Marple Bridge

MARPLE BRIDGE, CHADKIRK, OTTERSPOOL, MIDDLEWOOD WAY, MARPLE

Distance: 9 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Sunshine

Walkers: Alan Hart, George Dearsley, Lawrie Fairman,

Apologies: Peter Beal (on his boat), Jock Rooney (funeral), Colin Davison (sailing), George Whaites (holiday) Geoff Spurrell (cruise)

Non-walking drinkers: Frank Dudley, John Eckerley and Tony Job

Leader: Fairman  Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The car park at Brabyns Park

Starting Time: 9.35am. Finishing Time: 2.05pm

The God of Rambling smiled on us with ideal weather conditions as we meandered our way through Brabyns Park to what was once known as “The Pink House” at the back of the park but which is now painted a dispiriting magnolia.

Three workmen, displaying all the attributes for which Britain is now renown, were leaning on a wall chatting and smoking.

We took the path that leads onto the main road from Marple Bridge to Romiley and after the bridge turned sharp left onto “Valley Way”.

The River Etherow was on our left. We negotiated a stile and after a few minutes turned right onto a path that took us away from the river, with an electricity pylon to our right.

We went through a farm and turned left.

The route took us up some steps, through a gate and onto the canal, where we turned left.

We crossed a bridge over Hyde Bank Tunnel and a few yards further on along the canal towpath we turned left just before a red-brick mill on the opposite side of the canal.

Apparently had we continued this area is know as Bury-Me-Quick. Google could shed no light on the nomenclature.

By the way, Hyde Bank Tunnel, as every schoolboy knows, is 308 yards long. Apparently in 1895 the roof collapsed and in order to get it back into operation as quickly as possible the management (it was owned by the local railway company) recruited jobless miners.

They were not well directed and the initial plan of excavating soil onto boats threatened to undermine the foundations of nearby Hyde Bank House.

At this point the working party called on a local know-all called Hirst from Dukinfield, who had experience in railway tunnelling.

Hirst was clearly the ‘elf n safety Jobsworth of his era and ordered that the canal be drained, to the dismay of management.

Using a load of timber Hirst shored up the tunnel lining and removed the blockage, so impressing his client that they commissioned him to reline the tunnel with bricks.

But conscious that time is money they ordered that Hirst would have to do the work while the canal was being re-filled with water!

Having surmounted this almost impossible restriction Hirst and the management then had a spat and he walked off the job.

The workmen followed him.

So part of the tunnel still has the original stone lining.

Let’s hope Hirst got paid for his labours.

We went down some steps and turned right, emerging at Chadkirk Chapel where Pie Time was declared at 10.45am. The gardens were looking spectacular.

Alan Hart asks a monk for directions at Chadkirk Chapel but clearly he belongs to a silent order.

We set off again at 10.57am and immediately noticed a lot of work in the field to our left where a lime green bridge was being inserted. It was not obvious why but Mr Fairman was confident that in future months the construction would be a boon to Wednesday Wandering and provide us with alternative routes.

New turbine at Otterspool

We emerged (at 11.11am) onto Dooley Lane and turned left and a few hundred yards further on noticed a new water-powered electricity generating turbine being installed opposite the garden centre. The Emirs of the Middle East are unlikely to be quaking in their curly slippers at the prospect of dented oil revenues, especially given that the contraption was not moving.

We turned right at the lights and left into Torkington Road. After a few yards we turned left again, following a sign to “Hawk Green”.

A further sign directed us to “Middlewood Way”.

Despite the abundance of signs, however, your diarist and Mr Hart at this point (11.45am) managed to part company with leader Fairman, in the proximity of Stockport golf course

The two Wanderers conscientiously doubled back and spent 15 minutes checking that our leader had not “done a Bing Crosby”.

But on seeing no sign we continued on our way.

Meandering through woods we eventually emerged onto Marple golf course, where the welcome site of the Goyt Mill could be seen in the distance.

We reached the canal at 12.21pm and the now infamous spot where Mr Davison decided to test the thickness of the ice, convinced that it could withstand his weight. Sadly, the frozen water was not as thick as our Wanderer companion, who duly underwent an impromptu baptism.

We reached the Ring o’Bells public house at 12.35pm but not before a mobile phone call from our leader saying that the “short cut” he had taken proved to be nothing of the sort.

He eventually joined us 19 minutes later, to partake of ale, the Robbie’s Bitter being £2.75 and the Mild £2.50.

We left the pub at 1.30pm, crossing the road and following the canal into Marple.

My picture last week of the Sandpiper chicks elicited some positive comments so I attach here a further photograph (below) of Nature’s wonderment: ducks and their offspring heading along the canal.

We stopped briefly for lunch on the canal side at 1.35pm and were just in time to see a narrowboat execute a perfect piece of parking right in front of us.

We set off again at 1.45pm, emerging onto Station Road, Marple Bridge and taking a pointless detour into the park which brought us back out just above the station. A few strides further on and we were back at the cars to de-boot at 2.05pm.

It was then off to the Royal Scot, Marple Bridge where we were joined by birthday boy Frank Dudley (96 the previous day), John Eckersley and Tony Job. Unicorn Bitter was £2.80.

Ducks and chicks.

Next week's walk will start from the main car park at Bollington, leaving at 9.35am. We will head for the Robin Hood at Rainow and look to finish at the Dog and Partridge.