Disley

DISLEY STATION, DISLEY GOLF COURSE, STANLEY HALL, THE ROMPER, PEAK FOREST CANAL, GOYT VALLEY, ROMAN BRIDGE,ROMAN LAKES, BOTTOMS HALL, LINNET CLOUGH, MELLOR AND TOWNSCLIFFE GOLF COURSE, MARPLE CROSS, COBDEN EDGE, NEW MILLS GOLF COURSE, THE FOX AT BROOKBOTTOM, STRINES HALL, PEAK FOREST CANAL RE-VISITED, WHITE HORSE  AT DISLEY

Distance: Ten miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Cloudy, mostly dry with brief light shower of rain.

Walkers: Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart and George Whaites.

B Walker: Geoff Spurrell.

Non-walking drinkers: John Eckersley and Tony Job.

Apologies: Peter Beal (poorly), Colin Davison (gone Scilly), George Dearsley (working), Frank Dudley (hospital appointment), Jock Rooney (Isle of Man).

Leader: Fairman. Driver: Whaites. Diarist: Hart.

Starting Point: Free car park at Disley rail station.

Starting time: 9.26am. Finishing time: 2.13pm.

Despite the usual pessimistic forecasts of heavy thundery showers, our trio of A walkers enjoyed a largely dry walk and some decent views from the high ground at Cobden Edge. We took in three golf courses, three historic halls and several pints of excellent Robbies’ cask bitter in what continues to be a poor apology for a summer.

There was none of the heavy rain which had been predicted, but that which had fallen in previous days caused us to tiptoe around some unseasonably muddy fields. On the wildlife front we saw a hunting kestrel being chased away by a belligerent magpie. We also saw a veritable menagerie of animals in the names of the pubs we passed and visited.

The route Lawrie had chosen proved to be a rollercoaster of climbs and descents with a happy ending – walking downhill from The Fox to the White Horse for the final three miles.

From Disley station car park we crossed the A6 and walked left uphill at the traffic lights opposite The Ram’s Head, turning right into Stanley Hall Lane (8mins). This led us into the grounds of Disley Golf Course, where we swung left to pass Stanley Hall on our right (13mins). This mock Tudor building seems to be in a state of decay and our leader surmised this could be a ploy by club members to let a listed building collapse and avoid costly renovation.

The hall, a 16^th Century farmhouse with a 19^th Century exterior, was classed as a Grade 11 building by English Heritage in 1983. This seems to have sounded its death knell.

We swung right downhill (16mins), followed a footpath sign across a fairway and exited through a wood. Beyond the trees we walked uphill with a chimney on our right (23mins). This brought us through a gate to a succession of wooden stiles and muddy fields, passing a farmhouse on our right (30mins). A stone step stile led us to a lane where we turned left (33mins).

Emerging from the lane called Turf Lea, we reached a road and turned right (35mins). This brought us to The Romper, a pub restaurant, which is for sale leasehold. We passed the pub on our left and instead of swinging left with the road we carried straight ahead into Hollinwood Lane (39mins). This took us past Clough Bridge Cottage and over a bridge to the far side of the Peak Forest Canal (44mins).

We turned left with the canal on our left until we reached a path on our right (53mins) which left the towpath and came out on the main Marple-New Mills road. We crossed the road and turned right along the road. Just before a left bend, we turned left at an easily-missed public footpath sign hidden by foliage (58mins).

This led us down wooden steps to the River Goyt. The steps were slippery, as George W found to his cost. Happily the rucksack broke his fall and there was no blubbing.

On the bank of the river we turned left and soon crossed right over Roman Bridge (64mins). We turned left with the Goyt now on our left and followed the signs along The Goyt Way for Roman Lakes. The path took us under the viaduct holding the Manchester-Sheffield railway line (69mins) and we turned right into Roman Lakes Leisure Park for Pietime (73mins).

We continued with the main lake behind a screen of shrub on our right until we reached a T junction in the pathway. We turned right towards Bottoms Hall, built by mill-owner Samuel Oldknow in 1800. After passing the hall on our right we took the right fork towards Cobden Edge (79mins).

As we climbed this stony track we swung right and saw Mellor Church on the skyline to our left. As the climb levelled we were momentarily alarmed by the sound of arrows thudding into wood a few yards to our left where a group of toxophilites were practising their archery skills.

We passed Linnet Clough scout campsite on our left (91mins) and entered Mellor and Townscliffe Golf Course, swinging right uphill (97mins). We took a path on the left towards trees (99mins), passing a yellow arrow on a disc affixed to a tree (103mins) before leaving the course through a gap stile (108mins).

We turned left uphill passing a new building on our left called The Barn with spectacular views over the valley below and behind us. At a T-junction we turned right, with Marple Cross on our left (114mins).

As we passed The Three Chimneys Cattery on our right, we were informed by our leader that this was where Edith Nesbit had been inspired to write The Railway Children 100 years ago. This novel was later turned into a 1970 movie in which few of us will easily forget the scene where Jenny Agutter removed her knickers to flag down a train.

Where was I ? Oh yes. As we descended Cobden Edge we saw a kestrel hunting in the manner which once gave it the name “windhover.” A magpie was clearly not as impressed as we were by this aeronautical display and he drove off the intruder.

On the far side of a gap stile we saw a memorial stone to Rachel Jane Lowe (1987-2003) inscribed “Rachel you will always be loved, forever missed and never forgotten.” I was unable to find the circumstances behind her untimely death.

From this stone we headed diagonally right downhill, through a gate into a field (129mins). We continued downhill, over a wooden stile, through an open gate and right over a wooden stile (132mins). Our route continued diagonally right downhill and then leftward uphill to a gate (134mins). We walked to the left of a pond to reach a lane and then turned right downhill.

At a road we turned right (138mins) into Castle Edge Road with New Mills Golf Course on our left. Just before the clubhouse (141mins) on our left we turned right towards Shaw Farm. At a fork we bore left along the minor path (147mins) and emerged at a minor road opposite a bench in memory of Eric Burdekin. We turned right (153mins) and reached The Fox (154mins) at 12.10pm to find Geoff already settled in a window seat with a pint of Robbies’ cask bitter at £2-70.

The beer was in excellent form as usual. On leaving we stopped at a picnic table outside for lunch before descending the stony path behind the car park. This led us to Strines Hall on our left (171mins). To our right was a lake with a dovecote.

We crossed the River Goyt, left Station Road and crossed the Marple-New Mills road again to head along a stony track (178mins). This led toward a canal bridge, but 30 yards before it we turned left over a wooden stile (184mins) and squeezed through a gap stile to reach the bank of the Peak Forest Canal (185mins).

We turned left with the canal on our right until we came to Higgins Clough Swing-bridge (203mins) which we reached seconds before it was opened to allow a narrowboat to pass. A left turn took us to the end of Hagg Bank Lane where we turned right and crossed the road by The Dandy Cock (209mins). We headed uphill with The Ram’s Head on our right and The Mousetrap on our left until we reached The White Horse on our right (211mins). The Robbies’ mild was available for £2-65 with bitter at £2-70.

Next week’s walk will start from The Little Mill Inn at Rowarth at 9.40am, stopping for refreshment around 12.30pm at The Grouse on the Glossop-Hayfield road and finishing back at The Little Mill at about 2.15pm.