Day 64 - Caldy to Bootle

And a very good breakfast too. Despite some lights fusing in Ben's and Gary's rooms this morning, the Jug and Bottle probably secures a place in the top 5 establishments where we've stayed although, apart from agreeing that the Harp Inn at Old Radnor remains the undisputed number one, we haven't yet formulated a list. Joyce is parked outside when we leave at 8:15, and we're back in Caldy for 8:30. The start of today's walk is along a track bordered by some very desirable properties (Joyce has informed us that Robbie Fowler owns one of the houses in the area - probably more than one), but, very soon, as we approach the marine lake at West Kirby, our re-acquaintance with the coast is complete. Our approach coincides with low tide at 8:45 and we are therefore able to walk around the marine lake and then undertake what proves to be some pretty lengthy beach action. In fact, subject to a few very minor diversions, we're able to remain on the sand almost as far as New Brighton - and two of those diversions are along the boundaries of Hoylake and Wallasey Golf Clubs. It's quite a mild and reasonably bright morning with no wind (jackets, gloves and hats have been removed) and Hoylake looks what it is: a wonderfully traditional links course. At Wallasey, we pause a while to watch a couple of punters tee off. Punter A bunts his ball a reasonable distance - it would have been Battenesque if it wasn't for the fact that the ball ends up just off the fairway in a bit of rough. Punter B's ball is topped and doesn't reach the fairway - it would have been Hodgsonesque if it wasn't for the fact that the ball manages to get beyond the ladies' tee! Despite the pause, our progress is matching that of yesterday and, having calculated our average daily mileage from the first day on the South West Coast Path, we know that we are catching our appointed Gold Standard Bearer, Johnny 15 Miles-A-Day ("Mad Johnny"?). It's also clear that we are going to reach Birkenhead in time to catch the 1:20 ferry, which is two hours earlier than the ferry which we were expecting to catch. A bit of research is therefore required into what further inroads we might be able to make into Mad Johnny's lead once we've reached the Liverpool side of the Mersey but, before then, jackets, gloves and hats need to be donned again because, as we round the northern tip of the Wirral peninsula, we encounter a distinctly chilly breeze. It doesn't, of course, become any less chilly on the ferry itself (cue Gerry and his Pacemakers) and the coffees which John and Gary consume before boarding have little, if any, warming effect. Study by Ben and John of the OS Map and GPS have established a route out of Liverpool which involves the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool canal and therefore avoids some of the mean streets of Bootle. Not all of them however. As we wander up a narrow lane between disused warehouses on our way to the canal, John says he's thankful that it's daylight and that there are three of us. Why he thinks that the presence of Ben and Gary would be of any value in the scenario he's envisaging is a complete mystery! However, we reach the canal without incident and walk a couple of miles or so along the towpath to our finishing point at a bridge very close to Bootle Oriel Road station leaving Mad Johnny a mere 5 miles ahead of us. A local train back to Liverpool Central followed by a short walk, and we're at Lime Street around 3:45 - some 45 minutes before John's train and an hour before Ben and Gary's. What to do....? Coopers Bar provides the rather obvious answer for a couple of ciders each, and the Upper Crust provides some solid sustenance for John and Gary. We leave, anticipating the next two days of the walk in three weeks time when, all being well, we should at some stage be looking at Mad Johnny through our collective rear view mirror.    

Day 63 - Chester to Caldy

First expedition of 2015. No delay on Beardie's early morning train from Euston means that, with John joining Ben and Gary at New Street, we make a connection at Crewe which gets us to Chester around 9:45. Courtesy of Colin, we're at our starting point just after 10:00, but there is some uncertainty as to whether this was our precise finishing point last November. However, without establishing a laxity precedent, we agree that any discrepancy is de minimis and not such as to merit an adjustment to, or qualification of, the log. A dry cloudy day with a noticeable breeze from the west. Ben is braving the February elements in shorts but, apart from this, thermals, gloves, hats and jackets are the order of (and required for most of) the day. The route out of Chester is a series of flat cycle paths, pavements and well defined field tracks, so progress is extremely good - around 3 mph. After passing through Puddington and Burton, we almost renew acquaintance with the coast - marshland being the only thing between us and the Dee Estuary and our path being, in fact, the line of the old coast. Our plan to meet Ben and Cath's chums, Joyce and Chris near Caldy GC around 5:00 pm was originally regarded as a bit "cuspy" but, with our speed being maintained, we feel more than confident stopping for a drop of lunch in Parkgate. It doesn't take too much of an effort to resist one establishment whose primary advertised selling point is "as many chips as you can eat" (memories of Chipperville(s) in 2011 come flooding back) and we opt instead for ciders and soup/sandwich at The Ship. As a result, our confidence in keeping (more or less) to our pre-lunch speed is not misplaced. By the time we've passed Gayton and Heswall and have reached Thurstaston, Ben is able to phone Joyce and inform her that we'll get to a car park just beyond Caldy by 4:45. We pass the golf course and Joyce appears at the end of the path across the road from the car park to drive us (along with Chris) back to the Jug and Bottle at Heswall. If places can be judged on the basis of first impressions, this is going to be very good. Friendly staff and comfortable armchairs in front of a warming fire constitute an excellent environment in which to ease away the aches of the day with the assistance of pints of cider - or halves of lager for Joyce and Chris who then leave us to our own devices, Joyce having kindly offered to pick us up at 8:15 tomorrow and take us back to Caldy before going to dispense justice to a few scallies at Birkenhead Magistrates' Court. Rather radically, the first of our "devices" is a bottle of red before freshening up for supper. Then three further bottles of red with a very good meal, and wearily retiring to our rooms before 9 o'clock.