Peak Forest

Peak Forest, Dam Dale, Hay Dale, Peter Dale, Monksdale House, Wheston, Dam Cliff, Dogmanslack Farm, Old Dam.

Distance: 7.8miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Warm overcast with light drizzle early on.

Walkers:  Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, and Jock Rooney with Tips.

Apologies: Alan Hart (whimped out due to unfavourable weather forecast), Peter Beal (Greek island holidays), Steve Courtney (French holidays), George Dearsley (Turkish summer holidays), George Whaites (Spanish holidays).

Leader: Cunliffe. Diarist: Davison. Photographer: Davison. Dog handler: Rooney.

Starting point: Church Lane, Peak Forest, Derbyshire.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 12.55pm.

A poor forecast saw our numbers depleted. But, come the moment, come the men and happily the weather. Despite horizontal rain at 9.30am when your diarist arrived at venue, by the time the last straggler (and most closely domiciled) arrived, the rain had more or less stopped

From the church we made our way South to the main A623 road, turned left for 100yds then right into the lane for Damside Farm. Beyond the farm we turned left across the dam of a disused mill lodge and then right along the far side of the Dale.

Crossing the wall the path is pressed tightly between the huge modern cowsheds of Dam Dale Farm and the limestone scar of Dam Dale. The going soon opens to reveal the dale itself and our route kept us to the Eastern edge.

Earlier in the month of May there is always a great display of orchids along the lower Dam Dale and Hay Dale. Sadly this had passed and we were treated to lesser displays of campion and dogwort.

At Dale Head we crossed the metalled road and continue along Peter Dale to the Road from Tideswell to Hargate. Here, at 11.10am we availed ourselves of the convenient bench and declared pietime.

Other Wanderers will be interested to note that the provision of a white flappy thing keeps Tom quiet. Not one peep did he make. Not once did he suggest that we had had sufficient time to take sustenance. Indeed, once it had been turned the right way up in his hands, he became quite animated and proposed a variation in our habitual route.

Despite the subversive nature of this change, we turned left along the road and arrived at  Monksdale House where we turned left again. At the ‘Y’ junction we took the left hand unmetalled track into Wheston.

A short dogleg left and right took us along the metalled road signposted as the Limestone Trail. Most of a mile along this we came to a track 90 degrees on our left to Sheep Wash and signposted to Peak Forest. We eschewed this for the path diagonally across the field perhaps 45 degrees to our left over the hill to Dam Cliff and on to Hernstone Lane, the A623.

Here we turned left for 300yds and then crossed the wall on our right before Snelslow Farm. Keeping the wall close on our right hand side, we passed through three fields and turned left. 

This time the wall was on our left. Through a gate we made our way diagonally across a field to a stile into Dodmanslack Farm.

We turned left into Old Dam Lane and left again into Church Lane to arrive back at the cars at 12.55pm.

Apparently, the inheritor of this local estate was initially quite unimpressed when he heard of the bequest. The Wanted Inn

Beer was imbibed at The Wanted Inn. Tom pronounced the Doom Bar too fresh. He says it needs to breath.

The followıng pictures courtesy of Colin Davison.

Next week, the ‘A’ walk will start from The Soldier Dick on the A6 at Furness Vale at 9.40am. We will stop for a bracer at TheDandy Cock in Disley around 12.30pm and finish back at The Soldier Dick around 2.45pm.  

Alport

ALPORT, RIVER LATHKILL, STANTON ESTATE, THE FLYING CHILDERS AT STANTON-IN-DALE, STANTON-IN-PEAK CRICKET CLUB, STANTON MOOR, THE NINE LADIES STONE CIRCLE, THE RED LION AT BIRCHOVER, THE HERMITS’ CAVES, ROCKING STONE FARM, LIMESTONE WAY, ROBIN HOOD’S STRIDE, HARTHILL MOOR FARM, THE GEORGE AT YOULGRAVE

Distance: 7-8miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Warm and sunny with blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

Walkers:  Mickey Barratt, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Alan Hart and Jock Rooney with Tips.

