Longnor

LONGNOR, BRUND, SHEEN, PILSBURY, CROWDICOTE

Distance: 9.5 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Weather: Windy and raining

Walkers: Colin Davison, George Dearsley, George Whaites., Lawrie Fairman, Peter Beal, Jock Rooney and Tip

Non Walking Drinkers: Geoff Spurrell, Tony Job and Alan Hart.

Leader: Fairman  Diarist: Dearsley Driver: Whaites

Starting Point: The cobbled area in the centre of Longnor

Starting Time: 9.55 am. Finishing Time: 1.35pm

I often wondered how Napoleon’s troops felt as they retreated from Moscow. This week’s walk in persistent and often torrential rain provided a telling clue.

The day after the 80^th anniversary of the Mass Trespass there were times when you wished Benny Rothman and his chums had stayed indoors with a hot Bovril instead of inventing rambling.

Anyhow, on we plodded, sometimes through Passchendaele-style mud to fulfil the requirements of this Wednesday fixture.

Unsurprisingly, we spied not a single other walker.

The rain was so intense that your diarist’s notebook soon resembled a toilet roll that had accidentally been dropped into the loo.

An attempt to use “new technology” (i.e. a Dictaphone on the iPhone) was not, in truth, all that successful.

So I am indebted to Mr Davison for supplying a Google map (below) of our perambulation, which will have to make-do in place of a more detailed record.

What follows is an account cobbled together from the soggy audio emanting from my mobile phone.

We began with a slight miscalculation. Turning left away from the cobbled centre of Longnor and passing the Cheshire Cheese, we took a road down to the right but then an initial wrong turning and had to double back.

The second foray took us diagonally across a field.

We headed towards the river, went through a Viking stile and reached the correct path.

At 10.25am Mr Fairman’s map came out, as we huddled for some temporary shelter under a tree near a farmhouse.

We pick up the Manifold trail and followed signs to Brund.

Pie Time was taken at 10.55am.

We set off again at 11.05am.

We came out onto a road, one sign post pointing to Knowl and the other at 180 degrees pointed to Sheen.

We took the road to Sheen.

At 12.21pm we passed Pilsbury Castle, a Scheduled Monument lying within the parish of Hartington Town Quarter in the Derbyshire Peak District. The Peak District National Park Authority recently purchased the site to protect it from possible damage.

The castle occupies an area of high ground approximately 175 yards by 150 yards overlooking the River Dove. The castle was probably originally an Iron Age fortification before being used by the Normans, and indeed the name "Pilsbury Castle" forms from the Celtic "pil", the Saxon "bury" and the Norman "castle", all meaning "fortified site". In early medieval times, the site would have been located along the River Dove routeway, and would also have overlooked a key crossing point.

The Normans built a subtantial motte-and-bailey castle on the site, and several theories have been forwards as to when and who did so. One theory is that the castle was built in the years following the Norman conquest of England.

The area around Pilsbury was granted to Henry de Ferrers by King William; the area was devastated during the harrying of the North, and the castle may have been built in the aftermath by Henry to establish control. Henry built other castles at Tutbury and Duffield, making Pilsbury part of this set of 11th century fortifications. An alternative suggestion is that the it was built by Robert de Ferrers or his father, around the period known as The Anarchy for, while the de Ferrers supported Stephen of England, the neighbouring Earl of Chester supported Empress Matilda.

The castle appears to have been abandoned in subsequent years, and it may be that it was destroyed after William de Ferrers' part in the Revolt of 1173–1174, or it might have become abandoned when the land passed to the Duchy of Lancaster after the sixth Earl was dispossessed. Alternatively, it may simply have become redundant as nearby Hartington grew in importance and the village of Pilsbury became increasingly depopulated.

By the twentieth century there was little to see except for a mound on a limestone outcrop and the remains of various earthworks. At the beginning of the present century, however, archaeological surveys revealed the foundations of the castle.

Are we downhearted….?

Towards the end of the walk there was a mini rebellion, leader Fairman returning to his car as the remaining quintet sloped off to the Pack Horse pub in the hamlet of Crowdicote.

A cheery landlord ushered us through to a back room with a welcome open fire.

We left the pub at 1.20pm and were back at the cars at 1.35pm.

Having debooted we made our way to Wetherspoons in Buxton, where free ale was on offer courtesy of Mr Job celebrating his 77^th birthday.

