Little Longstone

Walk One: Little Longstone, Monsal Dale, Deep Dale, Great Shacklow Wood, Ashford in the Water

Distance: 7 miles.

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Heavy deluge moderating to steady downpour followed by electric storm.

Walkers: Colin Davison, Jock Rooney and Tips

Wimped out: Alan Hart, George Whaites, Lawrie Fairman

Leader: Rooney                                  Diarist: Davison

Starting Point: The car park, Little Longstone

Starting Time: 9.42am. Finishing Time: 2.54pm

Walk Two:  Bollington , Oakenbank, Oakenbank Lane, High Cliff, Back-of-the-Crofts, Robin Hood Inn at Rainow, Virgin’s path, Bollington.

Distance: Six miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Mainly dry except for prolonged heavy rain over lunchtime

Walkers: Geoff Spurrell, Peter Beal, Mike Walton, John Laverick

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

Leader Spurrell                 Diarist: Beal

Starting Point:  Car park opposite The Spinners

Starting time: 10.00am. Finishing time: 2.45 pm.

Walk One. Colin Davison writes:

Your  diarist was surprised and dismayed by an early morning phone call informing him that Fairman had cancelled the planned walk due to inclement weather and that arrangements had been made to inform all Wednesday Wanderers of this state of affairs.

Luckily, these arrangements were imperfect and stouter hearts prevail within our peregrine band.

Disappointed and perplexed our young hero made himself another cup of tea and considered the day’s prospects bereft of the fine company he looks forward to each week. It was in this condition that a second phone call from Rooney found him.  Also discomfited by the abrupt loss of a day’s entertainment and exercise the latter suggested that the two of them might make an alternative plan.

Having both had the foresight some years earlier to purchase both waterproof outer clothing and boots, they were undaunted by the forecast of rain in biblical proportions. So it was that they set off at the slightly later time of 9.42am from the small car park at the side of the road at Little Longstone. From there they walked SSW along the road to Monsall Head with the beautiful vista of the Wye valley NW towards Cressbrook Dale and SW along Monsall Dale.

Taking the SW path they descended steadily to the weir which was in full flow and thence to the footbridge across the Wye and the flatter terrain on the North and West side of the river at this point. The well made footpath was flooded in many places and it eventually lead them to a large mill lodge and the main road.

Jock

Crossing the A6 at Lees Bottom they made their way past the car park and picnic spot and started the ascent of Deep Dale. Having crossed two stiles over walls this path arrived at the site of a neolithic settlement. Here the path diverged and they took the Easterly route which ascended steeply towards Shacklow Woods and Sheldon.

When the path split again at the next wall they elected to follow it Eastwards again through the woods and parallel to the river. This descended gently towards the valley bottom and the impressive resurgence of waters from Magpie Sough. Rooney pointed out the huge crater created by the hydraulic explosion of waters trapped by the blockage of that sough in the later part of last century. A 600ft head of water is not to be denied in the fullness of time. The resultant 10ft bore and flood made Ashford in the Water live up to its name.

Wheel

Pressing on our little band came to a water mill with two derelict undershot wheels. Though the buildings appear to be abandoned they still seem to be in a good state of repair. At this point, the rain having eased to almost nothing, lunch was consumed sitting on the stone parapets of the bridge leading to the mill.

A leisurely lunch was eventually curtailed by the resumption of rain and they walked on through three gates to the minor road leading to Kirk Dale and Sheldon. Turning left they met the A6 again where they turned right for a few hundred yards to a stile on the left and a path into Ashford.

Here they diverted from their path to the Bull which welcomes walkers if they wear the plastic galoshes which they provide. They are also happy to have leaded dogs in the premises. Pints of Robinson’s Unicorn bitter were well kept if slightly cold and cost £3.10p each. Just to make sure of the quality, your fastidious friends partook of a second pint each. One can never be too careful in these matters.

On leaving the pub, they walked Northwards along Ashford Lane climbing steadily until the reached a stile on their right. They crossed a narrow field, a stile and a road to another stile almost opposite. A broad and well walked path then lead them through fields and alongside a wood to the Monsal Trail, the track of a disused railway. This they crossed and followed their continuing path through fields back to Little Longstone and the car.

