High Lane

HIGH LANE, DISLEY GOLF COURSE, SWEET WATER MILL, TURF LEA, PEAK FOREST CANAL, BARLOW WOOD, GOYT VALLEY, ROMAN LAKES, BOTTOM HALL, LINNET CLOUGH SCOUT CAMP, COLD WALL FARM, THE FOX AT BROOK BOTTOM, GOYT WAY, STRINES STATION, STRINES HALL, DOVE HOLES FARM, WYBERSLEY HALL FARM, AND HORSESHOE AT HIGH LANE

Distance: 9 Miles.

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate.

Weather: Dry, Cloudy and Mild.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Chris Corps with Fergus and Finola, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

B Walkers: Tony Job, Geoff Spurrell and Mike Walton.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (supervising flooding repairs), Nigel Crank (in Portugal), George Dearsley (w*^king), John Laverick (proper poorly), Jock Rooney (Isle of Man tax exile) and Ken Sparrow (domestic duties).

Leader: Davison. Diarist: Hart.

Starting Point: Outside the Davison residence at 11, Carr Brow, High Lane, Disley.

Starting Time: 9.31am. Finishing Time: 2pm.

The Wednesday Wanderers welcomed a debutant walker to their fold for this local walk and she proved to be a real bitch. Finola Corps, a cute, short-haired dachshund puppy, is the foster sister of Fergus Corps who introduced her to his hiking chums at the start.

Finola is shy, apparently in the habit of running away at the sight of strangers, but she kept up with the pace. Indeed it was Fergus who let the family side down when he disappeared to follow the scent of a badger. It seems he is genetically programmed to do this as dachshunds were bred to find and dig out badger setts.

Fergus and Finoa (pic by Colin Davison)

Julian made a welcome return to the ranks with news that his efforts to avoid landing a job had come under threat. After interview, he had survived a cull of 25 candidates to reach a short-list of five. We wish him luck.

It was also remarked that Mickey was still missing because of the flooding damage to his home two months ago. Sympathy was expressed until it was revealed that the seeping water had damaged his Porsche, that fortunately he owned another house and that the mishap took place while he was holidaying on his yacht. The general view then was that it must have been an act of God.

From Colin’s house we turned left uphill until we reached a path on our left leading into Disley Golf Course (4mins). We passed a tee and turned left at a green public footpath sign (9mins) which took us out of the course via a wooden stile. Beyond it was the remains of Sweet Water Mill on our right and a ventilation chimney ahead (15mins).

Instead of crossing a wooden stile and turning right along a designated path, our leader chose to guide us to the right of the drystone wall to the corner of the field, where we then stepped over a fence to join the legal footpath. No explanation for this bizarre behaviour was offered.

The path brought us to a lane where we turned left (20mins), passing Turf Lea on our left. We turned right at a green footpath sign (21mins) and walked through a gap stile by the side of gate to head downhill. This took us to the Peak Forest Canal which we crossed by a swing bridge and turned left, with the canal now on our left (25mins).

We left the towpath to turn right at a green footpath sign marked Cown Edge (29mins), and crossed four stiles in quick succession to reach a road on our right (33mins). We turned left and then right (36mins) to head down a public bridleway through Barlow Wood. Our group reached the River Goyt and turned left before crossing Roman Bridge, the classic hump-backed packhorse bridge (39mins).

Tom leads the way  (pic by Colin Davison)

Exiting Barlow Wood, we turned left towards Roman Lakes. We reached the lakes on our right (48mins), and turned right at the end of Lakes Road (53mins) to discover that Bottoms Hall on our right was for sale. 

Offers are invited for this six-bedroomed Georgian building, constructed by industrialist Samuel Oldknow in 1790 to house apprentices who worked in his nearby mill (long since demolished).

Beyond the hall was an ironic sign advising “Satnav Victims Turn Here.” We passed Old Hall Farm on our right (54mins) and headed up a rocky path. Before long Fergus was in hunting mode and the scent of a badger and natural instinct proved stronger than the commands of owner Chris or the plaintive crying of his foster sister Finola.

For five minutes Chris played “chase me” with Fergus until he emerged, muddied but unbowed, with the shameless miscreant in his arms. The dogs continued their journey on a joint lead.

