Chapel-en-le-Frith

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH, MANCHESTER-BUXTON RAILWAY LINE, DOVE HOLES, THE BULL RING NEOLITHIC HENGE, DOVE HOLES QUARRY, THE WANTED INN AT SPARROWPIT, BENNETT WELL, GOLDPIECE FARM, BAGSHAW HALL, THE ROEBUCK INN AT CHAPEL

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Moderately easy.

Weather: Mainly dry and bright with a brief spell of light drizzle.

Walkers: Steve Courtney, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, John Laverick, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

B walkers: Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Ken Sparrow and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Peter Beal (hiking in Lake District), Chris Corps (w*^king), Nigel Crank (job and house-hunting), Jock Rooney (Isle of Man tax exile) and Mike Walton (w*^king).

Leader: Davison. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Free public car park off Station Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbsyhire.

Starting time: 9.42am. Finishing time: 2.10pm.

This was a walk which started on time, reached the intermediate pub on time, arrived at the finishing pub on time – and it was led by Colin ! So three cheers for our new, improved leader. 

If Mr Davison can reach such pinnacles of precision after such a disappointing start, who is to say what David Moyes may yet achieve ?

Before we set off there was further speculation about our first-choice diarist, George Dearsley, who was believed to have been heading for Turkey for two weeks over Christmas, and has not been seen since. There was talk that he might be held as a valuable pawn in some political game being played in the Bosphorus area, a la Terry Waite. If necessary we will hold a silver collection to secure his release.

(STOP PRESS: Your diarist has just returned a phone call from George, who returned from Turkey late on Tuesday night)

We walked out of the back of the car park to a path where we turned right downhill and emerged by the side of The Roebuck, which was to be our final watering hole. Passing it on our right, we crossed the road and turned left down a cobbled street reminiscent of Weatherfield. We wondered, momentarily, whether we might meet Ken Barlow until we realised he was unavoidably detained elsewhere.

The cobbles swung right down to a main road where we turned left and crossed over. At a green public footpath sign we turned right (5mins). This took us to the end of Park Road, where we carried straight on along a lane (11mins).

We turned right over a stream and entered a muddy field. Past experience reminded us that this meadow is often muddy in the summertime. On this occasion it resembled conditions at The Somme circa 1916. John was an early casualty as his stick sank down to the handle and his right leg went in up to his fetlock.

On reaching a drystrone wall in the right corner of the field we turned right (22mins) and walked through a tunnel underneath the Manchester-Buxton railway line (25mins). We went through a gate and turned right just before a group of cottages (29mins).

People were slimmer in medieval times

At the far end of the cottages now on our left, we squeezed through a gap stile on our right (31mins). This caused special difficulties for Tom, who blamed his thick thighs. We headed diagonally left through a field and crossed a wooden stile on our left. Now we headed diagonally right to the right of a farm building and went through a nine-barred metal gate to reach a road (40mins).

Our group turned right and followed a sign for Dove Holes. At a junction we turned left (42mins) and then left again at a wooden public footpath sign (49mins). We walked directly across the field and over a tricky stone step stile. This was the first of many broken or slippery stiles we were to encounter during the day.

Our route took us through a flock of sheep, which had been infiltrated by a lone chicken, and a gaggle of geese. At a lane we entered a farmyard and ran the gauntlet of four chained dogs who were doing their utmost to break free and attack us (58mins). 

Happily The Wednesday Wanderers laugh at such idle threats.

We emerged at a road (65mins) opposite a belated Christmas display which included a sexy female version of Santa, posing provocatively on a wall, What message, we ask, does this send out to our children ? Or, for that matter, to the Stuart Halls and Jimmy Saviles of this world.

Our party turned left, passing Dove Holes train station (69mins) and turned left to reach the main road called Hallsteads. We crossed the road and entered the community centre to stop for Pietime by the side of a children’s playground (76mins).

Continuing, we walked to the right of The Bull Ring, a Neolithic henge which has nothing to do with la plaza de toros apart from its shape. It was here, a plaque informed us, that our ancestors would hold important meetings and sacred ceremonies.