In the interests of Wanderers who may follow, they felt it incumbent upon them to see if the Packhorse Inn was open for business on Wednesday lunchtimes. Happily they found that this was indeed the case and so our chums celebrated with pints of Black sheep, again at £3.10p per pint.

Packhorse

Next weeks walk will start from Miry Meadow Car Park, Station Road, Chapel en le Frith at 9.30am. This is about 100 yards directly behind the Roebuck Inn. Indeed there is a connecting footpath to the side of the Inn. We anticipate taking a lunchtime libation around 12.15pm at the Wanted Inn, Sparrowpit before returning to the Roebuck by 2.35pm.

Walk Two. Peter Beal writes:

Your (in this case auxiliary) diarist arrived at the car park in Bollington in steady rain, but with the welcoming prospect of brighter skies to the West, where indeed they stayed all day.

By 9.35 there was no sign of any other walkers and a perplexed call to Alan established that the walk had apparently been called off earlier due to the weather and the lousy forecast. Your diarist had evidently been forgotten amid all this or someone thought he was away somewhere. I will be generous of spirit and assume it was the latter explanation.

Having got that far, I decided to sit and wait, read the paper, and see if a break in the weather made a solo walk feasible.

Sure enough by 10.00 the rain ceased, I booted up and left the car to be greeted by the sight of Geoff, Wally and welcome debutant walker John Laverick preparing to set off.

After a short halt at F.Smith’s orgasmic pie shop – Geoff for various reasons being the only pie purchaser – we head off towards the Poacher’s Inn and Oakenbank, with only a brief outbreak of light rain that soon ceased.

We embarked on the steady climb up Oakenbank Lane towards High Cliff with dark clouds looming on the horizon, as they did for much of the day but thankfully leaving us alone.

At the highest point on the track we took a footpath on the left which joined a track leading us to the farm at Back-of-the-Croft. Cutting through the farm yard we arrived on Jumper Lane and headed left uphill for no other reason than we were obviously going to be too early for opening time at the Robin Hood.

An intended loop seemed unfeasible due to the nature of the ground so we retraced our steps and headed downhill to emerge at the Robin Hood with around five minutes to wait until the doors were opened.

We overcame the shame of hanging round closed pub doors at that time in the morning to enjoy the excellent Black Sheep bitter at £2.90 a pint.

Shortly after our arrival the heavens opened and the expected heavy rain descended. There was a rumble of thunder in the distance so Health and Safety dictated that under no circumstances should we venture outside and risk a lightning strike. To pass the time we enjoyed a second round of drinks.

The rain stopped again and we headed towards Bollington by the Virgin’s path, pausing for lunch at 2pm at the Waulkmill Farm waterfall and mill race, which was in fine spate.

After debooting we repaired to the Dog and Partridge where the non-walking drinkers were waiting.

For details of next week’s walk, see Colin’s note at the foot of the report above.

Poynton

POYNTON, MARPLE RIDGE, MARPLE, HAZEL GROVE

Distance: 11 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Weather: Overcast with Showers and the occasional Sunny spell.

Walkers: Colin Davison, Alan Hart, George Dearsley, George Whaites, Lawrie Fairman,

Apologies: Peter Beal (walking the Sandstone Trail), Jock Rooney(abroad),

B Walkers: Geoff Spurrel, Ken Sparrow, Mike Walton

Non-walking drinkers: None

Leader: Davison  Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The car park near Five Ways Travel, Poynton

Starting Time: 9.38am. Finishing Time: 2.52pm

If the route of our walk was to be drawn on a sheet of A4 it might well resemble an impression of the Gordion Knot, or so it felt.

We crossed a railway line (the same one?) no fewer than four times and went underneath a railway line on another occasion.

The day began with some confusion with Mr Fairman inexplicably waiting at Torkington Park car park, despite later acknowledging he had seen the aforeplanned meeting point in Poynton on Mr Beal’s e mail.

Mr Davison, our leader, was also not in place at the prescribed time, choosing instead to meet the party en route.

Finally assembled, we set off from the Five Ways car park turning right into Mill Lane.

At 9.45am we met up with Mr Davison and turned right into Old Mill Lane.

The road turned into woods and we kept left, negotiating a stile and followed a sign to “Poynton” on our right.

We crossed a wooden bridge and a stile and came upon a path from which we turned left following a sign to “Middlewood”.

