This walk, which snakes across the River Gowy and its tributaries, begins just down the A56 from Helsby at St Peter's Church in Plemstall.

This Grade I listed sandstone building has truly ancient origins, its history stretching back into the seventh century.

It is thought that the church was built on the site where Plegmund, later Archbishop of Canterbury, lived as a hermit in the late 800s, giving Plemstall ('Plegmund's Place') its name.

Further down Plemstall Lane towards Mickle Trafford, you will find St. Plegmund's well, which was supposedly used by this holy scholar to baptise converts to Christianity.

Although a church has stood at St Peter's since the twelfth century, the existing building dates mostly from the 1400s. At its east end, you will find the 1670 tomb of the Hurleston family, whose sides are decorated with a distinctive pair of carved skeletons.

The two and a half mile walk is likely to be very muddy and does require a certain amount of agility at one point, so do bear that in mind!

• Beginning your walk at the church, take the sign for Barrow and follow Plemstall Lane, keeping left at a sign for the hamlet of Little Barrow.

• This track will take you over the railway line and towards a farm yard. Watch out for a stile to your left, which leads past some stables along a muddy track towards the open fields.

• At the end of this boggy stretch, you will reach a bridge over the River Gowy.

Running between the Peckforton Hills and the Mersey around Stanlow, this river once powered up to 20 water mills. Today, only Bates, Bunbury, Trafford and Walk Mills remain. The latter, which is located near Waverton, has a long and fascinating history, dating back to the 12th century, when a wooden fort was also built near to the site.

Walk Mill was originally used for cleaning cloth through a process called 'fulling'. This method was first employed by the Romans, who made slaves called 'walkers' tread over urine-soaked fabric in order to wash it.

In 1219, the mill was leased to Madoc, son of Wicker Seis, whose yearly rent amounted to a single pair of gloves.

Having passed from hand to hand through the centuries, the mill was eventually demolished in the 1960s, and has now been replaced with a new building which still contains some original features.

Today, the Walk Mill team produce their own stone-ground flour, inviting customers to sample the results by popping in to try their fresh bread, cakes and scones.

You can read more about Walk Mill's rich history on their website.

As Walk Mill's wheel turned into the nineteenth century, the River Gowy at Mickle Trafford bore witness to a gruesome event.

In 1795, two highwaymen, James Brown and Thomas Price, were 'gibbeted' at what became known as Gibbet's Field, after being hung for abducting and robbing a 15-year-old mail boy.

Apparently, their bodies were displayed there – as a deterrent for any would-be miscreants – for the next 30 years.

Who would have thought that such an unremarkable river would have seen so much!

You can read more about that grisly tale here.

• Returning from our historic reverie, turn right to follow the water's edge, crossing over two stiles.

• Then, veer to the left, following a faint path through the middle of the field towards a gate at the other end.

• This will bring you across another wooden bridge into the next field, where you should head straight between two hedges and towards a stile.

• Once you have climbed over, you will find yourself on a narrow track nestling between hedgerows. Turn left and follow it around until you reach a stile on your right.

• Having crossed over into the neighbouring field, you will begin the gentle climb up towards Little Barrow, noticing a badger sett down to your left.

• Reaching the corner of the field, you will see an opening, partially obscured by gathering ivy, which leads down some steep stone steps onto a quiet lane.

• Turn right and walk up into Little Barrow. Emerging onto the road opposite the old Foxcote Public House, turn left down the hill, passing some lovely houses as you go.

• Watch out for Wildmoor Lane on your left. This will lead you through a plant nursery to an open track lined on one side by reeds and looking back over towards St Peter's Church.

• A wooden bridge to your left will take you over yet another stile into another field. Head straight across towards a stream on the far side.

• Now, after what has been a fairly flat, ambling route, you may be wondering why we mentioned the need for agility earlier on. Well, when you reach this stream, you will find that its bridge has somehow come away from its supports and plunged into the water! You can still cross fairly easily by walking down its length and then hopping across onto the bank, but it takes a bit of clambering.

• With that interesting moment out of the way, it's plain sailing back to your car. Finding yourself in another field, walk towards your final (fully functioning) bridge and into a paddock with horses.

• Head along the right-hand hedge towards a gate at the end, and emerge onto Plemstall Lane. After a right turn and a quick stroll down the road, you will arrive back at the beginning of your walk.

If you enjoyed this walk, you might want to try another!

Frodsham and Helsby Hill

Alvanley Cliff

Manley Common

Primrosehill Wood

Bulkeley Hill

Peckforton