Overton South Circular Walk – We head to this iconic village for February’s walk. Bring your best boots, as it’s pretty wet underfoot around there at the moment.
The walk is 5.35 miles long and of easy to moderate difficulty. It’s all fairly gentle going, apart from a short stretch near the beginning and should take you around 2. to 3 hours. The total ascent is only about 351 feet or nearly 107 metres, with the highest point being 310 feet or almost 95 metres.
“Pre-Amble”
The first part of the route takes you down a steep concrete track before entering into a large field and then a gradual climb through woodland before levelling out for the rest of the walk. Grassy meadows and farmers’ fields are the defining features of the walk. As mentioned before, you’ll definitely need ankle-high boots, as some of the terrain is pretty waterlogged at the moment. Most of the access/exit points are over stiles, the majority of which are in pretty decent condition.
The route seemed reasonably dog-friendly as I only walked through a few fields containing livestock. However, the number of non-dog-friendly stiles is substantial, so bear that in mind if you have to lift your dog over them. There are stretches along country lanes where you would need to keep your dog on a lead.
Starting Point
I started at the car park behind the Two Doves cafe on Church Road in Overton (LL13 0EE; what3words.com//instilled.flopping.wedding). Take the A528 if coming from Wrexham or Ellesmere or the
A539 if arriving from the direction of Penley. Church Road is behind St Mary’s Church. Take care not to confuse St Mary’s with the Methodist Church opposite the cafe.
Disclaimer
Important: Your safety is our top priority. Before attempting any of our walks, you must read and understand the disclaimer at lovewrexham.com/walk-disclaimer.
Always remember to read ahead of your current position in the walk directions in case we mention an upcoming potential hazard.
Walk Directions
Church Street Car Park
Stand with your back to the car park and turn right. Walk a few yards to the crossroads and turn right again. You’ll pass the front of the Two Doves café on your right and Overton Library on your left (1).
Cross over the road and carry straight on past the shop called Willow and Wren on your left. Follow the direction indicated on the green metal footpath sign down the concrete track and to the right of the sewage farm (2).
Walk along the track with the sewage farm to your left and go through the gateway ahead and over a short concrete bridge into a very large field. Go straight on across the field. You’ll notice a cart track of sorts a few yards to your left, heading in the same direction. Walk on until you reach the trees ahead of you, and turn left.
You’ll find you’re walking along the River Dee. Continue along the edge of the field with the river on your right until you reach a bridge with yellow arrow waymarkers that takes you into some woodland.
Fallen Trees
There are a few fallen trees along the first stretch of the woodland path so you’ll have to take care when negotiating them. You’ll cross several streams covered with wooden duckboards and then arrive at a low-brick, square structure with a small blue chamber inside it (3).
Just after this, you turn left at the short wooden post with the yellow arrow waymarkers on it. Walk up the slope. Some wooden steps built into the ground make it easier as you reach the top. Go through the metal gate and turn right. Walk through the wooden gate with a curious, large weighted closing mechanism a short distance ahead. Continue along the path between the large clumps of brambles and over the short slatted bridge covered with a metal lattice.
Walk a few yards further on and then turn left to scale the slope, passing a small group of saplings. You’ll come to another wooden gate with a smaller version of the closing mechanism you saw on the previous gate. Walk through it into another field. Carry on in the same direction, following the right-hand hedge and fence line. Exit the field through the stile to the right of the metal gate. Don’t miss the great views on either side.
The Ha-Ha
Cover the short distance to the next stile (with the blue hose) and gate, and turn left when you get onto the lane (4).
Walk along this lane for about 0.3 miles or about 6 to 7 minutes. Turn left when you reach the B5069, and a few yards later, take the stile on the right by the green metal footpath sign. Go through the wooden gate after crossing the stile and then walk down a narrow path between some trees and a fence and hedge line (5).
You’ll quickly realise you’re actually walking across the end of someone’s garden! Go through a wooden gate and then hop over a stile to the left of a ha-ha. Follow the left-hand hedge, tree and fence line to the far edge of the field. Exit through the gate in the far hedge and fence line.
You can also walk through the small copse of trees in the lefthand corner and leave the field over a stile. However, the upper step support has rotted away, meaning the top step is not attached to the ground and is just hanging loose. This is ironic because an old support is lying on the ground a few feet away from the stile.