We turned left again at Norbury Hollow Cottage, an impressive house with caravans in the grounds.

Soon after we turned left again and scaled some steep steps which took us to our first railway line.

We crossed a path ignoring a sign which pointed left to “Ladybrook Valley”.

The sight of a swathe of Himalayan Balsam led to a cursory debate on the plant, bizarrely also known variously as Policeman's Helmet, Bobby Tops, Copper Tops, and Gnome's Hat Stand.

It typically grows to 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.5 ft) high, with a soft green or red-tinged stem, and lanceolate leaves 5 to 23 cm (2 to 9 in) long.

The crushed foliage has a strong musty smell. The flowers are pink, with a hooded shape, 3 to 4 cm (1¼ to 1½ in) tall and 2 cm (¾ in) broad.

The UK the plant was first introduced to the UK in 1839 at the same time as Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed.

These plants were all promoted at the time as having the virtues of "herculean proportions" and "splendid invasiveness", meaning that cheapskates could buy them for the cost of a packet of seeds to rival the expensive orchids grown in the greenhouses of the rich.

Within ten years, however, Himalayan Balsam had escaped from the confines of cultivation and begun to spread along the river systems of England.

Today it has spread across most of the UK and some local wildlife trusts organise "balsam bashing" events to help control the plant.

So there you are: another lesson in you-get-what-you-pay-for.

We turned right and reached the Macclesfield canal, which we followed for some minutes.

Then we crossed a bridge over the canal and passed a World War II Pill Box comprising a concrete-type box with moulded splay slit windows.

It was constructed in 1940 as part of Western Command’s ‘Stop Line’.  Apparently, there are six along the Macclesfield canal.

We left the canal to follow a path to the right, crossing a bridge and turning right.

This brought us to the second rail line which we crossed and we turned right again.

At some farm buildings we veered right again under a railway arch and turned left.

We crossed a wooden bridge and navigated our way across the railway line for the third time, eventually emerging onto the A6.

We headed in the direction of Disley but within a few yards had hopped over a stile on the left and made a short climb past  a working JCB, which Mr Davison helpfully suggested was the tool of choice should you wish to disposed of your murdered wife’s body.

Reaching a path we turned left and soon crossed a road with Disley Amalgamated Club on our right.

We then found ourselves on the 16^th tee of Disley Golf Club where a late Pie Time stop was declared at 11.12am.

At 11.22 we set off again across the golf course, passing Stanley Hall, a Grade 11 listed building but in a rather sorry state of disrepair.

It is a late 16^th century farmhouse with an original timber frame hidden or replaced by white-washed, rendered, sandstone rubble walls with imitation timber framing painted on and a Kerridge stone-slate roof and two gable brick chimneys.

Stanley Hall

Why it has been left to rot is a question that should perhaps be put to t’committee of the golf club.

We went through a field and negotiated a five-bar gate onto a path and turned left, following a sign to “Hawk Green”.

This area is known as Turf Lea.

We were now on Marple Ridge and passing almshouses built in 1855 by Elizabeth Bridge, widow of the late Warburton Bridge of Manchester.

Although Mrs. Bridge lived in Timperley the houses were built to commemorate her husband who was a native of Marple.

She kept strict control of the houses (for the use of five poor Marple widows) until her death aged 90 in 1875. No longer confined to just widows they continue to provide subsidised housing for the elderly.

Below the Alms Houses is McNair Court, now private residential flats. It was formerly Brentwood, a residential, recuperative and training centre for families under stress, mostly from inner city areas.

During the Second World War it was also used as a home for those who had lost their own homes in bombing raids.

We reached the Ring o’Bells at 12.13pm, enjoying Mild at £2.50 and Unicorn bitter at £2.75.

In situ were Geoff Spurrel, Ken Sparrow, and  Mike Walton. They had met at Torkington Park car park and reached the Macclesfield canal, following it to the pub.

We set off again at 1pm, taking the canal towpath and stopping for lunch at 1.16pm.

We strode on again at 1.28pm leaving the canal at bridge number 6 and finding ourselves on the road which leads to Marple.

We jumped a stile on the right and then negotiated a second rather dangerous stile with a wobbly step.

We turned left and the rain - forecast to start at 2pm – arrived 10 minutes early.