We reached a footpath crossroads and turned left towards Gun Road, Cown Edge and Charlesworth (69mins). This took us past Linnet Clough Scout Hut, home of the Greater Manchester East Scouts, and left at a yellow arrow indicating a path to the right of an assault course. We continued to follow yellow arrows which led us over a stream and uphill.

Our party reached a farm building and turned right (75mins). We then turned left over a stream (76mins) and emerged at The Barn, where we turned right uphill (79mins). At a public footpath sign we turned right (81mins) and crossed a wooden stile into a field. A gap stile brought us to the start of Whetmorhurst Lane (86mins), where we stopped for Pietime.

Resuming, we headed up the lane, turning left after 60 yards at a public footpath sign and left again into a muddy field. We headed diagonally left uphill to the corner and exited with a drystone wall now on our right (90mins). We emerged to the left of Cold Wall Farm (95mins) and carried straight on uphill.

Crossing a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow on our right (97mins), we headed diagonally right uphill through a field and emerged via another wooden stile into a lane, where we turned right downhill, passing Postman Patricia on her rounds.

At a wooden public footpath sign (101mins) we turned left across a stone step stile and trudged uphill, crossing a wooden stile (108mins) near the top. We then crossed another wooden stile to reach a stone step stile where we turned right across a field. After crossing another stone step stile we turned right across a field, crossing yet another stone step stile (112mins) and turning left down a road.

By now some Wanderers were wondering whether we were taking part in an attempt to break a stile-crossing record.

We reached a T-junction and turned right along a rocky path (116mins). A wooden stile on our right was not to be resisted (117mins), which brought us to two stone step stiles and a wooden gap stile to the left of a water trough (129mins).

Cheshire countryside  (pic by Colin Davison)

When we arrived at a farmyard our leader endured a shocking experience which brought laughter not only from his comrades, but also from a passing farmhand. As Colin grabbed a metal gate, his rucksack touched an electrified fence behind him and gave him a ten-volt kick. 

For a few comical seconds, Colin thought the gate was wired, rather than the fence behind him, and he was afraid to continue. Some - though not your diarist, heaven forfend - thought it a shame when the farmhand pointed out the source of his problem.

We went through a gap stile (132mins) and followed a yellow arrow downhill. This took us through a wooden gap stile past a farmhouse to reach The Fox at Brook Bottom (141mins) just as its doors were opening at 12.03am – a timing triumph for our leader who usually finds pubs shut.

The Robbies’ cask bitter at £2-85 was deemed to be in excellent form, even by our beer critic Tom. Praise indeed.

Leaving the pub, we aimed for a red phone box and then turned right following a sign for Goyt Way down a rocky path. This brought us to a bridge across the Manchester-Sheffield railway line which we walked underneath to reach the side of Strines Station (156mins). It was suggested by Colin that this station inspired the imagination of Edith Nesbit to write The Railway Children, a novel first published in 1906. She was a known visitor to the area.

It was made into a film in 1970, and one of the scenes in which Jenny Agutter removed her knickers to flag down a train, is said to have inspired Stuart Hall and Jimmy Savile.

We passed an imposing four-bedroomed house called Brookwood, on sale for £450,000, on our right and Strines Hall on our left. Just beyond the hall, on our right, we were surprised to see that the millpond (158mins), with a dovecote at its centre, had been drained and a bulldozer was atop mud which had once been water.

Our group crossed the River Goyt (160mins) and found a convenient wooden table in a field on our left (162mins) where we stopped for lunch. Continuing, we walked uphill and crossed Strines Road (167mins) to head up a track. This brought us to a lane (174mins), which we crossed to take a path to the right of a house called Greenhills.

We crossed two more wooden stiles and headed for The Macclesfield Canal (177mins). We crossed another wooden stile and turned left following a yellow arrow (181mins). Crossing a stone step stile we turned left (184mins) and passed Dove Holes Farm on our left. We then passed Wybersley Hall Farm on our right (192mins) and reached a T-junction (193mins).

A right turn down Carr Brow took us back to our cars (197mins), where we de-booted and drove to The Horseshoe, High Lane. Here, again, the Robbies’ bitter was in fine form at £2-85 a pint.

B Walkers' diary

Walkers: Tony, Geoff, Wally        Apologies:  Ken (family lunch)

Route: Disley (Rams head) - Red Lane - Green Lane - Wings (private, possibly approved) School - Whaley Moor - Furness Vale (Soldier Dick).

