W&WPL - The Punchbowl Loop #3/52

The 5.6077 mile (9.0248 km) Meander that we did on our third "Walk and Wednesday Pub-Lunch" (W&WPL), is available at... 

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6519264 

As with our last W&WPL, it starts and ends in the car park behind Costa in Maghull.

The loop walk included a target pub, the Punchbowl in Sefton Village. 

You can see how it rated in my Maghull Foodie Blog at...

http://maghullfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/the-punchbowl-sefton-village-352.html 

Setting off from the car park we headed along Westway towards the A5147 (Liverpool Road North). Crossing Westway we cut through the small coppice and down to the Zebra crossing.

Turning right, once we'd crossed, we then turned left across the Leeds, Liverpool Canal and then right along the tow-path. 

At Green Lane Swing Bridge, we turned left along Green Lane, until we got to a sharp left hand bend. Here we turn right along a signposted track (just before a farm)

This brings you to the Cheshire Lines where it crosses Maghull Brook.

Turning right, onto the Cheshire lines, we continued along until we reached another path off to the left.

Signs of spring were evident in the form of catkins (Lambs tails)

This path took us past a pylon and a pond on our right and across fields with views to Sefton Village Church on the horizon.

Climbing steps, we crossed the River Alt and continued straight ahead.

First left took us to the perimeter path around the woodland where we turned right and continued around to the main entrance.

Here we turned right and walked parallel to St Helen's Gutter and out onto Lunt Road.

On the opposite side of the road was St Helen's Well...

Turning left we headed for our Wednesday Pub lunch at the Punchbowl.

See the link near the top of this post for a review of what we experienced.

After lunch, we continued past St Helen's Church and then left onto the B5422 (Bridges Lane).

Just after re-crossing the River Alt, we crossed Bridges Lane and entered part of the Mersey Forest, 

Taking the first parth on the left we skirted the woodland, bearing right to walk parallel to Dover's Brook and then second left, over Melling Brook.

This took us along a path between Maghull High School's playing fields and Whinney Brook.

More signs of spring with Pussy willow...

Emerging onto Ormonde Drive, we turned right then left onto Liverpool Road South, crossing the Zebra crossing and into King George V Playing Fields.

Here we saw the very first daffodils of 2015!

Heading past Maghull Town Hall / Library / Meadows Sports Centre we went up steps and left along the A59 (Northway). Just before the A59 crosses the canal we decended steps down onto the canal tow-path, turning left and back to Shop Lane Swing Bridge. 

We then retraced our steps back to the carpark.

One highlight, of this Meander, apart from lunch at the Punchbowl, was seeing 5 herons...

 

Cepaea hortensis everywhere

Well done if you guessed...Banded Snails!

The fact that we were recycling small electrical goods decided where we were going to start our walk today (12th May 2014).

Near the Tip is a small village called Sefton (The name adopted by the Metropolitan Borough) it was here that we started what turned out to be a 5.1227 miles route.

It's has been saved and can be seen at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6303011

Parking outside St Helen's Church, we headed past the Punchbowl Public House turning right toward the woodland that covers what used to be a tip.

At the well marked paths

it was obvious that the overgrown footpath wasn't a real option, where as the road, just a bit further on, that ran parallel to it was the choice of all those we met walking (including ourselves).

As we are beginning to expect this Spring, there were a wide range of flowers to brighten our meander. Chris being the expert, naming them all as I pointed them out.

Although we had had quite a lot of rain over night bees, Bumble, Buff Tailed and Honey, were evident. This is good to see especially after all the articles I've read about decline in the number of bees.

The rain had also brought out the slugs as well.

Upon reaching the River Alt, we crossed via Showrick Bridge, noticing the work done to establish water meadows,

and across fields to the Cheshire Lines (Now part of the Trans Pennine Trail). Even more flowers were evident

including Red Hawthorn Blossom, 

which I find quite, I don't know if you agree, in your face compared to the usual white blossom.

Leaving the Cheshire lines we walked along the road, back towards Sefton Village, crossed Dover's Brook and then left into Jubilee Wood (a former landfill site) which is a 51 hectare site that's been planted with...

• Scots pine, 
• Corsican pine, 
• larch, 
• ash, 
• rowan, 
• willow, 
• birch, 
• hawthorn, 
• guelder rose and 
• dog rose. 

Paths, partly hard surfaced and partly mown, 

have been created in the shape of a barn owl through an area of 3.1 hectares, and a 3.5 metre high sculpture also of a barn owl has been carved from Birchover sandstone to represent the barn owls that have nested near the Sefton Meadows site. 

The barn owl was chosen by local school children as the symbol of the wood.

More bees were evident on the wild flowers.

It was along the paths, in Jubilee Wood, that it became almost impossible to avoid the Banded Snails.

Ranging from yellow through to quite heavily banded.

From Jubilee Wood, we headed towards the Northern Perimeter Road, where our planned route had to be abandoned due to the new road being built.

After our detour, we headed back to Sefton Village, 

emerging back onto Bridges Lane.