D200: HOYLAKE to ELLESMERE PORT
Saturday 4th April 2026
Today miles: 23.5 Total miles: 3311.6
It rained pretty heavy during the night so I’m expecting the ground to be wet and muddy. I left Hoylake around 7am and took to the path along North Parade. I’d only been walking around one minute when I grabbed my first coffee of the day. There’s a great coastal path towards Wallasey and over the first three miles I switched between the promenade and the sandy beach.
For the next five miles there’s a really decent promenade along Mockbeggar Wharf, towards Wallasey and then even further along towards New Brighton. It’s a great path and is well used by cyclists, dog walkers and joggers. It’s really popular and I was disappointed that there wasn’t any kind of cafe or food truck along the route. I spoke to a local later that day and they said there’s a small cafe not far from the path but it didn’t open until 10am. Eventually the promenade leads all the way to the Eastern side of Birkenhead and the Mersey Ferry dock. Along a section of the route I saw dozens of people, carrying small bunches of flowers, I eventually bumped into a religious group and got offered a bunch of large daisies. I gratefully accepted. Think it had something to do with the upcoming Easter celebrations.
Despite my earlier comment I had managed to stay away from any muddy paths and had kept my shoes dry. I stopped for a long break near the Mersey Ferry dock and watched the ferry cross the river towards Liverpool. The nearest point for pedestrians to cross the Mersey is located at Runcorn. Unlike other major rivers in the UK, including the Tyne and the Thames, this one doesn’t have a pedestrian tunnel or bridge. As expected the next few miles was very noisy and consisted of walking through heavy industrial estates and built up housing. There was a nice change when I reached Eastham Village, there were lots of green spaces and nice walking routes.
The final two miles for today was along the very busy M53, fortunately there’s a footpath and I reached Ellesmere Port in the early afternoon. Ellesmere Port is a very built up area, so I made my way back to Hoylake. I had intended to wildcamp tonight but was unable to find a suitable location in Hoylake and ended up sleeping in my car in the car park of Hoylake train station. There’s a Wetherspoons nearby where I grabbed a proper hot meal.
