Whixall & Fenn’s Mosses Extended Family Walk – Canal, Peatland & Old Railway Trail (Shropshire & Flintshire)

Fuelled by Oatcakes

Sunday 13th October 2024. Today was a rare Sunday where we had no birthday party’s, no football matches, and no commitments to organise our walk around. Having only done a handful of very short walks during this week, we were all ready for a long walk and my husband was keen to revisit Fenn’s Moss. We’d first walked Whixall and Fenn’s Moss back in the summer holidays, and at the time it had been our longest walk with the boys, at 6.91 miles. Since then, my husband had orchestrated a slightly longer route around Fenn’s Moss and we agreed we’d do it again once we’d ramped up the boys mileage a bit, so it wouldn’t be a struggle for them. Two months later, knowing the mileage ahead of us today, I made sure everyone had a good breakfast inside them – the husband’s hometown favourite: Staffordshire Oatcakes! It’s not often we leave the breakfast table feeling stuffed, but this morning we did, and we were all eager to walking it off 😂

A Cold Start

The morning was a cold one, just 6°C as we were getting ready, so we all chose to get our thermals on (for the first time this year). It turned out to be a wise choice, certainly for me. I didn’t really warm up at all today, even with my silly woolly hat on, but importantly I didn’t get cold either. Once we were dressed, packed and ready to go, we discussed the best choice for parking. Along this route it was recommended to park in a village hall car park in Bettisfield, but a quick inspection on Google Street View saw that it was gated, and not wanting to get there and then have to turn back, we decided to instead use the car park we’d parked in last time (over the fun bridge!) – Morris’ Bridge. The route we were walking would go past both these car parks anyway, so it didn’t matter where we parked, but at least walking past the Bettisfield car park would allow us to take a look and see what the score is with access and if there were any opening times etc.

Once booted and backpacked up, we decided to walk the route in reverse. This walk is an extended version of the previous walk we did, so much of it was still the same – including passing the flooded towpath section. I was unsure if we should do this first, because if we got soaked we would end up having to walk in wet boots/socks/trousers, but I was unanimously outvoted! It turned out to be a good decision (well done lads!) because as we approached the flooded section, there was a cheeky little outlet through the hedge onto a lane – clearly other people had had the same thought!

We followed the lane a short while, before bobbing back onto the canal towpath, walking down a beautiful section that had a handful of lovely cottages and houses on the opposite side. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to live – it’s so quiet and it’s not on a main route either. They were set back from the canal but everything was so open you would still it and enjoy it. Perfect!

Eventually we came off the canal, after going under a bridge (where the boys reluctantly left their sticks), and headed up a country lane. This lane would lead us into the small village that we went through last time, but this time coming in from the top end. Along this lane we saw a HUGE flock of migrating geese – I tried to capture it on my phone camera but it just looks like a mass of furry dots in the sky – never mind, it was fabulous to see (and hear)!

A Familiar Path

After arriving at the village, we turned right to head into the woodland – Fenn’s Wood. When we last walked it, we were in the thick of summer, and everything was very green. Today, autumn was taking hold, leaves were falling and the ferns were a mix of greens, browns and yellows. It was incredibly bleak, yet still really beautiful. Autumn is my favourite season so I really enjoy walks like this.

The day didn’t warm up and it was here that the boys admitted defeat and reached for their snoods. They thought it was far funnier to cover their entire faces and be “ninjas” than just wear them around their neck, like their boring Mummy!

It was also clear that we had had a lot of rain recently. Unlike last time, with just the odd boggy section, much of today’s walk through the forest was thick in mud – we even spotted some hoof marks that were around 2″ deep! Walking through it was like walking through treacle and I’m pretty sure this is what attributed to my aching hips by the end of the walk (and I also realise I now sound like a woman of twice my age)! We all needed a bit of a rest and a re-fuel by the time we had gotten to the railway track!

When we got going again, along the disused railway line, my youngest commented about whether we would see the “bright green butterflies” again – I did say it was probably far too cold for them now. As expected, we didn’t see butterflies or dragonflies – in fact, we didn’t see any wildlife at all. Much to the disappointment of the boys who are desperate to see the Adders! The length of this section seemed to take much longer than last time, our youngest was struggling a bit, saying he felt weary “like he was sleepy”, rather than tired “like my legs are tired”, so most of the walk here was filled with words of encouragement and distractions. We stopped at a bench halfway for another snack and drink, allowing him to rest his legs, and when he felt rejuvenated we got going again.

Stations and Speeding

The problem with a really long, straight walk, is that you can see exactly how far you’ve come – and exactly how far you’ve still got to go. That meant my “just around the next corner” trick couldn’t really be used! However, the end finally came in sight, and where we would have ducked off to the left, had we followed the route we’d done previously, we instead continued onward, going further on the railway lines original route. This meant we got to go beside the building that we’d see from the front on our last walk – and it caused some fascination for us all!

