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.