Woolston

Tufted ducks, Woolston Weir

Another fairly quiet start to the day in the garden involving quite a lot of spadgers, a pair of blue tits and the male coal tit. The robin has taken to including a couple of great tit notes in its song, which is pretty confusing when you can't see who's doing it.

It's easier to see the robin now the rowan's lost most of its leaves

I had intended going over for a wander round the Northwich flashes. I didn't want the faff of  messing about with the connections with the train at either Piccadilly or Altrincham so I thought I'd try a different approach and take the Northwich bus from Warrington (it only involves making one connection and having quarter of an hour to do it in). I was just approaching Padgate when, purely on a whim, I decided to get off and have a wander in the direction of Woolston Eyes. It's been a long time since I last paid a visit here, back in the dark ages when one of my friends was a volunteer warden here, and it was high time I found out whether and how to get there on foot.

Leaving Padgate Station I headed South down Green Lane before taking the path along Spittal Brook towards Manchester Road. There seemed to be a singing robin every ten yards of the way. Blue tits, long-tailed tits and great tits could be seen but not often heard.

Spittal Brook

I crossed Manchester Road and headed East along the New Cut Heritage Trail. This stretch, which ends at Woolston Weir, is a thin path separating a long, wide, heavily wooded ditch (which I think is a remnant of a stretch of canal) on the right from the factories and houses on the left. There were a couple of mixed tit flocks passing through, mostly long-tailed tits and great tits. Most of the noisier rustlings were squirrels burying titbits for Winter. A red admiral was a lingering reminder of Summer.

Grey Mist

Grey Mist, a little mere just over the way, held a few black-headed gulls, coots and mallards.

Tufted ducks, Woolston Weir

There were a couple of small rafts of tufted ducks on the river at Woolston Weir, along with a few mallards and mute swans. There was a fully-grown juvenile great crested grebe but no sign of any adults. And there were some more black-headed gulls further upstream.

River Mersey, Woolston Weir

I crossed over and walked the path that goes around the Woolston Eyes nature reserve. I didn't go into the reserve itself because I'm not a permit holder and all the entrances were padlocked shut.

River Mersey, Woolston Eyes

Looking over the river as the path rose from the weir I could see a couple of teal and a pair of gadwall. A few cormorants were hanging out to dry on a sandbar and a heron skulked in the reeds on the bank. I walked a little further along and a buzzard flew low over the river, shadowed by a couple of carrion crows.

River Mersey, Woolston Eyes

There were a few long-tailed tits flocks along the path, the blue tits and great tits seemed to be keeping to themselves. Goldfinches twitted about in the treetops and the robins were singing their way into Winter. A couple of speckled woods fluttered round the brambles.

I joined Thelwall Lane and walked by the Ship Canal down to Latchford Locks, crossing over just in time to catch the Altrincham bus had there not been a diversion due to roadworks so I walked down to Knutsford Road for the Warrington bus and got the train home.

Latchford Locks

So it turns out Woolston Eyes is a nice easy walk away from public transport. I'll have to find out how to get a permit and how to get in.