Apologies: Peter Beal (Greek island hols), Steve Courtney (French hols), George Dearsley (Turkish summer hols), Julian Ross (installing toilet), George Whaites (Spanish hols).

Leader: Rooney. Diarist: Hart. Photographer: Davison.

Starting point: Grass verge in village of Alport, near Youlgreave, Derbyshire.

Starting time: 10.20am. Finishing time: 2.25pm.

On a beautiful early summer’s day, the A team enjoyed a comparatively short walk after a lengthy journey to reach the starting point. Consequently we were surpassed for distance by the B team who set off sooner and walked further.

We would like to think we had the better of the views on a gently undulating journey during which we sighted a weasel, a herd of alpacas and a woodcock.

Walking away from Youlgreave we passed a red phone box and turned right, crossing a bridge over the River Lathkill (5mins). The lane passed picturesque cottages until we reached a T-junction where we turned left at a wooden public footpath sign to pass Bank House on our left (8mins).

The path then took us to the left of and then into a mobile home campsite. We turned right to follow a sign indicating the footpath to Stanton (15mins). On reaching a lane we turned left, then went right over a stone step stile (18mins) into a field.

We exited by another stone step stile and followed the road towards Stanton-in-Dale (23mins). It wasas we climbed this road we saw a weasel run across it some 30 yards ahead of us. Disappointingly it failed to go “pop.”

picture courtesy of Colin Davison

The road took us past the high-walled Stanton Estate on our right (31mins), which includes Stanton Hall, a privately-owned country house. This Grade 2 listed building is the home of the Davie-Thornhill family.

The manor of Stanton was owned for two centuries by the Bache family and passed to the Thornhills by the 1696 marriage of Mary Pegge, heiress to the estate, to John Thornhill of Thornhill.

The oldest part of the hall dates from replacement of the medieval manor house in 1693. In 1799-1800 Bache Thornhill (High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1776) doubled the size of his home. He also created a deer park and ornamental gardens, which are screened from the prying eyes of passing walkers.

We then passed The Flying Childers, named after a famous local racehorse, on our right (36mins). A sign informed us that this was named by CAMRA as Derbyshire Pub of the Year in 2012.

Jock led us to the right of Cock Lane uphill (40mins), taking a left fork (43mins) and passing the Wesleyan Reform Chapel, built in 1823, on our left. We continued our ascent past Stanton-in-Peak Cricket Club on our left and turned right at a massive rock to enter Stanton Moor.

A path led us to The Nine Ladies Stone Circle, which was created during the Bronze Age some 4,000 years ago for pagan rites. According to legend, nine ladies were turned to stone for dancing on the Sabbath. These provided suitable seats for pies and port to be consumed (60mins) as Mickey expressed his wish that he could go back through time and observe the playing out of history here.

This philosophical thought was marred somewhat when our leader revealed that one of the sights Mickey might have seen as a Time Traveller was a youthful Jock taking part in an ancient fertility rite with a local maiden.

Resuming our walk, we headed away from the Stone Circle in the opposite direction from which we had entered, taking a path to the left of a plaque which explained the Nine Ladies Legend. At a crossroads (69mins) we continued on the path ahead and crossed a wooden stile to reach a lane (73mins).

We turned right and after 30 yards turned left at a wooden public footpath sign, passing a campsite on our right. Following a yellow arrow through a farmyard (78mins) we squeezed through a gap stile following a sign for Birchover. To our left was a herd of alpacas.

We entered the pretty village of Birchover (84mins) with another Wesleyan Reform Church built in 1851 on our right and a Primitive Methodist Chapel built in 1867 on our left. The latter, which has been converted into a six-bedroomed house, is on the market for £375,000.

We soon reached The Red Lion (88mins) where a sign above the bar informed us “Merrie Lads Be Welcome.” Some of our group chose Doombar cask bitter and your diarist opted for a pint of Nine Ladies locally-brewed cask bitter at £3-10. All were enjoyed at tables in the sunshine outside.

