Whaley Bridge

WHALEY BRIDGE, CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY LINE (DISUSED), TAXAL, TAXAL EDGE, WINDGATHER ROCKS, PYM CHAIR, DUNGE VALLEY, THE SWAN AT KETTLESHULME, HARDY GREEN, TODD BROOK, TODD BROOK RESERVOIR, WHALEY BRIDGE MEMORIAL PARK

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, mainly cloudy with sunny spells.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, John Laverick, Sid Marland and Julian Ross.

B walkers: Tony Job, Pete Morrall, Ken Sparrow and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Peter Beal (hiking with wife), Chris Corps and Nigel Crank (both w*^king), George Dearsley (extended Turkish hols), Jock Rooney (Isle of Man tax exile), Mike Walton (w*^king) and George Whaites (Spanish hols).

Starting point: Outside The Cock Inn, Whaley Bridge.

Starting time: 9.41am. Finishing time: 2pm.

A further outbreak of w*^king reduced our numbers for this well-trodden route around the hills and valleys in the foothills of The Peak District. With the reliable hand of Lawrie on the tiller, we suffered none of the setbacks of recent times. He will be absent as a cruise ship lecturer next week, and we wonder how long it will be before he suggests the captain might try a different course.

While Lawrie heads for the fjords, we will be in the inexperienced hands of Tom as we attempt to climb Kinder. Watch this space !

Our first surprise on arrival was to see a sign advertising that the tenancy of The Cock is for sale. Lou Haynes has been our obliging landlady here for 11 years and the pub had a major facelift four years ago. We learned it had gone on the market a week ago, and it may be no coincidence that recent comments about the service on Trip Advisor have been negative, to say the least. The barmaid later told us that Lou, who married Steve in spring, has “had enough of The Cock.” I presume this was a reference to the pub. In any event we wish her well.

We followed a customary route, passing the pub on our left and after 20 yards turning left to cross a stream and head uphill to reach the former Cromford and High Peak Railway Line. We turned right until we passed a new cul-de-sac called Alpha Mews on our right and then turned right at a wooden public footpath sign (9mins).

The path took us into a children’s playground which we exited to the right and headed downhill to the main Whaley-Bridge-Buxton road. This we crossed (14mins) to follow a gravel track which led to a footbridge on our right across the River Goyt (19mins). The path continued steeply uphill, reaching St James’ Church at Taxal on our right at a T-junction. We turned left and after 20 yards headed right over a wooden stile opposite Glebe Farm (24mins).

A park bench plaque taken from an internet site, simply for your amusement

After a steady climb through two fields, we crossed a ladder stile to reach a lane where we turned left (32mins). We soon reached a green footpath sign on our right (34mins) pointing to Windgather Rocks and Taxal Edge. Another steady climb took us past the 2001 mountain ash memorial to Chapel-en-le-Frith Rambling Club member Terry Lardner (39mins).

We continued through Taxal Nick to reach Taxal Edge and a drystone wall (43mins). We turned left to make the steady climb past woods on the left to reach the distinctive Windgather Rocks (62mins). Normally this commands a splendid view across the valley below, but on this occasion a morning mist was still hanging around to shroud the vista.

We turned left and after 200 yards dropped into a sheltered section for pie time (64mins). Resuming we continued along a path which eventually ran parallel with the country road leading to Pym Chair (83mins). This, according to legend, was the name of a rock formation 300 yards ahead which was either where a non-conformist preacher held secret meetings or where a highwayman attacked pack horse trains.

Three weeks earlier we had made the same journey before turning left towards Errwood and Fernilee reservoirs. On this occasion we turned right towards Saltersford. After a steady descent we turned right at a yellow arrow by a broken wall (90mins) and crossed a ladder stile. The well-trodden path took us to the right of a farmhouse, where we followed a yellow arrow (95mins) and passed a derelict farm building (102mins).

An upper path to the right of a row of trees took us through a new kissing gate (107mins), and by hugging the hedge on our right a second kissing gate (108mins) into the former Dunge Valley Gardens. These were once beautifully sculptured gardens where plants were on sale. In recent years it has been neglected but there are signs that the owners are once again making an effort.

We exited the gardens by a wooden stile to the left of a locked gate (117mins) and continued to crossroads (123mins). We carried on and then forked left downhill, observing the last of this summer’s swallows assembling on telegraph wires before setting off on their long flight to southern Africa.

We went left off the lane at a wooden public footpath sign marked with a yellow arrow (131mins) and continued to follow yellow arrows which marked gates and stiles. We went to the left of an elegant farmhouse (139mins) swinging right downhill. This brought us to a lane where we doglegged right and left in front of Clocks Bank Cottage on our right (144mins).

We then turned left down a flight of stone steps at the rear of The Swan (146mins), occupying the seats outside as the sun peeped out from behind a cloudy sky. The Marstons’ cask bitter was in excellent form at £3 a pint, although some of the wilder Wanderers paid an extra 20p for pints of Copper Dragon, a guest beer which they also rated highly.

After watching a Dutch articulated lorry driver reversing his massive vehicle into the nursery opposite the pub – a feat which brought him an appreciative round of applause – we continued by crossing the road into the nursery and passing both the driver and his signalman.

We left the nursery in front of Kettleshulme Church and turned right (148mins), then left (149mins) into Kishfeld Lane. We passed Hardy Green on our left (152mins) and arrived at a bridge across Todd Brook where we stopped for lunch (163mins). Our group then retraced its steps for 25 yards to turn left at a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow.

The route began uphill and then levelled off as we followed the path with Todd Brook on our left below. Hands were needed to climb a stone wall (173mins) and we emerged with a channel on our left and the start of Todd Brook Reservoir on our right. We walked the length of the reservoir to a dam wall, which we used steps to climb before going downhill across a bridge to the right of the yacht club (188mins).

We turned right along a gravel track which led us into Whaley Bridge Memorial Park (193mins), which we left by Wheatsheaf Road. This brought us back to the main road, where we turned left to reach The Cock. Robbies’  Unicorn cask bitter was on top form at £2-70 a pint.

The B teamers informed us they had taken the bus from The Rising Sun to Tunstead Milton. From there they had walked to Coombs Reservoir and up Long Lane to Ladder Hill. After drinks in The Shady Oak at Fernilee they had returned via Shallcross Greenway and the disused section of the Cromford and High Peak railway line which the A team had taken in the outward direction. They estimated the distance walked at a little more than five miles.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.35am from The Lantern Pike at Little Hayfield, calling at The Sportsman near Bowden Bridge around 1.15pm and returning to The Lantern Pike around 2.30pm.