'Old Aston Hill' - Let's keep it that way
When you approach Old Aston Hill after either walking down the dual carriageway from Ewloe or up from Queensferry you appreciate that sense of calm from the noise of the busy A494. Although the traffic noise remains in the background you suddenly feel that calm has been so much a part of the hill since the road was declassified and the busy coastal traffic bypassed the hill in both an easterly and westerly direction.
We are about to proceed up the hill, each part of this 250 year old coaching route is very special. We will be stopping at certain points along the way for you to have a rest and learn about our very special part of NE Wales.
Railway tracks
You can feel the tranquillity of the hill as you pass the various properties on either side of the road. There's a sense of calm that comes over you after the hustle and bustle of the dual carriageway. As we proceed up the hill we cross over the Wrexham to Bidston railway line. As you look down over the bridge you will see two tracks -a very rare sight these days on such a backwater railway line. However, this line is very important as it links NE Wales with Wirral and the rest of Merseyside. Long may it keep passing under Old Aston Hill. After the railway bridge, the road winds up the hill with fields and a steep drop down towards Aston Park and the railway.
Fern Grove & church
This is the little road that leads off the hill on the right hand side as we walk up. It is blessed with a few properties on just one side that look out across Deeside towards Chester and beyond. On a clear day Beeston Castle and Runcorn Bridge are visible. Once you have passed Fern Grove with only fields on the right hand side, a little footpath is visible that leads up to the church via a wooded trail.
The bend on the hill
This is the bend that was the scene of many problems before the bypass was completed and although the road is now only used by residents the good county council workers ensure that it is gritted on the cold, wintry nights as they have always done. On the bend is the entrance to a farm and number of small businesses that find being on the hill is a pleasure rather than a pressure. As you make your way up to the hill towards Church Lane the sound of exotic birds can be heard from one of the big houses.
Welsh Water
The water company has a compound and an underground reservoir, and on those very early mornings a fox can be seen crossing the road from the farmer's field to the water compound and the church behind it. If you look over the fields at this point you will be able to see the Wirral peninsula and the Flintshire Bridge together with the towering Connah's Quay Power Station and Shotton Steelworks.
Church Lane
This little lane has some quaint cottages and some newly built homes. However, the lane ends up in a path that leads across fields that are usually occupied by horses and back towards that very busy A494 but we don't want to go that far so we will turn around and head back onto Old Aston Hill, but not before stopping at the Church of the Holy Spirit.
Set in its own grounds with spectacular views over the Cheshire Plain, the church has had the BBC broadcast a service of worship and in the millennium year the bells were refurbished and now they are a regular sound on Sunday mornings. This church has no graveyard and that says a lot about living on Old Aston Hill and its surrounding little lanes.
Dee View
As you travel up from Church Lane at this point you will find properties on both sides of the road they all lead up to the cottages at Dee View built in the early 1900s. Travelling down from the cottages you will see in the distance Ewloe roundabout and the roads leading to Buckley and Northophall. The Boars Head is set on the corner and local residents have taken a keen interest in the patch of green that boasts a noticeboard and postbox that separates them from all the traffic.
St David's Close
Before you get to the bottom of the hill is St David's Close, a little haven of white painted properties that sit between the tranquility of the hill and the busy A494. Alongside is the garage that has been trading on the hill for many years and once served commuters as they used the hill before the bypass was constructed.
Ewloe roundabout
Well here we are in the village of Ewloe and the tranquility of the hill has passed, as the noise of the busy A494 - the road that split our village in two - is prominent once again. Just for that 20 minute walk we have been in a very special part of NE Wales. We have passed lots of residential properties, farmland and the few businesses that trade on the hill.