Resuming, we headed downhill passing the village’s other pub, The Druid Inn, on our right (92mins). Immediately after the pub wall ended we headed right up a steep path which took us to some rocks with man-made steps carved into them. They are known locally as Hermits’ Caves and had clearly been inhabited in the past. It was hard to imagine the residents being hermits, however, with a pub on their doorstep.

After pausing here for lunch with spectacular views across the rural landscape, we retraced our footsteps down to the road and turned right to pass St Michael’s Church on our left. The tiny church was dwarfed by the size of the vicarage beyond it (105mins).

We entered Rocking Stone Farm by a cattle-grid and went through a gate downhill (113mins). This brought us to a road where we turned left (108mins). We headed right up a lane (111mins) and followed a wooden public footpath sign marked Limestone Way.

Turning left to follow the Limestone Way (116mins) we passed the rock formation known as Robin Hood’s Stride on our left (122mins). We went straight on and then over a stone step stile on our right (123mins) to turn left through a field.

A gap stile brought us out opposite Harthill Moor Farm (125mins), which we skirted to the left and then followed a yellow arrow over a wooden stile. We turned right to cross another wooden stile (137mins) and headed downhill towards Youlgreave with its distinctive church tower in the distance.

Due to a misunderstanding and a powerful thirst, your diarist headed up a steep hill straight past the church for pints of Theakstons cask bitter at £3-02 in The George (157mins). The rest of the group followed the banks of the Lathkill back to Alport, de-booted and drove to the pub.


B Walkers' diary

Wednesday 21st May B group report
Though published 3 times on the net only Laurie and Ken turned up
I suppose  John was still fishing Wally still working Terry on holiday and Geoff not driving.
It was a lovely fine sunny day Cheshire looking its green best. We took a traditional route from the Unicorn to Mill lane and Mottram bridge where we beheld a marvellous sight -  a repaired footpath. Yes the footpath which had fallen into the Bollin had been replaced by creating an island under the eroded bank with steps at the end. This meant we could actually legally walk in front of the snobby woman's mansion!
This led us to the golf course at Mottram Hall, on crossing the fairways we walked up the hill to Legh Hall and down to Spittle House crossed the river and made our way to the Admiral Rodney. Excellent Robbies @ 2.95- on the dot of 12pm
Leaving at 1pm we followed the direct route via the sewage works back to the unicorn at 2 55pm
In all quite a walk just under 10miles in about 4 hrs
I am off to Iceland and Norway so will be missing  next 3 Wednesdays

Next week’s A walk will start from the road outside a school in Peak Forest (approaching from Sparrowpit, turn left at the traffic lights and the school is 100 yards on your left) at 9.40am. It is anticipated that we will stop for a bracer at The Angler’s Rest, Millers Dale, around 12.30pm and finish at The Wanted Inn, Sparrowpit, just before 3pm.  

Disley

May 14th 2014

DISLEY, BLACK ROCK, HAGUE BAR, BROOKBOTTOM, STRINES

Distance: 8.5 miles

Difficulty: Easy with two slightly strenuous climbs

Weather: Sunny

Walkers: Alan Hart, George Dearsley, George Whaites,  Jock Rooney and Tip, Julian Ross, Steve Courtney, Colin Davison

Apologies: Lawrie Fairman (with the B Walkers), Tom Cunliffe (lunch with grandson), Pete Beal (walking in Menorca)

Leader: Hart  Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The car park at the White Horse, Disley

Starting Time: 9.26am. Finishing Time: 2pm

Undoubtedly the best weather of the year enabled the Wanderers to enjoy an excellent peregrination, enhanced by sumptuous views over Cheshire from Black Rock and the heights above Hague Bar.

Four of the seven A Walkers decided that shorts were the order of the day and despite Mr Hart’s unduly pessimistic warning about nettles, it proved a good decision.

We turned right out of the White Horse’s car park and headed to the Quaker Meeting House.

