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.