We managed to keep just below the clouds, though it was a close thing approaching the Murder Stone on Buxton Old Road. No severe gradients, but several awkward styles. Average walking spped 1.78 mph.

Excellent beer at the Soldier Dick for £2.70 a pint, then onto the Horseshoe to join the remaining A men.

Next week: Meet A6 car park (Rising Sun), 9.45am, 199 bus to Newtown, bus(es) to Hayfield, walk eventually to Lantern Pike, then Macclesfield bus back to Newtown, and 199 to start.

Next week’s A walk will start at 9.40am from The Lantern Pike, Little Hayfield. Upon leading the walkers on what he described as “a magical mystery tour,” Tom will be buying drinks to celebrate the 61^st anniversary of his birth when they return at about 2.20pm. Plates of chips have also been promised by the birthday boy landlord.  

  

Hayfield

LITTLE HAYFIELD, KINDERLOW, HAYFIELD

Distance: 7.6 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Mild, weak sunshine.

Walkers: Nigel Crank, George Dearsley, Colin Davison, Alan Hart, George Whaites, Lawrie Fairman, Peter Beal

Apologies: Jock Rooney (Isle of Man), John Laverick (Man flu), Chris Corps (similar lergy), Julian Ross(dentist), Mickey Barrett (aftermath of flood), Tom Cunliffe (wor^ing)

Leader: Beal  Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The Lantern Pike

Starting Time: 9.41am. Finishing Time: 1.45pm

The first draft of this week’s walk was revised due to the closure of previously chosen pubs and fears of inclement weather.

The result, however, was a pleasant walk, good ale and general bonhomie, which are surely the essential ingredients of Wednesday Wandering.

Heavy traffic delayed some Wanderers from reaching the amended meeting point of The Lantern Pike.

But the loins and other essential parts of all seven walkers were suitably girded by 9.41am as we set off…all, that is, except one. Mr Davison sallied forth with his rucksack still in his car!

I will not attempt any cheap shot as it could well be me next time. But it was funny.

Mr Davison was soon to delight us again later. While criticising the inappropriate footwear for sloping terrain of Mr Whaites, Mr Davison proceeded to fall backwards into bracken, performing an improbable commando roll as he attempted to regain his dignity.

Where would the Wanderers be without such entertainment?

From the Pike we took the road towards Hayfield and then turned left opposite Slack Lane.

At the end of the road there is a familiar five-bar gate and we passed from it and continued straight up the rising track immediately opposite.

This is a not-too-demanding climb that takes walkers to the (white) Shooting Hut.

At the top of the hill is a sign for “Edale” and “Snake Pass” and that we duly followed.

At 10.12am the imposing sight of Kinder Reservoir hove into view below us.

                                                                                    Up to our firkels in heather

                                                                  Beautiful autumnal colours around the reservoir.

We crossed a bridge with the sign “William Clough” nearby and at 10.57am we veered left from the path towards a copse.

Somewhere around here we spotted a carcass, probably of a sheep, picked clean by a fox….or maybe a werewolf or even something out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Or is my imagination working overtime ? Judge for yourself from my picture below.

At 11.08am Pie Time was declared at a stream which is called Red Brook.

Although Mr Cunliffe was not present to chivvy us forward early, this week’s Pie Time was only nine minutes.

At this point Mr Beal argued that if we took the easy, flat route we’d probably reach the pub early.

Many Wanderers found no fault whatsoever with this logic but had misread Mr Beal’s intentions.

The ever-competitive, former fell runner was suggesting the Wanderers set themselves a challenge.

Reluctantly convinced that hills are better for avoiding myocardial infarction….(heart attack in old money)…we promptly followed our leader left at right angles to the stream and up the most demanding hill of the day.

We passed a sign for “Broad Clough”, eventually dog legged right around a wall and joined the path from Kinderlow, which takes you back down towards Hayfield.

We passed a sign for “Kinderlow End”, went through a gate and at 11.56am passed Tunstead House.

This property had a barn (conversion)  attached, which is for sale via Gascoigne Halman.

If you have £750,000 to spare it’s yours.

Click on the link or paste it into your browser for details.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38440402.html

Our route took us to a metalled road and at 12.05pm we passed the Hayfield campsite.