Here we turned right and then swung left onto a road, where we turned left.

The Cage in Lyme Park was visible in the distance away to our right.

We went left at a sign saying “Askam” and around the side of Bollinghurst reservoir, following the wall.

The track here was quite muddy.

At a Y-junction we took the right fork.

We followed a sign to Drake Carr Cottage. This brought us to Millennium Wood.

We went through a gate and onto a road where we turned right.

We passed on the left Bolder Hall Farm, which appears to be up for sale. But investigations on the internet drew a blank as the property may have been taken off the market, despite a for sale sign outside.

A few yards further on we went over a stile on the left and from here begins the ascent, gentle at first, later more taxing to Black Rock.

On a previous wander in April 2011 your diarist almost suffered a cardiac arrest on this stretch but regular rambling seems to have improved his conditioning and the top was reached at 10.15am with scarcely a pant.

Below is a short video of the vista from this vantage point. If you cannot click on the link simply cut and paste it into your browser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1617ADfqa-k&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

The top of Black Rock

Having caught our collective breath we turned left and headed along the horizon.

We went over a ladder stile and through a kissing gate. A gentle breeze made the walk even more comfortable.

We began our descent at 10.32am, eventually reaching a road and crossing over to pass Byrom House.

We went through a five bar gate and turned left.

At the bottom we turned right passing Pear Tree Cottage. Brines Farm was on our right.

We then passed a chapel on our left which is being converted into a house, it seems, but the progress is painfully slow.

At another Y-junction we went to the left and across a road.

On the trail to the top of Black Rock

We went under a railway arch (10.49am) and over a bridge leading to the canal.

Pie Time was declared at 10.52am and without Mr Cunliffe’s badgering the Wanderers enjoyed an unfeasibly long 17 minute refuelling stop.

While we were masticating three narrowboats sailed by in around 10 minutes.

Re-girding our loins we continued along the towpath.

We passed five parked up narrowboats and soon afterwards took a path on the right just after the Swing Bridge.

This led to a narrow, sometimes steep and slippery track which took us down into woods and after we had crossed a wooden bridge over a tiny steam the path climbs back up again, helped by some man made steps.

Back on the flat we came across a stretch of water where some Canada Geese and their offspring were enjoying a leisurely float.

The first of three narrowboats in 10 minutes

Canada Geese and their young

We emerged onto a road and turned right, passing a sign for the tissue paper factory we had just left behind.

We went immediately left down a track to the riverside.

This brings you out onto a road where another property  - Owl Barn on the right – appeared to be for sale. Again there was no trace on the internet.

We passed Hague Bar picnic site on the right, finding ourselves in Waterside Road.

This brings you out onto the main road from Marple to New Mills which we crossed into Hague Fold Road, from where one final steep climb takes you to the welcoming sight of the Fox at Brookbottom.

View from near the Fox

At crossroads we turned left and soon the pub hove into view.

As on our last appearance here it was closed when we arrived at 12 noon. As we waited Ken Sparrow and Lawrie Fairman, a two-man B Walk arrived.

We finally gained entry and Unicorn was £2.95.

We set off at 12.57pm, going down the track past Strines railway station and later Strines Hall.

The pub…a welcome sight

The B Walkers turn up

Strines was once renowned for its annual Bullshit competition. A farmer would measure out a plot of land in a field, fence it off and then divide it up on paper into 100 squares. 

Villagers paid money and chose a square. When all the squares had been taken, the farmer would turn his bull out into the fenced of plot of land and everyone would stand around and wait to see whose square the bull would crap in. Apparently it could take some time and villagers would make a day of it, having picnics and listening to a brass band. What fun.

Nowadays the only way to enjoy a Bullshit competition is to listen to a party political broadcast.

The Dovecote

Nearby is an ornate dovecote in the middle of a private fishing lake.

We stopped at 1.15pm for lunch near the dye works on a reclaimed piece of land that until recently was a derelict football pitch. Now it’s anicely  landscaped picnic area.