All smiles

We turned right down a steep bank (80mins), swinging left, then right over two wooden stiles (84mins). A steady climb brought us to the massive Dove Holes Quarry ahead (88mins), causing one wag to remark that Derbyshire’s biggest export appeared to be Derbyshire itself.

We headed left of the quarry, crossing a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (95mins), then crossed a ladder stile to enter a field with a drystone wall on our right. Some 100 yards to the left of this wall was a well hidden stone step stile (100mins) which we found and crossed.

A series of stiles led us through fields until we reached some farm buildings which we passed on the left (115mins). We went straight on over another series of stiles which brought us out ultimately on the A623 (124mins). We turned left to reach The Wanted Inn (126mins), where two women were serving excellent pints of Greene King IPA at £2-80, as well as Doombar and, later, Marston’s Pedigree.

One of them explained that they had taken over the pub five weeks previously. We then had the embarrassment of informing one of them that Tom was inside a cubicle and had discovered, somewhat belatedly, that there was no lavatory paper. She bravely entered the arena and left a roll on the window ledge. Tom’s description of his hobbled shuffle to retrieve the paper does not bear repeating.

Colin gave us an interesting account of the origins of Doombar, in the Camelford area of Cornwall where it is brewed. The story involved sailors shooting mermaids and curses being issued. Although it sounded highly improbable, John googled it and discovered the legend to be entirely accurate !

On the subject of folklore, it is interesting to note that The Wanted Inn sits astride a watershed. Consequently if you threw a bucket of water out of the front door, it would make its way westwards to end up in the Irish Sea. Throw water out of the back door of the pub and it would head eastwards to the North Sea.

Your diarist’s suggestion that we should put this to the test with marked plastic ducks was dismissed so we left the pub, turning right and passing Sparrowpit Methodist Church on our right. A little further along to our left we passed Bennett Well where a plaque confirmed your diarist’s earlier assertions about the watershed.

After passing one wooden public footpath sign on our right, we took the next one 30 yards later and crossed a field diagonally left (133mins). After crossing a stone step stile we walked downhill with a drystone wall on our left and passed Goldpiece Farm on our left (136mins).

We continued our sharp descent over stiles until we reached a road (148mins) where we paused for lunch. The road downhill  took us past Bagshaw Hall on our right (152mins). Shortly after the hall we turned right through a muddy field, Instead of continuing downhill to the road into Chapel, Colin led us to the right through tufted swampland and across a stream.

On reaching a road we turned right for ten yards and then went left (164mins) over a wooden ladder stile at a public footpath sign. We crossed one stone step stile and then went immediately left over another with the village of Chapel directly ahead below us.

We crossed the A6 (175mins) and on the far side we followed a beaten track to the right. This brought us to a green public footpath sign (179mins) where we turned left and went downhill through a lorry park. A handy stream on the far side enabled us to wash the mud off our boots before crossing the footbridge (185mins).

The path emerged on a road which we crossed to the right and reached the main road. After passing the Old Pack Horse and the Shoulder of Mutton on our right and Chapel Town Hall on our left (190mins), we returned to the cobbled street at Church Brow on our right, and retraced our footsteps to The Roebuck (195mins).

Here we enjoyed pints of Tetley’s mild for £2-55 and bitter at £2-85 before being joined by the B team. They had caught the bus to Whaley Bridge, from where they had walked across the shoulder of Eccles Pike to the Old Hall at Whitehough.

After a pause for refreshment they had walked along the Peak Forest Tramway to Chapel Milton and thence to Chapel, a distance of five miles in all.

Next week’s walk will commence at 9.45am from the car park opposite The Wheatsheaf at Old Glossop. Lawrie will lead our group past Swineshaw Reservoir to The Anchor at Hadfield around 12.30pm. The intention is to return to Old Glossop around 2.30pm for drinks in either The Wheatsheaf, The Bull’s Head next door, or The Queens down the hill, depending on which pub is open.