By 12.20pm the Hayfield cricket ground hove into view.

Five minutes later we were in the Royal where Mr Fairman generously bought ale for everyone to celebrate the birth of his latest grandson, Owen (or he will be by time he leaves university). Owen Barnes to be precise. Gawd Bless the wee lad. Thwaites Original was £2.80

                                                                                       A carcass picked clean.

The Royal now has a Ramblers bar at the rear and as the Wanderers have plenty of members who have perfected the art of rambling, there we sat.

Alan Hart – in the Ramblers’ Room

As well as organising next week’s walk (the details of which you will find at the end), it was also agreed that on December 11th the walk will start from Mr Davison’s house at 11 Carr Brow (bacon butties provided) and later in the day we will have lunch at the Dog and Partridge.

But it gets better – the walk on December 18^th will start from Mr Hart’s house in Poynton where bacon butties AND mince pies will be on offer.

Then around 2pm we will congregate for yet another lunch at The Bull’s Head, Poynton.

We left the Royal at 1.19pm, walked into Hayfield and took a left to pick up the Calico Trail which diverts towards Little Hayfield, via Bank Vale Road.

Just as we left the pub a few spots of rain fell. But it soon blew over.

Back at the Lantern Pike (where Timothy Taylor’s is £3.30 and Black Sheep £3.10) mine hosts Tom and Stella had generously prepared bread and butter and chips.

B Walkers diary

Walkers: Ken, Geoff, Tony        Apologies:  Wally (W*<king), Terry (optician)

 

Route:  Met at Ken's house, driven to Wizard NT car park.  Walk to Stormy Point for a view over N.Cheshire, walk back to Finlow Hill for elevenses, then Hocker Lane, Hayman's Farm, Finlow Hill (for lunch). Heavy hail shower caught us on the way back to the car, otherwise sunny and dry. About 4 miles.

Only one pub today - The Drum and Monkey. Robbies bitter £3, Trooper 4.8% £3.05, both good. Two noisy groups of ladies, and a noisy child with her lager-loving Dad (5 pints downed in an hour, well beyond our capacity). otherwise pleasant enough.

Geoff and Tony have been biassed against this pub in the past, possibly due to bad experiences on the bowling green (1 and 2 scored respectively). It is Ken's local.

Next week:  Meet Rising Sun A6 car park 9.50, Provisionally 199 bus to Disley,walk from Disley to Kettleshulme or Furness Vale, then maybe meet the A team at the Horseshoe.

Next week’s walk will also start from Colin’s house at 9.35am, with the Fox at Brookbottom earmarked as the half way stop (if it is open) and post walk refreshments – after de booting – will be taken in The Horseshoe, High Lane.

Sadly your diarist is wor^ing.

Happy Wandering!

Castleton

CASTLETON, CAVE DALE, MAM TOR, BACK TOR, LOSE HILL, THE CHESHIRE CHEESE AT HOPE, PEAKSHOLE WATER, THE CHESHIRE CHEESE AT CASTLETON

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous.

Weather: Dry and sunny with blue skies.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Alan Hart, John Laverick, Sid Marland, Jock Rooney with Tips, and George Whaites.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (sore Achilles),Chris Corps, Nigel Crank, Tom Cunliffe and George Dearsley (all w*^king), Lawrie Fairman (midwifery duties), Julian Ross (domestic duties).

Leaders: Davison and Rooney. Diarist Hart.

Starting point: Road outside George Hotel, Castleton, Derbyshire.

Starting time: 9.52am. Finishing time: 2.40pm.

A bracing walk which afforded some of the finest views in the Peak District, unseasonably fine weather and two traditional pubs offering warm welcomes and excellent cask beer – what more could any man want ?

This was one of our most enjoyable outings of the season and it was only a pity that there are so many w*^kers in our midst. I suppose somebody has to pay for our pensions, but it is a shame there were not more to take advantage of the lovely weather and clear visibility.

Among the absentees was Chris, who put w*^king ahead of walking. He had offered to lead us, but Jock and Colin volunteered to deputise in an area with which they are familiar. Surprisingly the group they were leading arrived at the halfway pub from a different direction and ten minutes behind the three of us who were deemed to have gone the wrong way.

