Not many places are so dominated by one family, indeed by one man. His stern Victorian features look down on you from a portrait on the pub wall. A fountain erected to commemorate his golden wedding dominates the main road junction in the middle of the village. His former library is a residential retreat and a site of pilgrimage. The parish church is full of monuments to his family, many of the local buildings bear the family name or were commissioned by them, and the estate is still a major local concern. We’re talking about Hawarden, the family is the Gladstones and the Glynnes, and the towering figure is, of course, William Ewart Gladstone, the great Liberal reformer who was the only man to bag four terms as prime minister.

Our castle and our keep: Hawarden Old Castle. Our castle and our keep: Hawarden Old Castle. (Image: David Dunford) Gladstone was born in 1809 in Liverpool into a Scottish aristocratic family; as the second son, he was not in line to inherit the family seat of Fasque, near Aberdeen. But he found a good match in Catherine Glynne, whose father was the 8th Baronet of Hawarden Castle. Gladstone came to regard the Glynne family seat as home – we’re even told he picked up a slight Welsh accent – and, although he never owned it himself, the eldest of their eight children inherited the estate when he died aged 88, and his descendants still live there to this day.

Private: a glimpse of Hawarden Castle. Private: a glimpse of Hawarden Castle. (Image: David Dunford) Hawarden ‘New’ Castle is an impressive mid-18th-century mansion remodelled in the Gothic style, overlooked by the Old Castle, a medieval motte-and-bailey job with substantial remains including a round stone keep. Access to part ofthe grounds is allowed on a permissive basis – check the notice beside the battlemented gateway opposite the Glynne Arms – making a pleasant addendum to the walk described here (which is strictly on public rights of way, just for the record). The New Castle is a private home, although the West End can be booked as luxurious holiday accommodation for up to 10 people, and the Old Castle is only open to the public occasionally but can be glimpsed from the path below whenever the estate path is open.

The walk described here climbs gently through woods from the free car park in the village and then, having run parallel to the A55 trunk road for a while, heads back down across the fields with wide views that include Moel Famau, the Dee estuary and Wirral peninsula, the cathedrals of Liverpool and Chester, and the Peckforton Hills. You might even spot the distinctive ‘Beluga’ plane that carries bits of Airbus to and from Broughton Airport. At the end of your walk, a potter round the village and (access permitting) into the estate grounds, and a pint from The Glynne Arms will round off a rewarding day out. You could even pop into the Hawarden’s Estate Farm Shop on the way home to pick up a treat for tea.

Village hub: Hawarden Post Office. Village hub: Hawarden Post Office. (Image: David Dunford) THE WALK

1. From the car park in Hawarden, find a gap in the wall and take a descending footpath into the woods. Following a metal fence on your left, you cross a stream (the Broughton Brook). Beyond a stile by a gate, the path ascends gradually alongside a field to the right then follows a stone wall on the left to a stile, where it re-enters woodland. Pass a flooded quarry on the right and continue (with occasional views to your left) through the woods. Pass a private woodland ride on the right, then bear left; at a staggered crossroads take the track straight on, again ignoring private tracks right and left.

2. Beyond a gate, the track leaves the wood and continues between fields, with views east over Broughton and Chester towards Beeston Castle and the Peckforton ridge. The hedged track bends south and passes Cherry Tree Farm, eventually meeting a minor road.

3. Turn right past the Spinning Wheel pub and continue to the end of the road (where there may be a mobile coffee van). This was the old road between Broughton and Bwcle before the A55 opened. Beyond the gate and barrier, continue alongside the main road.

4. Pass (but do not cross) a footbridge over the A55 on the left then ignore a private entrance into the woods on your right. Beyond a gate, turn right, away from the noisy road, along a country lane. At a triangular junction, cross a stile opposite with wide views into Wales. Walk down the side of the field then follow a track towards a farm; a path leads to the right of the buildings to a stile onto the A550. 5 Cross carefully and turn right along the pavement. Just beyond a speed camera sign, turn left over a stile by a footpath sign into fields. Follow the hedge along the right-hand side to a kissing gate then bear right over another stile into a narrow lane. Turn left over the railway and follow the lane for 100 metres or so before turning right into Ledsham Lane.

6. At the end of this no-through road, take the signposted footpath straight ahead to a metal stile with perhaps the widest views encountered on the whole route. Turn right: the exit from the field is initially hidden by the curve of the land, but if you aim for the distant tower of Hawarden church you will find the next stile. Follow the hedge beyond. A couple more stiles take you past the rear of Oak Farm into a pleasant hedged green lane that leads to Hawarden Golf Course. Cross a couple of golfers’ tracks between no-entry signs, then bear right under the railway arch.

7. Turn left over a stile and continue past a farm on the right. Bear left over the stream, then turn right into an entrance. Continue beyond the buildings on a pleasant path to a bench overlooking a pond on the golf course. From here it’s a short stroll back to the A550 and the car park on the edge of Hawarden..

A pretty row of cottages in Hawarden village. A pretty row of cottages in Hawarden village. (Image: David Dunford) COMPASS POINTS

AREA OF WALK: Hawarden

START POINT: Tinkersdale car park CH5 3DQ (free)

DISTANCE: 4½ miles/7.4 km

TIME TO ALLOW: 2 hours MAP: OS Explorer 266: Wirral & Chester/Caer

REFRESHMENTS: The Glynne Arms, theglynnearms.co.uk

PRACTICALITIES: May be muddy in places. Several stiles. Hawarden station is on the Borderlands line from Wrexham to Bidston.

Clubby comfort: the Glynne Arms. Clubby comfort: the Glynne Arms. (Image: David Dunford) The Glynne Arms

The Glynne Arms is a Grade-II listed coaching inn in the centre of the village, opposite the gatehouse to Hawarden Castle. It is owned and run by the estate, and beyond the elegantly pillared porch you will experience a warm welcome from the willing staff and a clubby, shabby-chic ambience entirely in keeping with the building’s history.

Out back is a sunny courtyard with picnic tables and parasols overlooked by the outbuildings, also listed. A curious arcaded building stands to the right of the main frontage, either side of the car park entrance: this is the old ‘shambles’ or butchery, now partly repurposed as the village bus shelter (and, inevitably, with a Gladstone family connection, as the plaque inside attests).

On Mondays and Tuesdays, the pub serves a snack and sandwich menu. My partner enjoyed a ‘surprisingly spicy’ carrot and chilli soup of the day, and I chose a steak sandwich on sourdough with rocket and caramelised-onion mayonnaise – messy but tasty. From Wednesday through to the weekend, the more substantial and extensive main menu comes into play, and on Sundays traditional roasts take centre stage, as you might expect.

Two or three changing cask beers are served on hand pump, supporting the regular offering, Splendid Ale, which boasts a ‘full fruity palate, including tangy orange zest with cherry and elderflower notes’ and comes from Facer’s, a micro-brewery in nearby Flint.

There is a fortnightly quiz and a monthly dog walk, as befits the dog-friendly, casual vibe. There is a small car park for patrons, but ample free parking otherwise in the Tinkersdale car park, just round the corner.