Weatherproofs were duly donned by some Wanderers but within minutes the sun had broken through.

We meandered our way onto Hazel Grove Golf Course, passing the club house and eventually reached Old Mill Lane, retracing our original steps to reach the cars at 2.52pm

A view from Wednesday’s walk

The party (minus your diarist, who had a physio appointment) arrived at Wetherspoons at 3.10pm. Mr Fairman generously bought a round of drinks to celebrate his 77th birthday on Saturday.

The Wanderers also raised a glass to our old friend Roy de Courcey, who reaches his 92nd birthday this month. He has not been seen for a while, since illness confines him to his home, but he is missed and not forgotten.

It is thought the Poynton Show on Saturday may have deprived us of the company of Tony Job (Horticultural Society) and John Eckersley (Residents' Association), and therefore of Frank Dudley as there were no non-walking drinkers to take a drink for Mr Fairman’s birthday.

Next week's walk will start from the free car park opposite The Spinners Arms at Bollington at 9.30am. We anticipate reaching The Robin Hood at Rainow around 12.15pm for a livener before returning to The Dog and Partridge in Bollington around 2.15pm.

Errwood Hall

ERRWOOD HALL CAR PARK, ERRWOOD HALL, SHOOTER’S CLOUGH, CAT AND FIDDLE, DERBYSHIRE BRIDGE,  BURBAGE EDGE, WHITESTONEMOOR BROOK,  GOYTSCLOUGH QUARRY

Distance: Eleven miles. Total ascent/descent: 1896 ft.

Diificulty: Moderate to hard

Weather: Dry at first, very wet later, very warm.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Jock Rooney

B walkers: Geoff Spurrell, Mike Walton

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

Apologies:  Laurie Fairman (family commitments), Ken Sparrow (Butlin’s) George Dearsley (working) George Waites (holiday).

Leader: Rooney. Drivers: Beal, Davison, Rooney. Diarist: Beal.

Starting Point: Errwood Hall car park, Goyt Valley.

Starting time: 1050. Finishing time 1400.

Lesser souls would have been put off from even venturing out by the weather forecasts for the day, which included flood warnings and worse, but at the top of the Errwood reservoir at the scheduled rendezvous time all was balmy, although this was to drastically change.

Your temporary diarist had a moment of alarm early on when sitting in his car, wondering if he was in the right car park, he saw Jock and Tips career past at a rate of knots in to what is the long one-way system of the Goyt Valley- the only way out of which is a trip into Buxton and back.

Jock thankfully realised the error of his ways and, totally illegally, drove back down the valley to where he was supposed to be.

Anyone watching ITV drama The Accused the night before would have recognized the spot as that where a gruff, craggy Yorkshire transvestite played by Sean Bean decided whether to help his lover dispose of a body.

Anyway, our small party comprising your diarist, Jock and gruff, craggy Yorkshireman Colin (I will resist any cheap Sean Bean jokes here) left the car park in dry, but muggy conditions, and headed up the path towards Errwood Hall, where we met two women who appeared to be part of a party who had erected three tents on the site of this former country pile. Colin complimented them on their improvement efforts.

We followed the stream through the rhododendrons to a bridge, where instead of bearing right towards Pym Chair, we took a path taking us towards Shooter’s Brook and a more direct route to the ridge leading towards the Cat and Fiddle.

We dropped down to a rocky ford over the Clough, bore left and after a short climb came out on the ridge, with quite splendid views all round.

At the point where the path to Shining Tor enters from the west we took shelter behind the wall from the increasingly blustery winds for our 11 o’ clock port and pies stop. Sadly no port and it was only 1040.

With the wind increasing in intensity we ploughed on towards the Cat and Fiddle, arriving at the unfeasibly early time of 1115.

The pub – often the scene of heartbreak in the past, particularly on one occasion where we slogged there in the driving rain only to find it shut due to “unforeseen circumstances” – was open and bustling.

But – and this might be a first – we decided it was far too early in the day for alcohol and we pressed on down the minor road towards Derbyshire Bridge. Had it been an hour later and in the weather that was to descend it could have been a different story.

At the car park and picnic spot at Derbyshire Bridge we headed west along what was the old Buxton road, now a rutted, stony track up the moor. Jock helpfully explained that these routes were fine when the traffic was men and pack horses, but that as more refined carriages came in to fashion lesser inclines were needed.