With the sound of Sergio Leone’s cinematic masterpiece ringing metaphorically in our ears, The Magnificent Seven sallied forth turning left at the end of Castle Street and passing the war memorial on our left as we turned right uphill. * (see footnote)

We turned right again before Dale Cottage (2mins) and entered Cave Dale.

This was the start of a steady climb until we reached the end of a drystone wall and turned right steeply uphill (24mins). After a rest while we awaited stragglers (28mins), we continued with a drystone wall on our right and walked through an open gate. We crossed a stone step stile on our left (29mins) and followed a wooden public footpath sign.

We crossed another stone step stile (36mins) and kept a drystone wall on our left before crossing yet another stone step stile and entered a field (41mins) veering right at a sinkhole to cross a fourth stone step stile (42mins).

This took us into a field where we saw a “riggwelted” sheep. This is not a breed, but a Yorkshire expression for a sheep lying upside down, helpless,  with all four legs in the air (In Wales the word is “braced”).

We are indebted to Peter B for this fascinating information, which he gleaned during a tour of the Black Sheep brewery where one of the beers is called Riggwelter.

 It has an ABV of 5.9% and is described thus:

 “This strong, velvety, ruby brown beer is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is deceptively clean drinking with a wonderfully complex palate of coffee, bananas and liquorice which reward you with a long refreshing Goldings hop finish.”

The brewers recommend it should be drunk with red meat, strong cheese or decadent desserts such as dark chocolate torte. They do not warn, however, that it might make you fart and will almost certainly get you pissed.

We crossed a ladder stile (49mins), turned right along a gravel track and disturbed a murmuration of starlings, or sturnus vulgaris as the Latin scholars amongst us often call them. There must have been several thousand in the flock, but this pales to insignificance compared to the million-strong murmurations which form in Jutland prior to their annual summer holiday in the south.

Ornithologists believe they form these dense flocks as a defence against attacks by falcons or sparrowhawks.

In a nearby field a comely lass was toiling with what looked like mole traps. When I informed her that one of her sheep had been riggwelted she threatened to have us all arrested. Apparently the expression has not travelled as far as Derbyshire.

We continued until we crossed a road (60mins) and followed a wooden public footpath sign. We proceeded until we reached a dip in the land where we could shelter from a chilly blast of wind which had started to assail us (66mins).

Resuming, we reached a gate (68mins) and crossed another road to start our ascent of Mam Tor. This is also known as Mother Hill or Shivering Mountain. Its shale content has caused many landslips and in 1979 the A625 Sheffield to Chapel road was finally closed because of its instability.

We reached the summit (81mins) where John got out his tackle out and measured it at 1,831 feet whereas Colin declared a more modest 1,676 feet on his equipment. The official height is 1,696 feet.

To our north was Highland Farm and its barn which was filmed as the farmhouse home of John and Grace Middleton in the TV series The Village, which was screened earlier this year.

We began our descent to the east along The Great Ridge aiming for Lose Hill in the middle distance. We reached a wooden stile (119mins) where there was a discussion as to whether we should go left over the stile and turn right to climb Back Tor and Lose Hill. The alternative was to ignore the stile and skirt them to our right.

Colin said he would be prepared to head for the summits but wanted company. He should have known that when you walk on with Hope in your heart, you’ll never walk alone. In the event he found four other volunteers, while John and Jock took the Big Jessie skirt option.

After reaching the top of Lose Hill (137mins) we started the descent towards Hope, reaching a wooden stile (143mins) where we rejoined John, Jock and a mightily relieved Tips, who was wondering what had happened to his “flock.”

We crossed the stile, turned left and began a steady descent. The path was clearly marked, with Peter B, George W and your diarist finding themselves in the lead. 

On reaching a farm, we saw a sign for Edale Road on our left (163mins) which our new leader Peter advised us to follow. This brought us to a road (170mins), where we turned right and reached The Cheshire Cheese at Hope on our right (172mins).

Here we found excellent pints of Doombar cask bitter and a landlady called Laura, who was familiar with our missing colleague Tom. She said Tom had visited her hostelry and been most helpful with advice about how to deal with Enterprise Inns. If she had been referring to anyone else, we might have believed she fancied him.

Ten minutes later our four colleagues arrived, with Colin informing us we had gone in the wrong direction !

