Disley

DISLEY, DISLEY GOLF COURSE, TURF LEA FARM, THE ROMPER, ROMAN BRIDGE, TARDEN, MELLOR MOOR, THE FOX AT BROOK BOTTOM, STRINES, PEAK FOREST CANAL, THE WHITE HORSE AT DISLEY

Distance: 9 miles, total ascent 1450 ft

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Dry, mild and misty at first; later sunny

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Laurie Fairman, George Whaites

Apologies: Alan Hart (assignment in Cyprus), Geoff Spurrell (hols), Ken Sparrow (hols)

Tony Job (hip op), George Dearsley (work)

Leader: Fairman. Driver: Whaites. Diarist: Beal

Starting point: Disley Station car park.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.06pm

After last week’s aborted walk because of the weather  today’s conditions were positively Spring-like, despite early mist that eventually gave way to sunshine. Unusually, due to a combination of circumstances, there were no B-walkers and not a sign of non-walking drinkers.

So it was a small but select band that set out from the car park at Disley, where confusion still surrounds exactly where the Rams Head parking, the public car parking and the station car parking start and finish. A certain amount of improvisation surrounded our walk, with an almost unheralded consultation of maps (yes, those papery things with squiggly lines on them) but – perhaps unusually – not once did we go astray.

At this stage your acting diarist must apologise for any lack of detail in route description. This is down to the fact that  a) he was appointed at the very last minute and b) he did not have a pen, paper, or indeed a map.

We struck out up Jackson’s Edge Road and turned right into Disley Golf Course, heading towards the clubhouse. We crossed the fairways and emerged at the large chimney that might, or might not be, the air shaft for the Disley rail tunnel.

We descended towards Turf Lea Farm and the corner of a field that was such a quagmire that some members of the party even suggested beating a retreat and seeking an alternative route. Not to be deterred we ploughed on through the ankle-deep muck and eventually reached terra firma and  Wybersley Road.

Turning right we passed The Romper pub and dropped down towards the Peak Forest canal, brimming with water despite the dire warnings of biblical drought in the South of England.

Here, Colin invited us to speculate on the purpose of a puzzling and elaborate brick tunnel entrance at the foot of a substantial disused quarry next to the house just above the canal at Rawton Walls Bridge. Puzzled we will remain, as brief research has shed no light on this structure.

We crossed the bridge and dropped down on a track to bring us to the New Mills-Marple road and crossed it to descend to the Roman Bridge across the River Goyt. Disappointingly, this has nothing to do with the Romans. It is in fact a 17^th century packhorse bridge given its name 200 years later, along with the nearby Roman Lakes, to appeal to the townies from Manchester who came by train to the area.

We followed briefly the track towards the Roman Lakes before branching right uphill on a path that took us across the green metal bridge over the New Mills Central to Manchester railway line, which in this area is reputedly the inspiration for the Railway Children.

This led us on to the Mellor and Townscliffe golf course, where we paused at an outrageously early 10.40am for pies and port  – except we had no pies and no port either.

Nevertheless, the Club Captain had provided a handy bench next to the par three, 178-yard 14^th tee on the hole named Oldknow’s Seat – presumably in honour of Samuel of that name, the mill-owner and canal-builder who fashioned much of the industrial architecture hereabouts.

We continued along the side of the course with Windybottom Wood (please insert own smutty childish joke here) on our right. In the past we have been known to provoke the ire of members by trespassing across uncharted areas of their hallowed turf, but today we struck legally right, across three fairways, following the footpath taking us towards the Linnet Clough Scout Camp.

Fearing that if we bore right along the track we would arrive at The Fox at Broadbottom at an embarrassingly early hour we continued up the lane from the golf club house to the hamlet of Tarden and the junction with Whetmorhurst Road, which we followed steeply uphill with the large Cobden Cross visible on the skyline ahead of us.

The Cross – standing on Soldiers’s Nob (insert next smutty childish joke) – has been used over the years as a site of a beacon for Coronations and other royal occasions. The name Paradise was given to this area by the preacher John Wesley, who clearly didn’t get out enough.

At the lane end we reached Moorside Cottage, where Colin and Laurie pounced on duck and hen eggs on the wall outside being offered at the ridiculously cheap price of £1 for half a dozen.

A quick turn left and then immediately right took us uphill onto Mellor Moor over a series of stiles.

Trouble soon loomed as we found ourselves in a field of bullocks and heifers, with at the top of the field an extremely large bull, standing glowering around three feet from the stile where we needed to make our exit.

The rest of the party mysteriously fell back – Colin and Laurie probably fearing for their duck eggs – leaving George to confront the fearsome beast, which thankfully remained motionless as we tiptoed past him.

Colin bravely urged our then leader on with the encouraging words: “We’re right behind you George.”

As we entered the next but one field Laurie very unkindly suggested that Colin might this time take the lead as it was full of a flock of less than threatening sheep.

We dropped down to Black Lane a few hundred yards east of Cobden Cross and turned left up to its junction with Primrose Lane before striking right along a footpath to take us down to Shaw Farm and down the valley to The Fox at Brook Bottom, where we enjoyed the well-kept Unicorn bitter at £2-60 a pint.

Leaving the pub, we took the track down the side of the valley, past Strines station and the mill ponds on Station Road, to cross the New-Mills-Marple road for a second time and continue up the track towards the Peak Forest canal. At the bench just before a line of cottages we took lunch and then carried on to the canal, where we bore left towards New Mills.

We crossed the lift bridge over the canal and followed the lane up to Disley, where after debooting we repaired to the White Horse for a very friendly welcome from the charming barmaid and more Unicorn bitter (again £2.60). Our only criticism – why will they lay every table out for dining, leaving none for the drinkers?

Next week’s walk will start from the car park at Brabyn’s Park, Marple Bridge at 9.30am, finishing at the Royal Scott, Marple Bridge, with en-route refreshments at the

Hare and Hounds, Werneth Low, at 12ish.

Apologies in advance from Alan Hart (assignment in Cyprus) and Peter Beal (walking on La Palma).