Hence men like Thomas Telford were called on to design the new routes following the contours where today’s roads now are (well, it sounded quite logical to me anyway).

We were only a short distance up the track when the first spots of rain began to fall, bang on time with the forecast.

Initially shunning waterproofs because of the muggy conditions, the rain got steadily heavier and we were forced to dig out the Goretexs.

As the track crested the hill we bore left on a faint path towards the boundary wall, where we slanted left again to eventually reach the trig point on Burbage Edge – which your diarist for one had certainly never visited – and which has the tidy distinction of being at the round height of 500 metres.

Jock claimed his house could be seen from here, but the worsening rain and cloud was making this increasingly improbable.

We followed the ridge, with the expanse of Goyt’s Moss on our left, until it reached a rather steep descent to the headwaters of Whitestonemoor Brook.

This brought us to the sealed northern portal that carries the highest point of the defunct Cromford and High Peak Railway – more accurately a tramway – that was completed in 1831 to link the East Midlands with Manchester, via the Peak Forest canal at Whaley Bridge.

At 33 miles long, built to carry minerals and other goods, it was one of the most ambitious projects of the time, and covered higher ground than had been attempted anywhere.

We followed the disused track for only a short distance before taking a path to the left signed Goytsclough Quarry and followed the line of Whitestonemoor Brook towards the top of the Errwood reservoir.

Skirting an arm at the top of the reservoir we bore left over Wild Moor. By now the rain was persisent and we decided to forego lunch and press on.

As we dropped down towards Goyt’s Clough the path wound its way through head-high bracken which by now was dripping wet, as were we.

We crossed the River Goyt by the stone bridge and made the short climb to the road just above the Goytsclough Quarry car park, before strolling the mile or so down the road to Errwood Hall car park, arriving exactly at 2 pm – a feat which Jock claimed had been due to meticulous forward planning.

We drove to the Cock Inn at Whaley to enjoy the excellent Unicorn bitter at £2.70 a pint and meet the non-walking drinkers and B-walkers Geoff and Wally, who had walked from Whaley over Ladder Hill to Chapel, returning by bus.

We thought we had had a wet time, but while we were in the pub the heavens really opened in a stupendous downpour which made us think perhaps we had got away with it rather lightly after all.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30 am at the car park outside Five Ways Travel, and finish at the Sir Wilfred Wood VC pub in Hazel Grove around 2.30, where Laurie has declared his intention to buy beer to celebrate his 77^th birthday.

There will be a refreshment stop at the Ring o’ Bells in Marple around 12.30.

Sadly your temporary diarist offers apologies in advance as he’s walking the Sandstone Trail.

Whaley Bridge

WHALEY BRIDGE, CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY LINE, SHALLCROSS INCLINE GREENWAY, ELNOR LANE FARM, COOMBS RESERVOIR, RANDAL CARR BROOK, TUNSTEAD MILTON FARM, NORMAN WOODSIDE FARM, BRADSHAW HALL, ECCLES PIKE, THE OLD HALL AT WHITEHOUGH, PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, BUGSWORTH BASIN, PEAK FOREST CANAL, WHALEY BRIDGE BASIN AND THE COCK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry with cloud and sunshine.

Walkers: Colin Davison with Tips, Lawrie Fairman and Alan Hart.

B walkers: Geoff Spurrell and Mike Walton.

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

Apologies: Peter Beal (covering Olympics from Yorkshire), George Dearsley (working), Jock Rooney (in tax exile), Ken Sparrow (hols at Butlin’s) and George Whaites (visiting friends in south).

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The Cock at Whaley Bridge.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.11pm.

We enjoyed the best weather of the summer in ideal walking conditions, with a gentle wind and white fluffy clouds giving us regular respite from the bright sunshine.

On the wildlife front we saw a sparrow hawk and a cormorant, heard a woodpecker, braved a herd of Houdini goats, saw a field full of stud rams and were bade a cheery “Good morning, lovely day” by Edwina Currie, the former MP and lover of Prime Minister John Major.

All this plus a visit to two of our favourite pubs ! Life doesn’t get much better.

