Birtles. 9 1 



point, and' in a few minutes, descending thence, are once 

 again in the public thoroughfare. 



Alderley Park, the seat of Lord Stanley, lies near the 

 village, upon the left of the turnpike road. Strangers 

 very rarely enter the gates. The wonder to those who 

 do is that so little should have been made of natural 

 advantages scarcely excelled anywhere in Cheshire. The 

 best features are the magnificent beech-trees and the 

 sheet of ornamental water, called Radnor Mere, upon 

 the margins of which grow two of the most interesting 

 of the British sedges, the Car ex ampullacea and the 

 Carex vesicaria. The gardens have long been noted 

 for their mulberry trees. 



Beyond this again is Birtles, the neighbourhood of 

 which supplies a very pleasant walk. Mounting the hill 

 on the southern side, or where the latter gently melts 

 away into the level, the road in question leads eventually 

 to the "Wizard," at which point, if more convenient, the 

 walk may be commenced. If begun at the base, we 

 turn up by the four-armed guide-post, a little beyond 

 Alderley church. The walk is somewhat long, therefore 

 better deferred till winter, selecting a day when the frost 

 is keen and the atmosphere bracing. A winter forenoon, 

 when the atmosphere is motionless, and icicles hang from 

 the little arches that bridge the water-courses, is every 

 bit as enjoyable as the most brilliant of summer evenings, 

 let only the heart be alive and the eyes trained to seeing. 

 Over and above the rich healthfullness of this Birtles 

 walk, all the way up to the crown of the Edge, and round 