Ruddles was £1.79 a pint. Double Gold £2.49, No Brainer £2.35 and Forty Niner £2.35.

Next week the group is meeting at Clough House just north of Wildboarclough   at 9.35am. The midway point will be the Cat & Fiddle and the finish will be at the Stanley Arms. Your diarist will sadly be absent through work. No doubt flags will be cracking and eggs being fried on car bonnets.

Disley

DISLEY, MILLENNIUM WOOD, BLACK ROCK, BROOKBOTTOM, STRINES

Distance: 9.5 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Overcast, windy with early showers.

Walkers: Colin Davison, George Dearsley, George Whaites., Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Jock Rooney and Tip

B Walkers: Geoff Spurrell

Non Walking Drinkers: Frank Dudley and Tony Job

Leader: Fairman   Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The car park at Disley Station

Starting Time: 9.20 am. Finishing Time: 2.10pm

The Wanderers set a new all time record, managing to lose Mr Fairman within 30 seconds of the start. Having left the meeting point at Disley railway station car park Mr Fairman decided his umbrella might be more on an inconvenience. 

He returned to deposit it in his car while the Wanderers hid in the nearby bus shelter, intending to surprise him. The real surprise was that he seemed to vanish. So the remaining five set off up past the White Horse pub.

Even a mobile telecommunication device proved no great assistance. Mr Fairman informed us he was “at the farm”, not really a conclusive anchor point in rural Cheshire.

Leaderless, we continued up the right hand side of the White Horse to the Ring o’ Bells, formerly a pub, now a Quaker House.

We turned left at a small graveyard, onto a road and over a stile (no. 22) on the right before making a diagonal across the field.

We turned left at Bollinghurst Reservoir, reaching a wall on the right hand side near the reservoir which we followed in the direction of the Millennium Wood.

We reached a road and went straight ahead towards Drake Carr Cottage.

The track then became boggy as we progressed to a road and turned right.

Negotiating a stile we were now facing the steepish climb to Black Rock.

The last time we made this ascent was in hot sunshine. Today it was damp and overcast.

We took an unscheduled break at 10.15am, hoping to allow Mr Fairman to catch us up.

But he had taken a slightly different route so we set off at 10.25am, meeting up with our Missing Person seven minutes later as we came off the ridge.

The descent passes the Owl’s Rest and leads to Badger’s Clough Farm. We crossed the road and went through Byrom House and past Pear Tree Cottage.

At 10.55am we crossed the A6, then crossed a canal bridge onto the canal towpath.

At 10.57am it was Pie Time. We set off again at 11.10am turning right at the Swing Bridge.

This took us down a steep and muddy path and we crossed the stream and a stile before turning right and climbing some steps.

Reaching the road we turned right and then left, taking a path to the right with the river below.

We walked parallel to the river and onwards towards the road, turning left.

The route took us across the road to Hayfield and up Hague Fold Road.

At 12.01pm we reached the Fox at Brookbottom, where Unicorn was £2.70.

We were joined by B Walker Geoff Spurrell, who had walked from Furness Vale, through the Torrs and over the Millennium Bridge.

We left the Fox at 1.05pm, descending the bridle path, past Strines station and across the road below, stopping at 1.32pm for lunch at our usual spot, the bench which has been renovated.

Resuming our walk at 1.42pm we climbed up to the canal and turned left.

We crossed Woodend Bridge over the canal, reaching the cars at 2.10pm.

Further refreshment was taken at the White Horse where Unicorn was £2.70.

We were joined by Tony Job and Frank Dudley.

Lunch on the renovated bench

Next week the group is meeting at Longnor at 9.50am in the main cobbled square. The half way point will be the hostelry in Hartington. The finish will be Wetherspoons in Buxton

Bollington

BOLLINGTON, KERRIDGE, RAINOW AND ENVIRONS

Distance: 8 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Overcast, with rain and one hail shower

Walkers: Alan Hart, George Dearsley, George Whaites, Jock Rooney and Tip

B Walkers: Geoff Spurrell, Ken Sparrow

Non Walking Drinkers: Tony Job, John Eckersley, Frank Dudley, Ivor Jones

Apologies: Peter Beal (Walking St Cuthbert’s Way)

Leader: Hart   Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The Spinners Arms, Bollington

Starting Time: 9.35am. Finishing Time: 2.05pm

Having purchased hot pies from the Pie Shop near the Spinners we set off (as if turning left out of the Spinners) down the street and under the high viaduct.

