Sandstone Trail................................. and graffiti ......how times change?

 I had a lovely walk this afternoon on a section of the Sandstone Trail a 34 mile/55km trail that follows the sandstone ridge that runs through the county of Cheshire.

( http://www.sandstonetrail.co.uk/ )

My walk was at the northern end of the trail which starts in the small town of Frodsham.

I set off from the original starting point (it now begins in the town itself) on Overton Hill standing 443ft  above the town.

 I crossed the local golf course and wandered through woodland with misty views across the Mersey Estuary to Liverpool in the distance and the chemical works of Runcorn lit up like some beautiful coastal town.

 On my way back I passed the sandstone rock formations in the woods above Frodsham. There are lots of names carved into the rock with some showing dates going back to the 1800's.

Corrosion over the years has taken its toll but I did make out one dated 1882.

Some of the carvings were almost as neat as a stonemason would produce but more recent additions less so.

The carvings are of course a form of vandalism...graffiti of a sort but done with no harm meant. 

.How times have changed...

Over the last 150 plus years local youths have climbed these hills (probably with their sweethearts) penknives in their pockets and carefully carved out their names on the sandstone cliffs

My gripe is with the latest edition to this beauty spot made by the feral youths of our modern age.

View the last image and come to your own conclusion...

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My walk started and ended at the War Memorial above the town.

 It was built in 1921 to remember the local men who gave their lives in the Great War.

 A plaque has been added to commemorate the 34 local men who died between 1939-45