Rowarth

ROWARTH, ANDERTON HOUSE, COWN EDGE, CHARLESTOWN, GNAT HOLE FARM, WORMSTONES, HARRY HUT, THE GROUSE AT CHUNAL, MATLEY MOOR FARM, THE LITTLE MILL INN AT ROWARTH

Distance: Ten miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry with early cloud giving way to sunshine.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Jock Rooney with Tips, and George Whaites.

B walker: Geoff Spurrell.

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

Apologies: George Dearsley  and Ken Sparrow (hols).

Leaders: Beal and Fairman. Driver: Whaites. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The Little Mill Inn at Rowarth.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.49pm.

Once again the warning by weather experts of heavy showers proved to be unduly pessimistic, and we were rewarded when light rain stopped as we arrived in the car park of The Little Mill Inn. Later on the cloud dispersed and we were able to glimpse blue skies. Towards the end of the walk we even spotted a yellow ball in the sky which those of us with long memories identified as sunshine.

 Peter Beal made a welcome, if fleeting, return from his narrow boat trip along Britain’s waterways prior to his engagement at the 2012 Olympics. Peter will be leading a group of Press Association hacks in Howden, Yorkshire, who will be providing coverage of the London Games.

He showed his leadership qualities during the walk, occasionally wresting the yellow jersey from Lawrie as we charted familiar territory by different routes.

From the car park we turned right facing the pub and right again after a cottage. A lane led us uphill past scruffy farm buildings and two ancient jalopies parked on the stony path which was our route. As the path swung left so did we past a row of cottages (7mins) which ended with Anderton House, built in 1792.

We turned right and after 50 yards turned left following a footpath sign for Cown Edge. After crossing a wooden stile we reached a footpath sign containing a memorial to Norman Ings, (1910-82), a keen local walker (15mins).

Following the sign for Cown Edge, we crossed a wooden stile and ignored a path on our left near the fence to continue walking slightly uphill. After crossing another wooden stile (35mins) we went through an open gate and turned right uphill (50mins) with a broken drystone wall, then a wood, on our left .

We reached a path by a wooden stile (55mins) and turned left along the ridge of Cown Edge before descending by a path on the right. After crossing a road (65mins) we continued downhill through a gate towards some trees. Just before a stone step stile we paused for pies, port and brandy (67mins).

Resuming, we crossed the stile and headed to the right of the trees before descending again. We reached a lane and turned left downhill (83mins). We reached a road in the village of Charlestown (93mins) and turned right along the road, passing the O Sole Mio Italian restaurant on our left.

After crossing the road we headed down a gravel track towards the delightfully-named Gnat Hole Farm (101mins). We then followed a footpath sign uphill (105mins) until we reached a lane where we turned left and right over a stone step stile (111mins). After the stile we walked left uphill and over a ladder stile leading to moorland (120mins).

A group of rocks on a ridge on our left were identified by Peter B as Wormstones (128mins) beyond where we reached a Trig Point called Harry Hut (141mins).  From here we continued on a path which was slightly to the right and soon saw our immediate target, The Grouse, in the distance.

The path took us to a lay-by (161mins) where we turned left, passing a mobile cafe before reaching The Grouse at Chunal on our left (165mins). Refreshed by pints of Thwaites’ Bomber cask bitter at £3-10, we turned left out of The Grouse and crossed the main road from Glossop to Hayfield. We turned right up a road (169mins).

Having heard the call of peacocks in fields behind The Grouse, we now heard the sound of curlews circling ahead. We took the second left (175mins) at a public footpath sign along a stony track, taking the left fork where the path divided and stopping for lunch on a stone wall (183mins).

Continuing, we went left off the track to a drystone wall and over a wooden stile (190mins). This brought us to a T-junction  at a wooden footpath sign where we turned right (192mins). We passed a farm and turned right along a wide path (195mins). This took us through a gate to a road (205mins) where we turned left.

We passed Matley Moor Farm on our left and went straight ahead through a gate (210mins). After crossing a swollen stream by stepping stones we then took a path on the left (213mins) and crossed two wooden stiles to avoid the stream on our left (222mins). We emerged by a red phone box by the side of the cottages we had passed at the start of our walk.

We turned left and retraced our bootsteps back to the car park (229mins). Waiting for us were the non-walking drinkers and Geoff, who had walked some five miles from the Shiloh Road coming within sight of The Grouse but deciding that it was tantalisingly out of his range.  

While drinking pints of Banks’ cask bitter at £2-70, we decided that next week’s walk would start at 9.25pm from Disley rail station. After reaching the ridge at Black Rock we would be descending to cross the A6 and head uphill for The Fox at Brook Bottom, intending to arrive at 12.15pm. The walk would finish with drinks at The Dandy Cock, Disley, around 2.15pm.