Poynton Pool

POYNTON POOL, PRINCES INCLINE, HOCKLEY, WARDSEND, MINERS’ ARMS AT WOOD LANES, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, EASTWOOD END CARAVAN PARK, WOODEND FARM, REDACRE HALL FARM, THE BOAR’S HEAD AT HIGHER POYNTON, MIDDLEWOOD WAY, ANSON ENGINE MUSEUM, PRINCES INCLINE AND THE BULL’S HEAD AT POYNTON

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Cold but dry with sunny spells.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Tom Cunliffe*, Colin Davison, Malcolm Halley, Alan Hart and John Laverick.

B walkers: Tony Job, Peter Morrall, Ken Sparrow, Geoff Spurrell and Mike Walton.

Apologies: Peter Beal (hiking in Yorkshire dales), George Dearsley (w*^king), Jock Rooney (w*^king in South Africa), Julian Ross (w*^king indoors), George Whaites (visiting friends in Devon).

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park off Anglesey Drive next to Poynton Pool.

Starting time: 9.34am. Finishing time: 2.22pm.

We have seen the daffodils and the new-born lambs already. But a sure sign that spring is really on its way at last came with the unveiling of Malcolm’s knees. While the rest of our group were swathed in several layers of winter clothing, Malcolm was kitted out for the Costa del Sol in shorts which made the rest of us shiver. Southern softies are clearly tougher than they seem !

In the absence of our experienced leaders, Lawrie and Peter B, and with Colin still serving the last week of his suspension for previous follies, it fell to your diarist to set the route. As you know I do this with a freestyle approach which abhors any gadgets (compasses) or flappy things (maps).

Once again I am happy to report that this optimistic, shambolic method saw us through to a successful conclusion – although there was one early casualty beyond our control.*

After setting off along the bank of Poynton Pool, where we admired the swans, Canada geese, mallards, coots, waterhens, great-crested grebes and a heron, we walked along London Road North for 50 yards before turning left and then taking the footpath to the right of houses up Princes Incline.

When we reached the top at Towers Road (26mins), Tom received a phone call from wife Stella informing him that he had left The Lantern Pike at Little Hayfield with the keys to his pub’s various doors in his pocket. So he was obliged to abandon the hike, retrace his footsteps and drive back home. Stupid boy !

After crossing Towers Road diagonally, we took an unmade road leading to a footpath which brought us on to Davenport Golf Club’s grounds (36mins). We followed the right of way across a fariway and then turned right downhill to exit the club.

Opposite this exit was Anson Road, which we crossed into but took the path to the right leading over a stile into a field with stables on its left. We crossed a series of stiles which brought us out on Coppice Road (47mins). Opposite was a footpath leading to Coppice Boarding Kennels and Cattery.

We followed this path past the hidden Merton Hall on our right and kept straight on at a footpath crossroads. After passing some elegant houses on our right with woodland to our left in an area called Wardsend, we turned left at a public footpath sign down steps to a footbridge crossing a stream (61mins). At the far side we turned right and reached steps leading upwards to a lane.

We turned right for 20 yards then took a path on our left (65mins) which led us alongside fields to emerge at a road with The Miners Arms at Wood Lanes on our right (72mins). We walked past the pub (it wasn’t yet open) and turned left to cross the Middlewood Way by a road bridge and reach the Macclesfield Canal (78mins). Two benches were conveniently placed next to Bridge 18 for Pietime to be declared.

The building of the Macclesfield Canal was approved by Parliament in 1826. Construction, under principal engineer Thomas Telford, began in Bollington and was completed in 1831 at a cost of £320,000 raised by shareholders. The canal runs 26 miles from Marple, where it joins the Peak Forest Canal, through 12 locks at Bosley to the Hall Green branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal near Kidsgrove. It is one of six canals which form The Cheshire Ring.

It can accommodate boats 72 feet long and 7 feet wide. Although commercially successful initially, the arrival of railways led to its demise. In 1846 the canal was leased to the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. 

This became the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, which became the Great Central Railway, and finally, in 1922, ownership passed to the London and North Eastern Railway prior to nationalisation of the railways in 1948.

Barges continued to use the canal commercially until the 1960s, since when it has been used almost exclusively for pleasure craft.

Resuming after sharing our sandwiches with geese and ducks, we walked in the direction of Macclesfield with the canal on our left, passing Lyme View Marina and exiting over Bridge 19 (88mins) to the far side.

A public footpath marked with a yellow arrow took us through Eastwood End caravan park to Woodend Farm, where we turned right along a path and then left at another yellow arrow (93mins). We crossed a wooden stile and turned left (98mins). Another wooden stile brought us to a lane where we turned left towards Redacre Hall Farm.

We crossed a wooden stile to enter a field by a permissive path (111mins) which brought us back to the canal at Bridge 17. We crossed the bridge and turned right along the towpath (118mins), now heading in the direction of Marple. The canal became an aqueduct as it crossed the road from Poynton to Pott Shrigley beneath us.

This took us to Lord Vernon’s Wharf at Higher Poynton (133mins). We are indebted to Mr Barrett for the information that the word “wharf” is an acronym derived from the words “Wares House at River Front.”  You never stop learning when you’re a Wednesday Wanderer.#

We left the canal by turning left after the bridge and heading downhill past the public toilets at the Nelson Pit Museum, which gives a history of Poynton as a mining village. After crossing the road bridge over The Middlewood Way, we reached The Boar’s Head at Higher Poynton (141mins) seven minutes ahead of schedule.

This afforded some of us the rare chance of three quick pints of Black Sheep cask bitter at £2-93 a time before we resumed our journey. We went back to The Middlewood Way and headed along it in the direction of Marple before stopping for lunch at a bench (153mins). 

Continuing, we exited at the first opportunity by turning right and then going left over a road bridge. This brought us to Green Lane, where we turned right.

At a public footpath sign just before a house called Broad View (157mins), we turned left, passing the Anson Engine Museum on our left (160mins). This lies on the site of the old Anson colliery and is the result of a labour of love by Les Cawley and Geoff Challinor who began collecting old engines as a hobby. It contains a working display of early internal combustion engines for enthusiasts.

After passing the museum and a badger sett on our left, we reached Anson Road and turned right (165mins). At the bottom of Anson Road we crossed on to the drive leading to Davenport Golf Club and retraced our footsteps back to Princes Incline (192mins).

We walked downhill to reach London Road North (203mins), turned right and entered The Bull’s Head on our left (206mins).

Various cask bitters were in good form at £3 a pint, and Sally-Ann Bromley kindly provided two platters of sandwiches “as a goodwill gesture in the hope that we’ll see you again.” She certainly will.

The B walkers arrived some 40 minutes later, having assembled at Poynton Sports Club for a walk along the Ladybrook Valley to Bramhall Park. After refreshments in The Ladybrook at Bramhall, they had taken a circuitous route back which resulted in them completing some seven miles and “feeling knackered.”

Next week’s A walk will start from Brabyn’s Park at Marple Bridge at 9.30am where Colin will again attempt to lead us on a route which hopes to reach The Ring o’ Bells at Marple around 12.15 pm with final drinks at The Royal Scot, Marple Bridge, around 2.20pm.