Wilmslow

Dean Row – Unicorn Pub

October 28th, 2026

DEAN ROW, MOTTRAM HALL GOLF COURSE, BOLLIN VALLEY TRAIL, WATER TREATMENT PLANT, BULLS HEAD, MOTTRAM HALL, UNICORN AT DEAN ROW

 

Distance: 8.72 miles Ascent/descent: 405 ft

Difiiculty: An easy White Handbag Walk

Weather: Fine & dry

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, Daisy Cunliffe, Steve Brearley, Hughie Hardiman, Julian Ross, Keith Welsh, Mark Enright

Starting point: Car Park of Unicorn Pub, Dean Row. SK9 2LN

Starting time: 0940 Finishing time: 1300

 

This Weeks Route:

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/27856228/wednesday-wanderers--dean-row?

lat=53.3029&lon=-2.18281&zoom=14.0019&style=Standard&type=2d

 

This walk has already been saved by Russell for public consumption. Anyone can follow the route using the OS app, providing you have a registered account (Free) in future.

 

The day was dry, fairly overcast and remained so for the duration. The walk takes in some of the environs and footpaths around Mottram Hall and Bollin Valley but is fairly unremarkable except to say that if there hadn’t been rain the night before we could have completed the walk in white stiletto shoes.

 

It was Mark’s 60th birthday so he ordered a round of drinks by way of celebration. Happy Birthday pal and thanks for the drinks.

Details of next week’s walk follow below after the “from the archives” feature.

 

From the archives by George Dearsley

February 27 2013

We came upon Northcliffe Chapel.

This is a Unitarian Chapel, coincidentally the branch of religion under which your diarist’s fiancée had been brought up and so under which he was married.

I undertook no great study of the Unitarian doctrines before the ceremony but did observe that the cleric before whom I swore my marriage vows had himself been married four times. Food for thought, indeed.

The Styal Chapel has existed since 1823, funded entirely by benefactor and local mill-owning  tycoon Samuel Greg and built for the princely sum of £307 18s.

Despite his welcome beneficence, the tightwad was too mean to put in any heating.

Greg founded Quarry Bank Mill, a cotton mill, in 1784. By 1832 it had become the largest spinning and weaving business in the UK, employing more than 300 people.

His descendants would inter-marry with most important merchants and manufacturers of the time, including the Lyles (of Tate & Lyle) and the Rathbones (Liverpool merchants).

In such a rural location Belfast-born Greg felt obliged to provide housing for his (slaves) sorry workers, and as a result the village grew considerably. The next step was to establish institutions to meet the educational, social and religious needs of the villagers.

On 22 August 1822 locals were invited to lay a brick for the foundation of the new Chapel, which officially opened the following year.

The original Chapel was a simple building, somewhat on the lines of a typical nonconformist meeting house of the previous century. It was rectangular in shape as were the wooden windows. There was no chancel and the building ended where the present step into the chancel is today. The original doorway, which can be clearly seen from the outside, was at the end facing the village green. There was a flat roof, a small belfry and no porch.

Samuel Greg (who was a Unitarian himself and later married a Unitarian by the way) built the Chapel for the Baptists, as there was a strong Baptist cause in the neighbourhood.

One notable feature remains from the Chapel's initial use by the Baptists of the village. Under the floor, almost underneath the pulpit, is a full size baptismal tank. John Hewitt of Styal recorded how his father would work with other village lads each Saturday night to carry buckets of water from the nearest pump at Oak Farm. It has not been used for nearly 180 years.

Amongst the scant records there is an amusing account of the trials and tribulations of choosing the first minister. Samuel Greg's daughters favoured Reverend Halford Jones, a minister they had heard preach at Nuneaton.  He was good looking and had a way with the ladies, (The Leslie Phillips of his day, maybe) but their father thought this would distract the congregation from the sermon.

Instead, a boring, ugly old fart called Mr Metcalfe from Bolton was invited to preach, but as soon as he stepped into the pulpit, his nose began to bleed profusely. He was forced to leave without taking the service, and the handsome Reverend Halford Jones became the first minister at Norcliffe. He was granted £80 a year and a house provided by Mr Greg.

Next weeks walk (4th November), led by Hughie in a bid to reach his WW Leader’s Badge Class 5, will start from Boar’s Head at Higher Poynton at 0940 making our way over to and through Lyme Park returning to the Boar’s Head around 1300 for refreshments.

Happy Wandering!

Styal

 

Styal Wilmslow Circular

June 21/10/26

PLACES VISITED – Airport Runway 2, Hooksbank Wood, Hollingee, Saltersley Moss Reserve, Lindow

Common, North Cheshire Way, Styal Mill, Ship Inn

Distance: 9.65 miles Ascent/descent: 390 ft

Difiiculty: Easy

Weather: Dry at first, rain later

Walkers: Andrew Blease, Steve Brearley, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Enright,

James Riley, Russell Spencer, Keith Welsh, Cliff Worthington.

Alternative walkers:

Leader: Russell, Diarist: Russell

Starting point: On Road outside the Ship Inn, Styal

Starting time: 9.40am Finishing time: 13.45pm

This Weeks Route:

Styal Wilmslow Circular

I have saved this walk for public consumption. Anyone can follow the route using the OS app,

providing you have a registered account (Free) in future.

This weeks walk was one that Steve and I walked on our own last time and was reasonably

entertaining, the walk takes you as close to the runway as you can get at Manchester Airport (without being arrested) and gave some good views of different aircraft taking off in damp weather.

We then saw the Bollin River Tunnel, under the new runway and circled around Morley, coming into Wilmslow through the Nature Reserve and Lindow Common, picking up the North Cheshire way back to Styal Mill and the pub, with a heavy shower at the end in an attempt to dampen our spirits.