About 50 yards further on we turned left up some stone steps, a steepish climb which brought us onto the towpath of the Macclesfield canal.

We turned right and after passing Adelphi Mill, at Bridge 28 (9.58am) we took the steps to the right and crossed over the bridge, taking the path away from the canal.

At Dawson Farm on the right we turned right and then after 30 yards bore left up a track.

It was now Hot Pie Time (10.10am) but no sooner had we unwrapped the piping hot growlers a car arrived to park in the space we had occupied and we had to shuffle along a few feet.

We set off at 10.15am,passing Quarry Bank on the left. At the top of the hill we turned left and faced Endon Quarry. It might have been renamed Endon Quandary because the trail appeared to go cold and with no Tonto to help we initially relied on Jock Rooney’s confident assertion that there was no point entering the quarry. (Incidentally, before I go on, did you know that the phrase Tonto used to call the Lone Ranger “Kemo Sabe” actually means “soggy bush” in Navajo? Well, you do now).

In best Tonto fashion Leader Hart went ahead to scout the route, turning right out of the mouth of the quarry and going right again about 300 yards further down the road, trailed by Whaites and Dearsley.

We quickly realised that Mr Rooney was AWOL, so the group eventually reconvened and spotted a notice saying that the path Mr Hart was about to take was closed. We re-traced our steps to the Quarry, whereupon we saw a sign offering an alternative route up the hill. 

And on climbing the escarpment there was Mr Rooney and Tip, the former smug in the knowledge that it had been wiser to consult the map than to explore the hinterland Navajo fashion.

After so much excitement, we took the path that eventually leads to Kerridge, the ridge that offers a magnificent view of Rainow to the left and Astra Zeneca’s industrial carbuncle to the right.

After a few minutes we came off the ridge to the left and onto a road where “official” Pie Time was declared at 11.12am in a bus shelter.

It might have been a scene from Last of the Summer Wine. Fortunately no bus pulled up, requiring an explanation.

At 11.22am we set off to the right, turning right (after crossing Mount Pleasant Road) and, mounting a stile, taking a track across several fields.

We initially followed a wall, then went through a gate onto a road, turning left.

At 11.50am we felt the first spots of rain.

We went over a stile onto another road, crossing it to the field beyond.

It was here we spotted what appeared to be a Vietnamese pot bellied pig

A long way from Vietnam

We crossed a wooden bridge over a stream and came to a small hamlet (Pedley Fold Farm to the right).

Soon after entering Rainow, at 12.05pm we were engulfed by a rather vicious hail storm. But as this turned to rain we found ourselves entering Stocks Lane and were soon able to see the welcome sign of the Robin Hood pub ahead.

We entered the building at 12.10pm.

Here we met the B Walkers who had accomplished two miles via The Poachers.

Hobgoblin was £2.95 but most preferred Black Sheep at £2.90.

Geoff Spurrell, celebrating his 73^rd birthday bought a welcome round of drinks.

The conversation was wide ranging from the rise of Hitler to the Battle of Agincourt, Mr Rooney giving a perfect account of why, on St Crispin’s Day, 1415, a force of 8,500 largely weary and bedraggled Englishmen could defeat a French Army numbering up to 36,000. Apparently as well as the famed skill of the long bowmen, it had much to do with the general ineptitude of the heavily armoured French knights who were knackered when they reached the English lines after crossing a very boggy stretch of land.

We set off at 1.10pm, going back down Stocks Lane, through Chapel Lane and stopping for lunch at 1.40pm on a bridge opposite a waterfall, pictured below.

Waterfall

This apparently is the River Dean.

We set off at 1.47pm reaching the cars at 2.05pm. We were at the Dog & Partridge, Bollington at 2.13pm, where Hatters Mild was £2.45 and Unicorn £2.55.

We were joined by the B Walkers and Non Walking Drinkers Messts Job, Eckerley and Dudley, plus Ivor Jones. 

Next week we will meet at Disley railway station car park at 9.20am, hoping to reach the Fox at Brookbottom for 12.15pm and finishing at the White Horse at 2.15pm

Happy Wandering!