Today was a perfect day for a lovely autumnal walk here on the Paradise Peninsula, with warm sunshine and blue skies. We decided to stay local .... this starts about ten minutes away from our house.
We walked up through Caldy Woods, crunching our way on the leaves underfoot.
Caldy village was mentioned in the Domesday book. The cross is a monument to R.W Barton who bought the village in 1832. It is thanks to him that it survived intact. The inscription says simply "from Mary, who loved him". So poignant! Now Caldy's a rather exclusive conservation area, with beautiful sandstone houses.
We followed the bridleway back into the woods climbing up towards a ridge.
From here we could see Hilbre Island, which you can walk to when the tide is out. We haven't done it for a while, so it's on our list to do.
The headland in the far distance is the Great Orme at Llandudno.
Standing on the ridge is The Column which was erected in 1841 by the Trustees of Liverpool Docks as a beacon for river traffic. Continuing along the ridge we reached Grange Hill where we found this amazing war memorial. We've lived in this area for over 25 years, and didn't know this existed!!!
From here we looked down onto the Victorian seaside town of West Kirby....
... the old building in the background is West Kirby Grammar School for girls, where my daughter spent seven years .... lucky girl! It's in such a beautiful location!
Dropping down into West Kirby, we stopped for drinks in Aubergine, a lovely little cafe tucked away in a side street.
Suitably refreshed we headed back along the Wirral Way which follows the shore line of the River Dee.
Stunning views across to Wales as we head back to the car.
In the days before the economic downturn we would have headed off to the Lake District for a walk on a day like today, but with a tank of diesel costing about £70 now, we've been staying much closer to home. It still amazes us that we keep finding little gems nearby!
Yes it was a lovely walk. Thank you for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteCheers
I think I have said this before, you guys do the best things. I love all the charming buildings you photograph.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me along - It looks stunning. xxx
ReplyDeleteI love going for a walk whether it's a real one or a virtual one like this and enjoyed looking at your pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what you can find on your doorstep isn't it? You have some lovely local walks made all the better on a fine dry day!
ReplyDeleteThe perfect place to tick a few more pics off the photo hunt list :) Sometimes I think we forget all the great places we have on our doorsteps.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful walk, Kathy and so close to home too. You live in a lovely area and it all looks delightful in the autumnal sunshine:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us on such a lovely walk and I love that inscription - so simple yet perfect.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely day you had, Such beautiful countryside and views all the way.
ReplyDeleteLisa x
Looks like a lovely day x
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely walk but it looked quite long.I love that area and we find ourselves often heading for the Wirral.(I have a Toyota Aygo which does 65 miles plus to the gallon and £20 road tax.The big car hardly ever moves!)It was Parkgate for us yesterday.Nearly half term.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful walk, thanks for sharing. I like your thoughts on checking out what's around you. Finding these little gems is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't know we had state parks around us until we got our dog! now we hike every weekend and it's always different.
I'm going to try and participate in the photo scavenger hunt. Why not, I have 2 black cats.....haha
Julie