instead. Sufficient time there for a cider and sandwiches, and sufficient time on the train to share half a bottle of red before John disembarks to change trains at Crewe, and Ben and Gary continue (with further half bottles of red) to London.