Round Handbridge and Heronbridge

From Chester Wiki

[edit] Walk

This is a circular walk that can start and finish anywhere along the route. It was originally done clockwise starting from the south end of the suspension bridge but can be done either way round. The short version is about 7km and varies between path and road.

Starting from the Suspension Bridge:

• Head upstream along the path on the Handbridge bank of the River Dee towards the Meadows.
• Keep following the river past the yacht club on the other side of the water. At this point it is possible to cut the walk short by turning right onto the obvious path and heading back into Handbridge. If you take the short-cut back then you will enter Handbridge on Bottoms Lane - you will need to take a right into St Georges Crescent, a left in Queens Park Road and right into Victoria Crescent to return to the suspension bridge.
• Assuming that you haven't turned back the next part of the path is quite straight, and it's possible that, from the point where the path starts to be separated from the river by trees, the river has been partly canalised at some time the past, deepening and narrowing the flow. This would make the river more navigable and also reduce the risk of flooding.
• It is actually possible to reach this bit of river with a canal boat - see the amazing nautical adventures of the Tuesday Night Club for details.
• At the end of this section. You'll come to a path sloping suddenly downwards with the river on one side and a red sandstone cliff on the other.This the approach to what is now called Heronbridge. The name of the site prior to 1824 was Ironbridge, believed to be derived from the fourteenth-century 'pons ferreus'. It is believed that this was itself an erroneous latinisation of the Old English word 'hyrne', meaning a horn, and also a corner or angle and possibly "herne" meaning a nook, or a secluded place. The Anglo-Saxon form of the place-name 'hyrne-brycg' could mean 'bridge at a corner', perhaps referring to the bend in the river at this point. Another possible origin could be "Herne's" bridge (with a reference to the legendary Herne the Hunter) and an eventual corruption of Cernunnos.
• Eventually you will pass a waterworks building and a rather beautiful fenced-off house by the river at Heronbridge. At this point you can either decide to head on to Eccleston or turn right and walk up to Watling Street - now Eaton Road.

If you take the shorter route:

• Keep the Heronbridge site to your left
• On reaching the road turn right and look for a path on the other side, take the path leading into the woods and follow this until a narrow road is reached - turn right
• Follow the narrow road to the gates of the Grosvenor Estate at the roundabout by Overleigh Cemetery.
• From there, it's a short walk to either to the Grosvenor Bridge and Chester Castle or to Edgar's Field and the Minerva shrine. If you started early, the Grosvenor Museum may well be open by the time you complete this circuit.

If you take the longer route:

• Keep the Heronbridge site to your right. Both the OS of 1875 and 1910 (these can be found here) have this site marked as "entrenchment" and note both "stones" and "urns and a causeway" have been found nearby. Keep to the riverside path until you reach the modern road bridge over the river.
• Passing under the road bridge the tower of Eccleston Church will come into view. The next landmark is Eccleston landing stage. If you wish you can turn right here and begin the return journey, or you can carry on to the car park a little further down the river. If you plan on returning to Chester by bus (which doesn't run on Sundays) you can turn right here and walk to to the bus stop in the village centre.
• Start the return journey by finding your way back through Eccleston to Eaton Road. You will need to stick to the road for a while as the A55 has blocked what would have been a much better route.
• Once over the A55 (by bridge) turn left and follow the track as far as the waterworks, then take a right and you are on what was once the Duke of Westminster's private road to Chester. This becomes the shorter route back (see above) after around 1Km.

[edit] Links

• Archaeology at Heronbridge

• City Council on a very short version of this walk (just the meadows).