Once through the gate (or over the stile), turn diagonally left and aim for the left of the wooded area ahead of you. As you approach the wooded area, you’ll pass a pond on your right inside the trees. There’s a stile a few yards further on which you use to exit the field (or just walk round it).
Pentre Farm
Cross the short expanse of wooded area and leave it by taking another stile dead ahead (or, again, just walk around it). Follow the left-hand fence, hedge and treeline for a minute or so. Hop over the stile on your left. Walk towards the far edge of the field in front of you and then turn right when you meet it. The stile to exit this field is in the left-hand hedge and fence line towards the corner.
Part of the far step of the stile has broken off, so take care while crossing it. Follow the right-hand hedge and fence line in the next field and cross the double stile to exit. Turn left and go through the metal kissing gate ahead of you.
Look diagonally right after you go through the gate, and you’ll see another one to the left of some farm buildings. Go through that. Cross the short wooden bridge with the metal lattice top, turn right and follow the right-hand hedge line towards the stile in the corner of the field, which takes you onto a lane. You’ll see Pentre Farm on your right, but we turn left here. After a few minutes, turn right onto a track with a grassy strip running up the middle (6).
You’ll pass a house called “Celyn” on your left. Hop over the stile on the left after a few yards and walk past the two green corrugated buildings on the right. Follow the right-hand hedge line.
Knolton Bryn
After a few minutes, hop over the stile just past the black water trough. Continue following the right-hand hedge, fence and tree line. Pass a pond on your right and walk through a gap in the hedge line ahead of you. You’ll see a metal cattle gate with a walker’s gate ahead of you as you descend the slope. Go through either of the gates and walk up a gentle slope.
Again, carry on through either of the two gates ahead. Aim for the house almost dead ahead of you. Exit the field over the stile into the garden and walk down the drive to the left of the house and onto the lane beyond. Turn right and walk past the left of the old Knolton Bryn Methodist Church, now a corrugated metal dwelling (7).
Carry on along the lane for a few minutes until you reach the A528. Turn right and walk along the right-hand grass verge for a couple of minutes. Cross over, taking care as there is a blind bend to your left, and hop over the stile just before Knolton Nursery. Walk along the narrowish path between a fence on your left and a hedge on your right (8).
Cross the stile, go straight across the field and exit over another stile. Walk past the pond on the right and walk through the gap in the hedge line ahead of you and the hedge line to the right of you.
Aim for the far left-hand corner of this field just past the pond, and exit the field through the metal kissing gate. Walk into the dip, taking care with the steepish descent. Cross the wooden bridge at the bottom (9) and walk up the opposite slope.
Use the wooden steps cut into the path, and then go through the metal kissing gate into another field.
Musley Lane
Follow the right-hand hedge line past the overlapping metal gates. Just past the old oak tree, walk through the gap in the hedge line ahead of you and the hedge line to the right of you. You’ll find yourself following some tractor tyre-marks in the grass. There are some outbuildings ahead of you. Go through an open metal gate and past a black water butt. Go straight on and over two stiles either side of a farm track.
Walk a short distance into the next field and turn right over a stile onto Musley Lane. Turn left and walk along the lane for about 10 minutes or half a mile. Hop over the stile on the right at the telegraph pole and double green metal footpath sign. Follow the left-hand hedge line. The stile you use to exit the field is slightly to the right in the far hedge and fence line.
*Note there was pooling of water just before the stile, and the gap through the hedge was quite tight.*
Once over the stile, follow the left-hand hedgerow. You’ll now start to see the buildings in Overton. Look to your left as the field starts to narrow a little. You’ll see a stile with a blue hose running across the bottom. Take care with this stile, as the bottom step is very wobbly.
Electricity House
The next three stiles are across short expanses of field and all pretty much in a line. The final stile takes you into the garden of Electricity House. Walk to the right of the house and along the track up to the A539 Overton to Penley Road. Turn left at the old water pump on the other side of the road (10).
You are now back at the crossroads by the Two Doves cafe. Congratulations! You have finished the walk!
We hope you enjoyed “Overton South Circular Walk“. Click here to read more of our walks.