We turned right to leave the pub, with George W inexplicably setting off with Colin’s rucksack on his back, leaving his own in the bar. Colin picked up George’s rucksack, and followed sniggering. We turned right at the main road (179mins) and then left at The Woodroffe Arms.

A public footpath sign on our right directed us towards Castleton (184mins) which took us along the left bank of the delightfully-named Peakshole Water. When we paused for lunch (187mins), George looked at his rucksack with astonishment as if somebody had performed a conjuring trick. 

Presuming that the best form of defence was attack, he declared: “Someone’s picked up my bag by mistake”, and was mightily relieved to be reunited with his own new rucksack.

Continuing, we crossed the Hope Valley railway line (193mins), walked through a field to reach a road, where we turned left (210mins) into Castleton, soon reaching The Cheshire Cheese. The Barnsley Gold cask bitter was deemed to be in good form at £3-30 a pint.

There follows a number of photographs by Mr Davison.

B Walkers report

Walkers: Tony, Wally, Geoff        Apologies: Terry (cultural visit to Tutbury,  Ken.

Route: Brabyns (Marple Bridge), Peak Forest canal, Romiley, Chadkirk, Otterspool, Marple, Brabyns.

10.15 start, as Geoff had a triage appointment at 8 am in Denton, at which an orthopaedic consultant confirmed that his hip was buggered, and needs replacement . Join the club Geoff!  This will create logistic problems as Yvonne is due to get her hip done in Wrightington shortly, so he has to juggle NHS delays, hospital appointments and a booked river cruise.

We reached Chadkirk herb garden at 11.40 for late elevenses, and arrived at the Hare and Hounds just after noon. Thwaites Original ran out after one pint for Wally, so we settled for Old Git at 32p a pint more than the Original (about £2.60). We continued as far as Marple Hall remains (Hall demolished 1959) for a lunch stop, then up past Marple C.C. and allotments, and eventually down to the canal and Brabyns.

The Norfolk Arms was busier than the last time we called, and we settled for a bitter at £3.00 a pint. They had a tempting sounding Ginger Bitter, but the barman said it tasted of many things, but ginger was not one of them, and gave me a taste to confirm it.

Total distance 6 miles, too much of it in Marple housing estates. We need to make more use of buses if we are to repeat the pleasant walk as far as Otterspool.

Incidentally, Tony's bus pass, lost between Madagascar and Fernilee last week, was found by a lovely lady in Whaley Bridge, and is back in his possession.

Next week:  Alderley Edge, especially if Ken will lead us.

Next week’s A walk will start at 9.40am from the car park of The Little Mill, Rowarth. We shall be heading via Cown Edge to The Grouse at Chunal for around 12.45pm before returning to The Little Mill for refreshment about 2.30pm.

* While Sergio Leone did fine work with Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns and Once Upon a Time in the West, he didn't direct The Magnificent Seven. That was John Sturges (A Pedant)

Trentabank Reservoir

TRENTABANK RESERVOIR, SHUTLINGSLOE, MACCLESFIELD FOREST

Distance: 7.6 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Grey skies, some light showers

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, George Dearsley, Lawrie Fairman, Colin Davison, Chris Corps and Fergus, Pete Beal, George Whaites, John Laverick

Apologies: Jock Rooney (with the B Walkers), Julian Ross (imbibing with ex-work colleagues), Alan Hart(Madeira cruise), Nigel Crank (Health & Safety inspection), Phil Welsh (unexpected event)

Leader: Fairman Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: Lay-by near Trentabank Reservoir

Starting Time: 9.37am. Finishing Time: 1.26pm

This is a popular walk with the Wanderers. We came this way on January 4th 2012, November 12th 2012, and February 20th 2013 to mention but three previous outings.

But with the changing seasons and, of course, the Wanderers’ famed camaraderie, it never disappoints.

Today’s walk also included a visit to the Hanging Gate and its charismatic landlady Luda (about whom, much more later) which only adds to the enjoyment.

Trentabank is the uppermost of four reservoirs which collect water from the hills at the head of the River Bollin. Water from Trentabank and Ridgegate supplies Macclesfield with the town's drinking water. The other two reservoirs are Bottoms and Teggsnose Reservoirs.

Pity the homeowners who have to tell friends “I get my water from Bottoms”.

From the lay-by we crossed the road and picked up a path rising from right to left as you look from the road.