We set off again at 1.28pm going straight across the road and up an incline that eventually leads onto the canal.

Here we turned left and after leaving the canal we made our way past some allotments and onto Hollinwood Road on the outskirts of Disley.

We reached the cars at 2pm, debooted and entered the White Horse where Unicorn was £2.90.

B Walkers’ diary

The B team are getting smaller with time. Geoff still recovering from his op Tony under the knife John off fishing,Terry and Wally busy .So it ended up with Ken and Laurie walking to meet the A group at the Fox

Using the same starting point we fetched up at the canal at Woodend then left it for Strines to cross the Goyt.passing the newly filled pond we turned left following the Goyt valley way to Richmond farm turning right we climbed the hill at the side of Mellor golf club. At The Bants we took a right turn onto the bridle path to reach the Fox at exactly 12 to find a very thirsty Alan at the front of a short queue. The rest follows the history of George. Our total mileage about 6miles

Next week the A team are at Alport in the absence of any better offer we propose meeting at the Unicorn and walking to Prestbury for the Admiral Rodney

Next week’s A walk will visit the village of Alport, Derbyshire. It will start at 9.55am from the free public car parking on the road to Youlgreave, the first right past Haddon Hall. The half way point will be either the Red Lion of the Druid Inn in Birchover. Your diarist will be in Turkey until September.

Happy Wandering!

Hartington

HARTINGTON, BIGGIN DALE, RIVER DOVE, MILLDALE, THE GEORGE AT ALSTONEFIELD, GIPSY BANK, WOLFSCOTE DALE, BERESFORD DALE, MORSON WOOD AND THE CHARLES COTTON HOTEL IN HARTINGTON

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Mostly easy with one strenuous hill climb.

Weather: Blue skies and sunshine at start; two brief showers and cloudy finish.

Walkers: Steve Courtney, Tom Cunliffe, Alan Hart, Jock Rooney with Tips, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (sailing), Peter Beal  (Greek island hols), Chris Corps (w*^king), George Dearsley (w*^king).

Leader: Rooney. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Outside The Devonshire Arms, Hartington, Derbsyhire.

Starting time: 10.13am. Finishing time: 2.50pm.

Hartington is one of the farthest villages visited by the Wednesday Wanderers but it has charms which make the journey worthwhile. From it we were able to explore the banks of the River Dove where Izaak Walton spent many happy hours fishing.

Our day ended in The Charles Cotton Hotel, named after his great friend who helped Walton write his famous book The Compleat Angler.

Walton (1594-1683), born in Staffordshire the son of an innkeeper, published the tome which became the anglers’ bible in 1653. Its insights into the art of using rod and line spread around the world and from his celestial perch (no pun intended), the old boy must have been gratified to learn that he had been inducted into the US National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.

On another historical note, we found a pub where the price of a pint was even higher than that charged in The Lantern Pike, Little Hayfield: more of that later.

Leaving our starting point at the Devonshire Arms, we walked past The Village Stores on our left and turned right into Hall Lane. We followed a public footpath sign for Biggin Dale (12mins). At a footpath crossroads (17mins) we continued to head for Biggin Dale, which we ultimately entered (31mins).

Library picture of Biggin Dale

After passing the sign we swung right and continued along the well-trodden path until we reached the River Dove (47mins). After going left through a gate we stopped for Pietime at a bank overlooking the river and the valley beyond.

Rain had been forecast to start falling between 11am and noon. It duly arrived as Pietime was ending at 11.20am, but the mere sight of your diarist’s magic waterproof pants was enough to drive the rain away.

We continued along the left bank of the Dove until we reached a road bridge which we used to cross to the far side (77mins). In the river Steve spotted a brown trout – possibly a descendant of those which gave Walton such pleasure four centuries earlier.

By reaching the opposite bank we had entered Staffordshire and turned left along a road marked “Unsuitable for Caravans.” Jock pointed out that this was why camels were rarely seen in these parts.

