9th - 10th April

Catch up

9th April day 399

I packed up camp and set off to find hoylake rnli station. I was feeling battered but determined to make progress regardless. Walking to the end of the promenade i headed along the beach to the headland at west kirby promenade stopping at the lifeboat station for a quick tour and coffee.

It was still early and i wanted to get a good few more miles in before stopping for the day so i followed the promenade until it joined the wirral way and continued on to follow the river dee to the bridge that would carry me across to wales. It was a long and to be honest an uninteresting hike with very little to look at or get distracted by.

I was entering another built up area. Finding somewhere suitable to camp was difficult. I continued to follow the wirral way eventually coming upon a field that appeared to be common ground. It was slightly off the trail and i hoped i wouldn't be disturbed.

10th April day 400

To be woken up by 4 horses nibbling away at the outerfly was simply not what I was expecting. It was going to be another hot summers day. Going through the motions of packing up i still hadn't worked out the best way to fold the tent. I'd discovered that no matter what i did condensation formed on the inside of the fly when packed saturated the ground sheet. That meant that every night when i set up camp I'd climb into a wet shelter. It was far from ideal and often wondered if I'd have been better off keeping the tarp.

With everything crammed away i set off. There was a crisp feel to the air and it most definitely felt like a summers morning. Continuing to hike the wirral way i hobbled on nursing two blisters that had formed over the previous weeks long marches.

I was still following the river dee although from a distance. A lack of signage pointing me towards wales was disappointing to say the least. Finding the bridge i crossed into wales. I'd hoped to see a nice large sign welcoming me to the third country on my trip but there was none to see. In fact the only reason i knew i had reached wales was because signs were now in both English and Welsh. Keeping the river dee to my right i followed the road to flint where I'd find my first welsh  lifeboat station.