From the car park we walked past The Cock on our left and after 20 yards turned left to cross a stream and reach the disused Cromford and High Peak railway line, where we turned right. This led us to the Shallcross Incline Greenway (9mins). At the end we turned left (16mins) and left Shallcross Road to turn right into Elnor Lane (17mins).

To the left side of Elnor Lane, with a plinth, which may have once been a sundial, surrounded by a stone wall on our right, we turned left up a steep lane (21mins). We passed Elnor Lane Farm on our left and Elnor Stables on our right before swinging left up a track (28mins).

As we crested the hill, Coombs Reservoir made an appearance to our left ahead and below. We turned left over a stone step stile at a wooden public footpath sign (47mins) which pointed to the left of the reservoir.

Our journey downhill was interrupted by a lady walking uphill with a collie and a labrador. She pulled her dogs to the side of the path, allowing Colin to pass with his temporary charge, Tips. Unfortunately for the woman in question, her dogs were in playful mood. They chased after Tips, wrenching their leads from her hands and pulling her over.

Barbara Woodhouse she was not. As she let go of the leads she was propelled forwards, crashing into the back of your diarist’s legs. Happily I was unharmed.

We continued downhill until we reached a lane (60mins). After some discussion we turned left by the side of a ladder stile marked with a yellow arrow and immediately right to follow a wooden public footpath sign and right over a ladder stile.

This brought us to a gate marked “Houdini goats.” Disappointingly, they had failed to escape from the field. Colin warned us that on a previous walk through this particular field, his lady friend had been butted by one of the goats. We were on full alert not to be goosed by a goat, keeping a wary eye out as we headed diagonally right through their field. We emerged unscathed through a gate and over a stone step stile (65mins).

As we continued downhill through a field we spotted first a sparrowhawk circling to our left and then a cormorant heading on our right towards the reservoir. A little later we were to hear the distinctive rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker,

We negotiated a tunnel under the Manchester-Buxton railway line (70mins) and headed straight on through a field. There was no obvious way forward but your diarist headed right with a line of trees to the left guarding a stream until he found a ford across Randal Carr Brook (80mins).  On the far side of the stream we went past a ramshackle set of farm buildings before scaling a wooden gate to reach a main road.

Later we noticed that a footpath some 50 yards to the left of this gate would have brought us legitimately to the same road. Our route led us out at Tunstead Milton Farm, where we stopped for pies and Tia Maria (83mins).

We continued by crossing a stone step stile to the right of the farm. It was marked with a public footpath sign and led through a garden and over a wooden stile past some stables on the right. When we emerged in a field we headed diagonally right and exited via a metal gate (88mins).

We turned left uphill along a gravel track and entered Norman Woodside Farm (92mins). We turned right in front of the farm and went through a gate marked with a yellow arrow (95mins). This route took us to the right of Bradshaw Hall Farm and to the left of Bradshaw Hall itself (105mins).

Just beyond the hall we squeezed through a stone gap stile (106mins) and ignored a wooden stile on our left and headed diagonally right instead through a field. We kept left of a row of trees to pass to the left of a house ahead and crossed a wooden stile (115mins).

We reached a lane and turned right downhill (117mins). This led us to a wooden public footpath sign on our left and a sign for Eccles Pike and Chinley Station via Whitehough. We exited this field by a small gate (124mins), crossed a wooden stile (126mins) and saw South Head, Famine Ridge and Cracken Edge to our right, with Eccles Pike on our left.

After passing through a gate we turned left down a lane (135mins). After 30 yards we turned right at a wooden public footpath sign and followed the road downhill to reach a road 25 yards away. Our group turned left at a sign for Whitehough and Chinley (137mins).

Our route took us across a bridge over the A6 (140mins) and we soon reached The Paper Mill Inn on our right (143mins). The former Oddfellows Arms is now open from 5-11pm on weekdays and from 12-11 on Saturdays and Sundays. We passed the Paper Mill Inn on our right and turned left to reach The Old Mill Inn (144mins). Here the Marstons’ bitter was in fine fettle at £2-60 a pint.

Resuming, we walked downhill past Sheridan House (for sale) and The Old Band Room on our right, where we saw Edwina Currie walking uphill towards us with a brown Labrador. She and her woman friend, also accompanied by a dog, exchanged pleasantries as we walked past them. Apparently the former Conservative Cabinet Minister now lives in Whitehough.