The early part of the walk involves a steepish climb and by the top of the hill your diarist’s breathing was the kind usually heard only by stethoscopes or female victims of dirty phone calls.

We followed a sign for Shutlingsloe which took us in the direction of the so-called Matterhorn of the Peaks.

At 1,660 feet it is the third highest peak in the county of Cheshire (Shining Tor being the highest and Whetstone Ridge second highest).

                                                                    Trentabank reservoir.

The area surrounding it is called Piggford Moor.

Messrs Corps, Davison and Beal decided to go to the top of Shutlingsloe. The remaining Wanderers took the traditional route to the left, rather boggy as it was.

Beal and Corps (and Fergus)  conquer Ever....Shutlingsloe (pic by Colin Davison)

                                                                 En route towards Shutlingsloe (pic by Colin Davison)

Lawrie jumps the bog (with Fergus just behind) pic by Colin Davison

We went through a gate, following a sign to Wildboarclough and up a hill to a metalled road, where we turned right. We crossed a number of fields and eventually came to another road where we turned right and soon arrived at the Crag Inn.

Here an early Pie Time was declared at 10.34am. There were the usual urgings from Mr Cunliffe to resume our walk early.

But the Wanderers showed the sort of adherence to custom and practice made famous by Peter Sellars in the 1959 film I’m All Right Jack and the obligatory 10 minutes of mastication was fulfilled.

Talking of films and Mr Cunliffe, Wanderers might care to view the You Tube video (by putting the URL below into their web browser) which reflects on Tom’s unusual use of his sticks.

If Mr Hart is reading this in some sunny climes I know he will appreciate this little bit of Wanderers trivia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXzyVAth-Rw&feature=youtu.be

                                                                                                Piggford Moor

After Pie Time, we took a path immediately on the right (after the Crag). At 10.55am it began to rain, lightly.

We crossed two stiles, passing a field which I recall was full of turnips last time we came this way, and reached a metalled road.

There is an imposing hill to the right but the lack of signs meant it could not be identified.

At 11.15am the rain became rather heavier and how we missed Mr Hart’s magic waterproof over-trousers which usually clear up bad weather. Fortunately, it was only a shower.

As the road began to rise up a rather ominously steep looking slope, we took a path to the right.

We crossed a wooden bridge, reaching another road where we went right and immediately left up a hill.

This is High Moor and at 11.37am the joyous sight of the Hanging Gate pub hove into view.

A few fields remained to be negotiated but by 11.45am, having walked 5.15 miles,  we were squeezing into the friendly bar like Japanese subway commuters in the rush hour. But happier.

Also unlike our Oriental friends, the rather cramped conditions were soon forgotten as Mr Beal and Mr Whaites announced they were buying birthday ale.

Mr Beal was 65 on Saturday November 2 and Mr Whaites 71 on Thursday October 31^st.

I’m sure fellow Wanderers, like me, have already put those dates (or the corresponding Wednesday)  in their 2014 diaries.

                                                                           Hanging Gate

In the rush to get to the bar it’s easy to miss a second sign outside the pub which carries the legend

“This gate hangs here and troubles none. Refresh and pay and travel on.”

Pub sign

Multi-tasking while pouring Hyde’s Original at £3, Estonian-born landlady Luda was soon up to 78rpm, regaling the Wanderers with news, gossip, political wisdom, catering tips, homophobia  and ethnic vitriol, not necessarily in equal measure.

Some of this was missed by Mr Cunliffe who was out back in the loo “turning his bike around” as Luda colourfully put it. I suspect Tom was emptying his panniers too.

The big news is that she and her husband are moving, having bought the Rose and Crown at Allgreave. I have found a picture of the hostelry, below. Doubtless that will feature on a future WW itinerary.

                                                                                Rose & Crown

The move was partly prompted by Hyde’s Brewery bosses  continually upping the rent on the Hanging Gate, which nows stands at £800 a week or, as Luda put it “an awful lot of sausage and mash”.

The six bedroomed pub in Allgreave was on with Meller Braggins for £250,000 but Luda picked it up for £220,000, largely because shortly before contracts were exchanged it was burgled.

The thieves took everything they could lay their hands on. Luda condemned them as “gypos”  or Irish (or maybe Irish gypsies).