The road led us into the village of Milldale (84mins), where a 17^th Century stone cottage was for sale. This refurbished thee-bed property in an idyllic spot has just been sold for £375,000. Opposite the cottage is a road marked To The Chapel. We entered the road and after 30 yards we turned left up some steep steps (85mins).

Library picture of Milldale

This was the start of the most strenuous part of the walk, as we went through a gate into a field, turned left and walked up a hill which seemed to get steeper with every stride. As it levelled out we headed right through a gap stile. We walked left through a field to a gate (92mins) and followed the beaten path to reach a road.

Here we turned left and passed Alstonefield Parish Church on our left (95mins). The road led us to the welcome sight of a spreading chestnut tree in a circle of grass, behind which was The George (98mins). Pints of Marstons’ Pedigree here cost an eye-watering £3-45, prompting Tom to wonder whether he was letting his customers off lightly back at the Lantern Pike in Little Hayfield. His musings were confirmed when we opted for a second pint, regardless of expense.

Suitably refreshed, we turned left out of the pub and reached a junction. In the garden opposite was a giant plastic dinosaur, which may have been symbolic. We followed the sign right towards Lode Mill and Ashbourne, passing Wesleyan House on our left before turning left at a public footpath sign (102mins).

We walked along a lane until we reached another public footpath sign (107mins) and turned right. To do so we had to squeeze through a gap stile which caused Tom some discomfort because of his well-muscled thighs. The path led us through gates to the right of a farm (115mins). Just beyond the farm we turned left at a public footpath sign (116mins) and entered a field.

At a convenient grassy bank we stopped for lunch (120mins), and again our snacks induced rainfall. On this occasion the magic waterproofs (which had been removed in the pub) took 15 minutes to work as we resumed our walk and descended steeply down Gipsy Bank (126mins).

We crossed a footbridge over the Dove (134mins) and turned left. This led us through a gate (138mins) we had passed earlier on our way from Biggin Dale. On this occasion we carried straight on following the public footpath sign for Hartington.

After walking through Wolfscote Dale we entered Beresford Dale (162mins), passing Beresford Hall on our left. This was the home of Charlie Cotton, the aforementioned pal of Izaak Walton. We crossed another footbridge taking us back to the left bank of the Dove (166mins), turning immediately sharp right and crossing another footbridge back to the right bank of the river. 

After passing Morson Wood on our right (175mins) we passed Ash Tree Holiday cottage on our left (187mins) and reached the road into Hartington.

We turned right and reached our cars to de-boot (190mins). After discovering The Devonshire Arms was unexpectedly closed, we gave our custom to The Charles Cotton.  

B Walkers' diary

Wednesday 7th May B group
Walkers Lawrie, Terry, Ken
Route about 8miles round Alderly Edge

We were supposed to walk in Macc Forest but John our leader cried off.
Hence by a bit of coincidence we opted for a walk we have done many
times in the past. This in fact was the last walk Tony did with the
whole group and today he was having a pre op for a new hip.
We left Ken's at 10 am and passing many footballers houses reached the
Wizard at 11.15 sadly before it opened. We then took the long way
round to the NT Garden at Hare Hill There we enjoyed a fine display of
rhododendrons an Azaleas sadly in light rain. Leaving at 12.30 we
marched manfully down the roads to reach the Wizard at 1.15 pm
Here we met Geoff (looking quite sprightly -prob due to his hopes for
Man City) and Wally - giving a good imitation of a cat that got the
cream as he described his trip in June to the US first class all the
way!
Beer was good in taste but horrible in price £3.70 for Wainwrights
makes me nostalgic for Toms Landlords
Leaving at 2.10 we took the woodland route to Squirrels Jump and back
to Ken's at 3pm
Next week in the absence of any other offers we will meet at the
Unicorn and walk to the Admiral Rodney- we do like the posh bits of
Cheshire!