Next week’s walk details below after the From the archives feature.

From the archives. By George Dearsley. 

February 20, 2013

On Tuesday and Thursday of this week we enjoyed blue skies and warm sunshine. Sadly Boreas, the God of the North wind and his pals, were in a foul mood on Wednesday and the Wanderers were buffeted by chill blasts on higher ground, under a generally slate-grey sky.

That said, compared to last week’s snow-fest, it was a huge improvement.

The walk set off later than planned due to the delayed arrival of your scribe and his driver Mr Cunliffe, who, failed by both map and Sat Nav and anxious to meet the deadline, decided to recreate the famous car chase from the 1968 Steve McQueen film Bullitt on country lanes about a foot wider than his Land Rover.

Meanwhile Mr Fairman was hugely surprised to come across his first wife in the car park, something very few of us, except possibly Stan Collymore, have ever done.

Next week’s walk will be led by Tom, starting at the Unicorn Inn, Wilmslow. SK9 2LN. 9.40am start back to pub for approximately 1.00pm

Happy Wandering!

Chinley

Chinley

14/10/26

PLACES VISITED: BUXWORTH, HORWICH END, TUNSTEAD MILTON, HIGHER CROSSINGS, CHAPEL

MILTON, THE PAPER MILL.

Distance: 7.99 miles Ascent/descent: 1004 ft

Difiiculty: Easy

Weather: Sunny with a bit of cloud

Walkers: Andrew Blease, Steve Brearley, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Enright, Hughie Hardman,

Julian Ross, Russell Spencer.

Alternative walkers: Jock Rooney with Milly

Leader: Russell, Diarist: Russell

Starting point: Bridge by the Paper Mill

Starting time: 9.40am Finishing time: 13.40pm

This Weeks Route:

Chinley Low Level Flat (ish) Walk

I have saved this walk for public consumption. Anyone can follow the route using the OS app,

providing you have a registered account (Free) in future.

It was good to see a couple of recent absentees walking today, namely Julian, Tom and Daisy. 

Due to it being Tom’s first walk back in a while we kept it fairly flat and circled around Eccles Pike, via Bugsworth, then back into Chapel and along the Peak Forest Tramway back to the pub, where we met Jock and a surprise visit by Peter.

From the archives. By George Dearsley 1.2.2013

This, I believe is Cracken Edge, famous for its quarrying.

The Cracken Edge Quarries were exploited for gritstone in the nineteenth century and probably earlier. There is very little published on the history of the workings. 

It was noted for the production of paving stones and roofing slates, and remained open until about 1930.

Quite a lot of the output was despatched by train from the goods yard at Chinley, with a first peak in the 1890s when about 16,000 tons per year went via train, declined slowly after then, but there was a brief second peak in 1929 of 11,000 tons for that year. 

The Cracken Edge Quarries are noteworthy for the extensive vertical faces created along the edge, where there is good stone.  

Banks of spoil divide a series of working areas, and extensive waste heaps built up as debris was tipped down the steep slope.  There are access tracks and signs of an inclined tramway with a pulley wheel on stone supports at its upper end.  There were also underground stone mines behind the faces, now mostly collapsed, although entrance approach routes between spoil-heaps retained by dry stone walls remain.

Next week’s walk is yet to be decided so keep your eyes on the Chat nearer the time.

Happy Wandering!

Wincle

 

Wincle Circular

7th October 2026

Dane Valley Way, Winkle Grange, Hawkslee, Wincle Minn, Butterlands, Danebridge.

Distance: 7.94 miles Ascent/descent: 1248 ft

Difiiculty: Easy/Moderate

Weather: Mizzle then fine and Sunny

Walkers: Andrew Blease, Steve Brearley, Hughie Hardman, Russell Spencer, Simon Williams, Cliff

Worthington.

Alternative walkers:

Leader: Russell, Diarist: Russell

Starting point: Bridge at Danebank outside the Wincle brewery

Starting time: 9.40am Finishing time: 13.45pm

This Weeks Route:

Wincle Minn Circular

I have saved this walk for public consumption. Anyone can follow the route using the OS app,

providing you have a registered account (Free) in future.

A reasonable turnout today now everyone is back of holidays etc. It was nice to see Hughie

recovered and back into it. The day started quite miserable, which soaked us all through, however

clear skies prevailed later in the morning to give a pleasant walk, over the Minn and back to the

pub. (The word Minn derives from the Welsh/Celtic name for hill ‘Mynydd’).

We decided to forgo the brewery on this occasion and visited the Ship Inn, which was deserted and

only served JW Lees unfortunately.

Next week walk will be starting from Chinley, we will meet on the bridge (9.40am) near the Paper

Mill Pub and walk from there back to the pub for 1.30-2.00pm.

From the archives. By Alan Hart.

31.07.2013

We passed  Danebridge Methodist Church, below the road on our left and over the River Dane (144mins). As we started to climb uphill for a livener in The Ship, we spotted The Wincle Brewery on our left, where visitors are invited to try “a snifter.”

We were happy to oblige, and then discovered that their cask-conditioned bitters, Life of Riley, Summer Lass and Sir Sidney, were on sale at £2-50 a pint. 

In the absence of rain we were able to sit on benches outside and discuss our various scouting experiences. It emerged that Mickey had been in Mallory patrol at the Holy Innocents Church troop in Fallowfield, where he wore a yellow and green necker. Peter B was with the Guy Gibson patrol in the 5^th St Mary’s troop in Leeds, wearing a purple necker with an emblem of a cock on it! He also wore a braided leather lanyard, known as a bushman’s thong, and went on to become a queen’s scout (He refused to name the queen involved). 

Happy Wandering !