Passing through a gate, the gravelled line conversion now became a typical, narrow, country lane. We ambled along here for a short while, watching some tractors and admiring a field with a huge pond, before coming into Bettisfield.

Here we passed under a bridge with a little old signal next to it, and right opposite was this gloriously preserved station set up!

What a brilliant thing to have kept all this history preserved! We all absolutely loved seeing this little treat – what a great place to live in.

Beside the old line was also an old engine shed. It has been sympathetically converted into a really beautiful house, with a lot of the old architecture and unique features still remaining (hence we knew it was an old engine shed!). Fitted with huge windows it felt a little uncomfortable taking a photo of this house, so I didn’t, but if you love a bit of steam railway history, I highly recommend this walk!

Heading into the village would have been a rather mundane affair, had my husband not noticed that the speed sign was actually thanking us for only doing 3- and 4-miles per hour. We have walked a few places with speed signs before and never had them pick up our speed before, so of course, it sparked a competition with the boys! Over 3/4 of the way into the walk, wearing heavy walking boots and backpacks, they managed to hit 9mph running into the village!

Shortly after all this excitement, we walked past the Village Hall (where we could have parked), and were relieved to see the gate was open. From what we could see, it was a suitable and welcoming place for us to park in future, should we come back.

Return to the Canal

We returned to the canal in Bettisfield, shortly after passing the village hall, thinking we probably only had another mile or so to go. In fact, that section alone was 2.4 miles! It’s a beautiful stretch of canal, and halfway along we were joined by a Swan. I’m always a little wary of swans, but it didn’t show any aggression and happily, and calmly, swam at the side of us for some time, much to the amusement of my boys!

A short time before we arrived at the end we remembered to capture some photos by the Wales/England border – the silly sort of photos with one child in Wales and one in England, etc – but we also got one for the blog! Isn’t it funny how much excitement and anticipation there is when you enter Wales or Scotland, with badges and flags and signage, and yet coming back into England there’s absolutely nothing!

As we approached the car park, we decided to have another bash at trying to find the Geocache. There had been a series of no-find logs before our own no-find, but there had been one log since our last visit claiming it was found, so we excitedly went on a mission thinking it would now be visible! We were sadly wrong, and we still remain defeated on the Geocache at the bridge 🙈. Several of the top 5 or 6 “found” logs mentioned a “helpful clue from another log” and that it “isn’t where the GPS states”. However with next to no signal, we couldn’t get any photos or any further logs to load up to read the clue/helpful log. Gutted!

Family Feedback on the Extended Whixall and Fenn’s Mosses Circular

I’m really glad that we did this extended walk. I wasn’t sure how much more we would get to see or experience, but seeing the beautiful old station, the old buildings and then racing a speed sign was enough to put this walk at the top of my most favourite family walks! Despite the length (it’s now our longest walk to date), everyone did so well. Initially tired at the start, the youngest soon perked up, and by the end of the walk both the boys still seemed to have an abundance of energy, whilst Dad and I whimpered silently about aching hips!

As always, I asked the boys their thoughts on the walk. Our eldest said he loved racing the speed sign the most, and having the swan follow him. The lovely thing is, he told me he “loved all of it”, which makes me really happy. Our youngest also said it was “all amazing”, so clearly (and fortunately) he soon forgot about his weariness in the first part of the walk 😅. He enjoyed walking along the canal and throwing sticks in, and also happily reports that there was nothing he didn’t like! A great walk for all then 😊

TOTAL MILES: 9.10 | TOTAL TIME: 3h47 (3h22 Moving Time)

---

Good to Know

Car Parking: We parked at Morris’ Bridge car park. Parking for around a dozen or so cars, plus 3 allocated Disabled spaces. ///rely.beaten.ushering

Toilets: No facilities

Accessibility: Not suitable for pushchairs. However, you could just walk the disused railway line section if you have a suitable/all-terrain pram.

Café/Picnic Spots: We passed no eateries, but there were several benches along the way for sitting and eating, so bring a picnic.

Terrain: Mostly flat, muddy in winter in the wooded areas, across the peatland and some sections of the towpath.

Family-Friendly Tips: There are lots of smaller walks available here for littler legs. Be sure to take children to see Mammoth Tower – my boys loved it!

Points of Interest: Old Station at Bettisfield, Nature Reserve and Bird Hides at Morris’ Bridge, Morris’ Bridge (see if any narrow-boaters need a hand with opening it!), Fenn’s Old Works, some interesting bridges along the canal and Mammoth Tower/peatland history.

Safety Information: Our walk took us onto some quiet roads, be aware of traffic. Some muddy areas that were slippery when passing. Adders have been reported in the area.