She then had a pop at Yorkshire folk for their tight-fistedness. Mr Davison, who was born in Yorkshire of Irish descent, wasn’t happy.

                                                                               Luda

Turning her wrath to ne’er do wells in general she proceeded to rail against new EU legislation which will allow thousands of Romanians (including Roma gypsies) into the UK.

“You might as well open your pockets, the Romanians are coming,” she wailed.

Then in an attack on political correctness gone mad she turned her wrath onto the gay militants who had insisted that a pub in the Over Peover area called the Gay Dog drop the word Gay.

The Dog was built in 1805 by Baronet Thomas Wetenhall, and once comprised three cottages - a grocer’s shop, shoemaker and small farmstead - but it was not until 1860 that it became a public house, known then as the New Inn. Subsequent incarnations saw the inn named the Dog and Rot and, in the 1960s, the Gay Dog.

After the homophobe furore, the owners changed its name to The Dog Inn.

It was probably the arrival of the internet – and especially Google – that torpedoed that particular monicker.

Weirdos seeking al fresco sex with strangers  – dogging as it’s known – began to arrive by the charabanc load and the pub’s name was changed again….to simply The Dog.

Luda’s rhetoric continued, covering her years as a waitress at the Legh Arms (from the age of 17), to innovations in dispensing ale, the sale of Gradbach Youth Hostel for a paltry £300,000 and of course the gossip that the “lesleys” (lesbians) who ran a nearby pub have now split up.

You don’t get this sort of stuff in Alfred Wainwright’s journals. It was like Ruby Wax reading the news on acid.

At 12.34pm it was sadly time to leave Luda. We took the traditional path down the steps from the pub, turning right and picking up a path also on the right.

At 12.49 luncheon was called and lasted until 12.57pm.

As we set off again, down a somewhat slippery slope, Tom was nearly a faller, keeping on his feet - just - and executing a manoeuvre that left him facing the opposite direction, for which  Bruno Toniloi might have awarded a “9”.

Our chuckles had barely subsided when Mr Davison fell, ending up on all fours in a posture that resembled a frightened cat with its back arched.

We went through some farm buildings then negotiated a stile onto a road and turned right.

We passed Lees House Farm where a black and white dog came out to sniff Fergus but actually preferred Tom’s gaiters.

At the top of the hill we turned left and we were soon back at the cars at 1.26pm. After de-booting we went to the Leather’s Smithy where Theakston’s was £3.25.

B Walkers report:

B Team: Walkers: Geoff, Wally, Tony, Jock and Tips. Apologies: Terry (cruising in Eastern Med), and Ken.

Walk: 199 bus to The Cock at Whaley where we were joined by Jock and Tips, exuberant as ever.

To avoid the sharp climb from the Goyt to Taxal Church, we walked up the road towards Kettleshulme before turning left at the signpost for Taxal. After a short stop for Geoff to don waterproofs, we continued along the road, then turned left across a muddy field towards Madscar Farm.

Past experience of mud at Madscar caused us to take the high path, and we came out at the gate to Madscar. Sticking to the track brought us to Fernilee Dam, and after an early lunch, we continued up the track and road to The Shady Oak. Marston's bitter in good form at £3.00 a pint, but bad news from the landlady, who reckons it will close next summer. 4.2 miles so far.

Wally was struggling with a painful knee and hip, made worse by leaving his stick at home. So it was out with the 61 bus timetable, which shows the bus to New Mills passes the pub at 9 minutes past the hour. After a second pint, Jock left to walk back to his car in Whaley.

 It was at this juncture that Tony realised his bus pass had been lost during the walk, and when disrobing failed to locate it, he had to rely on the innate good nature of bus drivers to get home via The Soldier Dick and a 199. (Remember the phrase " Same again please, but I've just lost my pass." Never failed yet!)

Excellent Old Speckled Hen at The Soldier Dick for £3.70 a pint.

Next week: 10.00 am start. Marple Bridge - P.F. Canal - Romiley - Chadkirk - Marple - M. Bridge.  Drink: Hare and Hounds, and Norfolk or Royal Scot. No buses until Tony gets a replacement pass

Next week’s A walk takes us to Castleton. We will meet outside the Church, opposite The George pub at 9.45am.

The half way stop will be at the Cheshire Cheese, Hope.  Hopefully, if it’s open.

Happy Wandering!