White Horse Walk 5 - Aldford River Walk (Extended)

Approx. 12.71km (7.90 miles)

This walk is similar to the normal length Aldford River Walk, however this route takes you beyond Aldford over the Iron Bridge and up past Eaton Hall. The reason we have included both walks is because with this walk there are some fantastic views not included in the normal length walk, however it may be a little too long a route for many people.

Starting at the White Horse travel west up Hob Lane (the lane that runs up the side of the pub) until you come to a crossroads, go straight on down the non-tarmacked road (Knowl Lane). Follow this lane all the way to the river, you will pass through two 'chicanes' and go over one stile but it is essentially a straight road to the river. Once you have reached the river turn right and follow the river along. You will immediately see one of the river-side dwellings, there are now many of these (mostly on the Welsh side of the river), some are derelict, and are described by walksgalore.co.uk as being "like the deep-southern shacks of a Tennessee Williams’ novel".

The first half of this walk is simply a matter of following the river along, until you get to the Iron Bridge, however there are some sights to look out for on the way. In the field marked '57' on the map below, and the adjacent fields, there are, at the right time of year, quite a few Lapwings. These are a welcome site, as their numbers have dropped by more than 80% since the sixties. You can identify them easily by their seemingly out-of-control flight pattern and their 'pee-wit' call. Another bird to look out for in that same field is the Great Cormorant. A large bird that can often be seen perched in the trees on the opposite side of the river bank, they also frequent the river-side trees next to the racecourse. The trees that they usualy sit in are easily identifiable by a seemingly dead branch sticking up from and other-wise healthy tree. This is due to the high acidity of the Cormorants guano, which causes irreversible damage to the branches that they sit on.

Following the river along you will come to the old race course; this is the oval track behind Aldford Hall marked on the map. Oyster Catchers have been spotted on more than one occasion along this stretch of the river. Further along the path you may notice some black and white buildings on the opposite side of the river, marked on the map as 'Black & White Cottages'. That area was the subject of a recent Time Team investigation about a small community of Cistercian monks.

Follow the river around, after a time you will see the Aldford church in the distance to the right. The walk will lead us up to that church later on. In the field where you can first spot the church, there is often quite a few Buzzards circling, as there are several nests nearby. Soon you will come to the quite magnificent Iron Bridge. This bridge was designed by Thomas Telford, and paid for by the Marquis of Westminister at a cost of £8000 (in 1824) to accomodate visitors to Eaton Hall.

At this point it would make sense to turn right, away from the bridge, however some people may find it interesting to go over the bridge and follow the footpath, for a short way. The path goes all the way to Chester, but it is interesting to wander up a short way as the scenery is quite different to the rest of the walk due to you walking along the edge of the Eaton Hall gardens. If you look to the left you will see Eaton Hall, and to the right of it you will often see a large number of herons, as well as comorants. Another thing to look out for here is some interesting foliage, as seen in the photo to the left. We're not sure what they are, they look like nests, but on further inspection they appear to be growing from the trees. Once you have seen enough, follow the path back down and back over the bridge, follow the tarmac road that is sign-posted as the footpath (there are various other paths, but they are clearly marked 'Private'). You will not have walked far along the tarmac road before the hedge on the right ends and signs indicate that you should turn right and up accross a field towards the Aldford Church. The footpath takes you right up to the church and then goes around the grounds to the right and out onto the road.

Walk away from the church on the road that means you have your back to the church. You will go past a school on your right, you need to take the next road on your left. This road goes straight down to the main road (Chester Road, the B5130). Turn right at the main road and follow it for about 200 meters before turning left down 'Lower Lane'. Follow this road until you see the footpath signs on your left sending you over a high stile into a field. The footpath goes diagonally accross this field to the far corner. To your left is a great view, with Beeston in the distance, and the marshlands in the foreground. You will often see herons fishing here.

Exit this field at the opposite corner to which you entered it, and you will be on a muddy path. Keep following this path up the hill and along. You will notice quite a striking dead tree, shown in the photo to the left. After a while you will cross a farm road, and about 20 metres ahead there is a footpath sign indicating that you need to turn right and cross the large field on your right. The footpath accross this field is not always well defined. The best way to not stray too far from the path here is to look at the far end of the field, you should see the bull rushes and similar vegetation surrounding two ponds, the footpath goes in between the two ponds, aim closer to the pond on the right. The footpath is well signed through two more fields before coming out onto a tarmacked lane (Pump Lane). Once there you will see quite a tall stile to your right, climb over this and cross the field where you will see a wooden bridge that takes you over a small brook.

Cross the bridge and you will be in a field which is likely to have livestock on it so make sure dogs are on leads. Keep to the left hand side of this field and cross the stile at the end. You are now on Stud Lane. You will notice some small horse jumps on the left hand side and probably a number of horses in the fields on the right hand side. Follow the lane up until you reach a cattle grid, this is the same grid you encountered earlier, cross the grid and follow the lane to the end. Turn left at the end, then right onto Pump Lane. Walk to the top of Pump Lane and you will see the White Horse opposite you.

The Aldford River Walk (Extended) Route:

To purchase a map with the above area included, click here