The Yeld - Manley - Delamere Forest - The Old Pale - The Yeld

Philip Ingram

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Cheshire's Sandstone Ridge is a special place. Our ancestors certainly thought so and left many hill-forts along its length, taking advantage of the relatively dry ground, the easily worked stone and the long views to detect visitors on two or four legs. This walk explores part of the ridge including Delamere Forest and The Old Pale. Each of these is justly popular with visitors. The route links popular tracks with relatively underused paths to see a wide variety of places. There are good views at several points, with the superb panorama from The Old Pale near the end. Liverpool, Manchester, Jodrell Bank Telescope, Chester, The Clwydian Hills and Stanlow Refinery are often visible. The clear air and snow-covered peaks of winter can extend your views into Snowdonia if you are very lucky.

In spring, wildflowers line the hedgebanks and streams, with bluebells in the more open areas. By high summer the trees provide shade for cattle and horses, giving scenes remarkably similar to those painted by Stubbs 250 years ago. Autumn brings brilliant colours and a feast of fruit in the hedgerow - fungi too, for those who know their mushrooms.

Birds are everywhere. Over the last forty or so years buzzards have gone from being very rare to almost permanently in the sky above, alerting you with their mewing call. Water birds congregate in huge numbers at Blakemere and can be seen well from near Waymark 49. I have seen newts in puddles in Delamere, while frogs and toads can also be seen if you are lucky. Altogether, there is no lack of things to watch out for.

To find out more about the Sandstone Ridge, see http://thesandstoneridgetrust.co.uk

England - North England - Cheshire - Countryside

Features

Ancient Monument, Birds, Butterflies, Cafe, Flowers, Great Views, Lake/Loch, Pub, Public Transport, Tea Shop, Toilets, Wildlife, Woodland

9/18/2024 - David and Chris Stewart

Comment from walk contributor Philip Ingram: Simon, thank you for taking the trouble to comment. I have now found the GPS track from when I last walked this route (Feb 2016) and see that it shows 9.5 miles. The original route used a "custom and practice" short cut but this was abused so the land-holder closed it. This will have been the 8.7 mile circuit. The length on the web site should now show 9.5 miles. The paths in the North of Delamere forest have changed substantially with the construction of the Forest Village so it is possible that following the notes will give the 10+ miles Simon reports. I shall try to rewalk the critical sections over the winter to revise both the notes and the distance.

9/9/2024 - Simon Hutt

A good walk, but the distance is underestimated. This is actually over 10 miles.

2/27/2018 - Philip Ingram

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to comment so helpfully on this walk Graham. I have already removed the "custom and practice" path from the text. A local land-holder tells me that there have been problems with anti-social use of paths that are not rights of way in the area. Cheshire generally and Delamere in particular are very muddy this winter. The least muddy paths in Delamere are the straight ones, which were probably built by the French prisoners of war after the Napoleonic wars. If you prefer to park in the village, I believe that the car park adjacent to the recreation field next to The Morris Dancer is a public car park. I shall try to check this soon. The Morris Dancer is scheduled to reopen in Spring 2018. Brunning and Price will be running it so the food is likely to be good.

2/25/2018 - Graham Moss

Walked24/02/18. An excellent winters walk, cold but sunny, which was somewhat spoilt because of the very poor condition on sections of the Delamere Way (mentioned in the script) The car park at the Yeld closes at 5:30 so I chose to park at Kelsall Community Centre (As per Walk ID 522) If you refer to walk ID 522 you can follow the instructions from Waypoint 1 to Waypoint 2 where you join the original walk at Waypoint 9. Following the original walk from the car park the permissive path at WP 6 now has a sign warning you that this is'Private Land with no public right of way - Please keep out.' WP 21 there is barbed wire along the top of the fence but not where the stiles are. Also the three stiles are all clear with no sign of any building materials. WP 28 the lane is Chapel Lane not Manley Road but the signs do point you in the right direction. WP31 there is temporary metal fencing in the field. Keep this to your right and the field boundary to your left as you approach the corner of the field. At Delamere Forest there is no problem with navigation providing you carefully follow the script however the 'muddy sections are the worst I have encountered for quite some time. Unless you are a 'bog trotter' I would suggest that on entering Delamere Forest at WP 40, instead of turning left onto the Delamere Way keep straight on following the Sandstone trail instead. As a National Trail this is well marked and from past memory is in good condition. Follow walk ID 522 from WP 25 to WP 32. Immediately before the railway bridge turn left onto a track that runs parallel to the railway line. Follow the path as it bends to the right and crosses over the railway line down to a main track. Turn left and follow the main track to the cafe and toilets where you rejoin the walk at WP 53. Returning to the Yeld car par if you have parked in Kelsall you have two choices. Either follow the main road down the hill to a road junction where you turn right and follow the road into Kelsall or, alternatively, continue the walk following WP 1 to 6 and, crossing the bridge over the Kelsall Bypass, continue to follow the road into Kelsall turning right onto the main road. Look for a Footpath sign between the houses on your left and turn left down the footpath to another road. Turn right and follow the road back to the Community Centre.