|
Start
Point: The Coachman Public House or the Railway Station Car Park
Distance:
5.5 miles
Paths:
Grass field paths and country lanes
Waymarks:
The path is generally well marked with footpath signs.
Observations: Can be muddy in parts following wet weather.
Map:
Ordnance Survey Explorer 267
Thorn Wood is
owned by the Woodland Trust and the public are welcome to walk there at
any time—it is a valuable local facility and popular with people wishing
to take their dogs for a good walk away from public roads.
● From The Coachman Public House (see notes)
walk along Chester Road away from the village centre until you reach a
sharp left bend in the road. Turn right here and immediately right again
into Littledales Lane. You will pass Sandiway Cottage on your right just
before the end of the speed restrictions (see notes).
● Opposite you, you will see a stile and a
footpath sign leading across a grass field.
● Cross the field to a stile half way along
the opposite side and then go diagonally across the next field to
another stile, followed immediately by another. There is a good view of
the Sand Quarry from this point.
● Go down the hill and through a gate in a
short stretch of wooden fence, continuing down hill through gorse bushes
and bearing right to approach a stile next to a metal field gate. This
section of the walk goes through a cattle field and can be very muddy in
wet weather.
● The next stile is visible to your left
where the path meets a public bridleway that runs between Littledales
Lane and Sandiway.
● Cross the stile and head directly towards
the railway embankment where there are steps leading to an open
crossing. Take great care when crossing the line and descend the steps
on the opposite side.
● Cross a stile and turn immediately left to
cross another and turn right.
● Walk towards the stile in the opposite
side of the field, crossing a bridge over a stream about half way
across.
● Cross the stile and continue on the same
line to yet another stile and planks over a muddy field edge.
● Follow the right hand hedge to reach a
stile and then the left hand edge of the next field towards some houses
and the road (Hodge Lane).
● Turn right on the road and after 100 yards
turn left into the driveway to a farm.
● Follow the drive into the farm yard and
turn left in front of a cattle shed.
● Turn right through a metal gate alongside
the cattle shed.
● Keep the field hedge on your right and
follow it up to a metal bridge over the main railway line.
● Cross the bridge and turn right, following
a track parallel to the railway for approximately 200 yards (there are
two –if you take the one nearest the railway you will need to cut
through to the other where this ends –they are only a few yards apart).
● You will come to the edge of Thorn Wood
which is accessible through a pedestrian opening in the surrounding
wooden fencing.
● There are numerous paths through the
extensive woodland.
● To return retrace your steps until you
have crossed the metal bridge over the railway but then take the
leftmost of the two stiles and turn left to walk parallel to the
railway.
● This will lead to a gate at the end of the
field. Go through this and turn right to follow the field edge all the
way up to the road (Hodge Lane).
● Turn left along Hodge Lane and then right
into Littledales Lane. At the top of the lane look out for Sandiway
House on the left (see notes).
● Alternatively continue down Hodge Lane
until you see a footpath sign on the right—go through the tunnel under
the railway , cross a small field and then follow the line of the
electricity pylons across a field to emerge at the bottom of Eaton Place
and so onto Chester Road.
● This will bring you back to Chester Road
and to your start point.
The Coachman Public House
This 19th
century Inn no doubt owes its existence to the opening of the Grand
Junction Railway in 1837 that connected Liverpool to Birmingham. It was
originally a beerhouse (not licenced to sell spirits) and was called the
Hartford Station Inn and became the Railway Inn in 1891, The Station
Hotel
in 1903, and
at some point The Railway Hotel. It was renamed The Coachman in 1971.
This “new” name did reflect the hostelry's past as it stood on the
Chester Turnpike and would have been a coaching stop for people wishing
to use the railway. At one time it had extensive stables and horses and
coaches could
be hired to complete a journey beyond the reach of the railway. It was a
free house until 1926.
If you ever
wondered why mainline trains used to stop at Hartford Station (sadly no
more) it was because the Chairman of the Grand Junction Railway lived in
Hartford and it was his wish that all trains should stop here in case he
wanted to use them. This legacy survived nationalisation of the railways
and continued to the early 2000s.
Sandiway Cottage
This is the
beautiful half-timbered house on the right of Chester Road as you walk
away from the village centre, just before you reach the end of the speed
restrictions. It is noted for the glorious display of spring flowers
amongst the trees that surround the property. It is one of the oldest
surviving buildings in the village, adding a tremendous amount of
character to the area. It was originally built around 1780 and was
probably a hunting lodge for an owner who wished to ride with the
Cheshire Forest Hunt - however, this is not certain.
Sandiway House
As you return
along Littledales Lane you will pass the entrance to Sandiway House just
before the lane narrows to become a single track. The original entrance
was off Chester Road and you pass the old Lodge House at the entrance to
the modern Sandiway Park estate that was built in the former grounds of
the house. Mr John Bolton Littledale was a wealthy Cheshire businessman
who lived at the then Sandiway Bank (now Sandiway House). In 1881 this
house was part of Weaverham cum Milton rather than its present day
incorporation into Hartford and the house and lodge were much more
isolated. At the time of the 1881 census his family of five people
employed seven servants. There was a striking difference between John's
age and that of his
wife - 23
years! He died in 1889 at the age of 66 and is buried in Hartford
churchyard where a window at the west end of the church was given by his
friends and dedicated to his memory. He also gave his name to
Littledales Lane and to a small wood close to the walk called
Littledales Covert (he was a keen huntsman with Cheshire Hunt that met
at the Bluecap and had it’s kennels nearby). The House was subsequently
owned by Sir John Brunner Bt who was MP for Northwich from 1910 to 1918
- he was the son of the founder of Brunner
Mond, a major
local employer and one of the companies that merged to become ICI. It
was then empty for some time before being used as the Mid Cheshire
Electricity Board headquarters, then by Leonard Fairclough (builders)
and it is presently the offices for AMEC plc.
Thorn Wood
Thorn Wood is
a 41 acre new woodland between the villages of Weaverham and Hartford
but wholly located within Hartford Parish. The site is a Community
Woodland with part of it planted as part of the Woodland Trust’s
Millennium project "Woods on Your Doorstep" . The land was purchased in
March 1998 with the help of The Mersey Forest, The Countryside Agency,
the Forestry Commission, the Millennium Commission, the County, District
and two Local Parish Councils, the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust and
numerous local business and private donations. Formerly pasture, the
site was opened to the public during the winter of 1998-99 and planted
as new native woodland comprising a mixture of approximately twenty six
thousand oak, ash, silver birch, rowan, and wild cherry with hawthorn,
hazel, blackthorn, holly, and dog rose. Two thousand of these were
planted by the local community during national tree week (1998). Public
and management access are gained off Northwich Road and open onto
approximately 2km of informal paths. However it is possible to access
the site using public footpaths and that was the inspiration for this
walk. |