We turned left along the old Peak Forest Tramway (149mins) and reached a bridge on our right over a stream where we stopped for lunch (160mins). Continuing later, we reached the Navigation Inn at Bugsworth Basin (166mins) and walked with the Peak Forest Canal on our left.

We used a footbridge to cross the canal (170mins) and now walked with the canal on our right until we reached Whaley Bridge Basin (178mins). We continued through the Canal Wharf car park and exited over a bridge to rejoin the old disused Cromford and High Peak railway line.

This took us uphill until we levelled off and took a path to our right towards a firm of electrical contractors (185mins). This brought us out on the main A6 road where we turned left for The Cock under the rail bridge and reached our cars (187mins).

After de-booting we joined our B team and non-walking drinker for pints of Robbies’ cask bitter at £2-80. Geoff informed us that he and Wally had caught the bus to Chapel-en-le-Frith and walked some three or four miles through Wash to reach us in Whitehough. Wally announced that the two-mile walk to Whaley Bridge had proved somewhat gruelling, although those were not his precise words.

Next week’s walk will start from the far car park at Errwood Reservoir at 9.40am. It is anticipated that there will be time for refreshment at a so far undesignated pub in Buxton around 12.20pm before reaching journey’s end at The Cock around 2.20pm. 

  

Danebridge

DANEBRIDGE, DANE VALLEY, GRADBACH YOUTH HOSTEL, GRADBACH METHODIST CHAPEL, PLOUGH COTTAGE PEG INN, HIGHER BONGS, BIRCHENOUGH HILL, WILDBOARCLOUGH, LEECH WOOD, LOWER HOUSE COTTAGE, ROSE AND CROWN AT ALLGREAVE, ALLMEADOW FARM,WINCLE AND OLD KING’S HEAD AT GURNETT

Distance: Ten miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Cloudy and mainly dry.

Walkers: Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart and George Whaites.

B walker: Geoff Spurrell.

Non-walking drinkers: John Eckersley and Tony Job.

Apologies: Peter Beal (reporting Olympic Games), George Dearsley (Turkish hols), Frank Dudley (visiting foot specialist), Colin Davison and Jock Rooney (attending caver’s funeral), Ken Sparrow (Swiss hols), Mike Walton (working).

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

Starting Point: Danebridge, Wincle, near Macclesfield.

Starting time: 9.45am. Finishing time: 2.34pm.

By ignoring a pessimistic weather forecast of heavy thundery downpours we were once again rewarded with a mainly dry walk through picturesque countryside on the Cheshire-Staffordshire border. A light shower lasting eight minutes hardly justified the gloomy predictions emanating from the Met Office.

Lawrie led us through some easy gradients along the Dane Valley, gradually building up enough height to admire the landmarks of The Roaches, Shutlingsloe and Croker Hill on the skyline. Our route took us to new pastures and also gave us an opportunity to re-visit two of our once-regular haunts, The Rose and Crown at Allgreave and the Old King’s Head at Gurnett, Macclesfield.

Becauses of absences for a variety of reasons, the least acceptable of which is “work,” we had to rely on quality rather than quantity as our trio set off from parking spots at the side of the road just past The Ship Inn at Wincle near Danebridge.

We walked down to the road bridge over the River Dane, which marks the county border. After crossing from Cheshire into Staffordshire we turned left immediately over a stone step stile to follow a public footpath sign marked Gradbach.

With the Dane on our left, we followed this path for several miles through attractive woodland. A post with a yellow arrow (22mins) led us away from the riverbank for a while and we passed a farm on our left which kept goats in a field on our right (31mins). The well-marked path returned us to the right bank of the river and the scene of last year’s landslide (40mins) which has caused a pretty pool to develop where the rushing waters of the Dane have been slowed down.

At a T-junction in the path we turned left (55mins) which led us to a magnificent beech tree (59mins) where our leader’s map was consulted for the first time. We opted for the lower path and crossed Clough Brook by a footbridge, following a sign for Gradbach (60mins). From the bridge we walked uphill for 50 yards then crossed left over a stone step stile and followed a gravel path downhill.

We squeezed through a gap stile to the right of a campsite and followed a yellow arrow to the left (65mins). This brought us to Gradbach Youth Hostel, where you can stay for £10 a night (67mins). After pausing for pies on a handy picnic table, complete with a sunshade which was unnecessary at that time, we continued by keeping the hostel on our left as we walked up a lane.

Our trio went left over a footbridge (75mins) which crossed a brook and brought us back to the right bank of the Dane. We exited a muddy field through a gate on our right and turned left down a lane (78mins). This crossed the river and we passed first Gradbach Methodist Chapel on our right and then Plough Cottage Peg Inn on our left (82mins).

Lawrie declared the cottage had never been a pub in his memory, so this charming cottage could mark the seismic change which has brought an end to so many of our country inns. The Wednesday Wanderers continue to strive with every sinew to maintain our unique British heritage, but a handful of men can only drink so much.

Continuing in melancholy contemplation, we swung sharp right (85mins) through a metal gate and along a lane. The village of Flash came into view straight ahead. Back to our right we could see The Roaches.

At a wooden public footpath sign we turned left by a gate marked Higher Bongs (93mins). We are indebted to Lawrie for informing us that the word “bongs” was an Anglo-Saxon term for swamps and nothing to do with pipes for smoking wacky baccy. How fortunate we are to have such an ancient leader.

We passed Flasker Moor barn on our left and headed right through a large gate leading to a smaller gate marked with a yellow arrow (97mins). We crossed a stone step stile marked with a yellow arrow (103mins) and through a small wooden gate (109mins) at the summit of Birchenough Hill. Ahead was the distinctive shape of Shutlingsloe, described ironically as Cheshire’s Matterhorn.

We carried on down the hill, crossing the Buxton-Congleton road (123mins) and following the sign for Wildboarclough which led us on a minor road through Leech Wood. We turned left at a public footpath sign (131mins) along a gravel farm track. Shutlingsloe was now to our right with the telecom mast at the top of Croker Hill on the skyline ahead.

After passing through a metal gate (134mins), the first drops of rain of the day started to fall. We had barely time to don waterproofs and pass stables on our right before it stopped. After some confusion over the direction which two alternative yellow arrows suggested, we left a copse of trees on our left and dropped diagonally right towards a byre (147mins).

We climbed over two gates, possibly illegally, and reached the River Dane (157mins). A public footpath sign directed us along the bank with the river on our left. We crossed a wooden stile (159mins) and then a stone step stile to the left of a farmhouse (168mins).

A cattle-grid took us past Underbank Campers’ Barn (170mins) and we exited Lower House Cottage via another cattle-grid (174mins). We reached the winding main road (178mins) and turned right to reach the Rose and Crown at Allgreave on our left (179mins).

Here the cost of two pints of Robinsons’ cask bitter and one of mild came to £9-20, which we guessed to be £3-10 and £3 respectively. My bitter-drinking colleagues later complained that their beer was not good – although it failed to stop them drinking a second pint.

Leaving the pub, we turned left downhill and followed the hairpin turn to the right which brought us to a sign for Wincle to our left (186mins). We turned left at a public footpath sign marked with a yellow arrow which led us past Allmeadow Farm (191mins).

We followed a public footpath sign with a yellow arrow marked Danebridge (194mins) and stopped for lunch on the bough of a fallen tree (198mins). We continued into a field, ignoring a sign warning that a stock bull was in it with a herd of cows. Fortunately the bull looked suitably knackered when we reached it and barely raised an eyebrow at our intrusion.

We left the field and headed down a gravel path marked with a yellow arrow (208mins). We crossed a series of stiles and a footbridge in quick succession to emerge on the road opposite Danebridge Fisheries (221mins). We turned right to reach our cars (222mins) and de-boot.

After a drive to The Old King’s Head at Gurnett, we joined non-walking drinkers John and Tony, and B walker Geoff. He told us he had driven to the pub, and taken a five-mile amble along the Macclesfield Canal, through Macclesfield Golf Club and along Cock Hall Road to Langley Cricket Club, passing Ridge Farm and Sutton on his way back to The Old King’s Head. Pints of Banks’ bitter here cost £2-90.

It was decided next week’s walk would start from The Cock at Whaley Bridge at 9.30am. Our halfway destination would be The Old Hall at Whitehough around 12.30pm and we would expect to be back at The Cock for 2.15pm.