Next week’s A walk will start from the car park of The White Horse in Disley, where we have been granted permission to ignore the clamping signs. After climbing Black Rock we shall head past Hague Bar to The Fox at Brook Bottom, which we hope to reach around 12.15pm. After quenching our thirsts, we expect to return to The White Horse for further libations around 2.30pm.

Happy wandering.

Bleaklow

BLEAKLOW

Distance: 11.5 miles

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

Weather: Overcast but dry

Walkers: Alan Hart, George Dearsley, George Whaites,  Peter Beal, Jock Rooney and Tip, Tom Cunliffe,

Apologies: Colin Davison (Euro motorbike tour), Lawrie Fairman (with the B Walkers), Julian Ross (unavailable)

Leader: Beal  Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The main car park opposite the Wheatsheaf in Old Glossop

Starting Time: 9.44am. Finishing Time: 2.48pm

This was probably the longest walk your diarist has been on with the Wednesday Wanderers.

Although there were no really strenuous climbs or descents the sheer distance proved something of a challenge. But the sextet completed the walk without incident or injury.

We left the familiar car park in Old Glossop and turned right and right again into Wesley Street, parallel with a picturesque stream.

At the end of the road we turned left, past the factory of Firth Rixon, which, as every schoolboy knows, is a world-leading provider of Seamless Rolled Rings, Closed Die Forgings, Open Die Forgings, Extruded Forgings and Specialty Metals. Where would civilisation be without Extruded Forgings, eh?

Firth Rixson has been established through the amalgamation of prestigious steel-based companies (i.e. Firth Brown and Woodhouse and Rixson) dating back to the early 1800’s and officially became Firth Rixson in 1996. There is an account of its history here.

http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/who-we-are/history/default.asp

and here

http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/bogies/firth-rixson/

A river was to our right and we strode on over a stone bridge then immediately left onto what we were told was an old Roman road.

The path became a slight incline and we veered off to the right at a sign which said to “Doctor’s Gate and the Snake Inn”. (It gained its name from a Doctor Talbot who used it in the 17th century).

Early view

Into the (relatively) unknown

We crossed a rickety wooden bridge which looked like something out of an Indiana Jones film, Mr Cunliffe bravely choosing not to do a risk assessment or ascertain its safe working load.

Indiana Tom

    

We went through a gate and saw a sign which appeared to have been erected by the owners of Mossy Lea Farm.

We went up an incline (10.37am) and at 10.58am Pie Time was declared. The Wanderers enjoyed a magnificent view especially behind us and lungfuls of fresh air until Mr Cunliffe expelled a good few litres of eggy air upwind of Mr Hart, much to his chagrin.

Pie Time…and tales of the Caribbean

You may be interested to know that the typical bottom burp is composed of about 59 percent nitrogen, 21 percent hydrogen, 9 percent carbon dioxide, 7 percent methane and 4 percent oxygen.

Only about one percent of a fart contains hydrogen sulfide gas and mercaptans, which contain sulfur, and the sulfur is what makes the trump stink.

The average fart travels at 10 feet per second.

You may not know but it was your diarist who put Britain’s only professional passer-of-wind Mickey Methane on the road to stardom after a feature article in the Manchester Evening News.

You can catch his act here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFLw8aH-M2w

To take our minds off the whiff Mr Rooney regaled us with tales of his holiday in the Caribbean.

Mr Hart meanwhile dispensed the port and I must say it has been very remiss of your diarist not to have acknowledged his fine, much appreciated and regular largesse in previous diaries.

It was hard to have to call time on Mr Rooney’s Whickeresque portrayal of the West Indies and resume our walk… but we reluctantly did so at 11.10am.

At 11.21 am we reached part of the Pennine Way and turned left.

The path now was a bed of large flagstones, presumably laid by helicopter.

Mr Beal’s Garmin told us we were at 1860 feet above sea level.

Here we diverted from the approved route to seek out the wreckage of a Flying Fortress .41 miles to our left.

We crossed a mixture of boggy peat and heather and came to the wreck site of the ill-fated B-29 which crashed on 3.11.48 killing all 13 crewmen aboard.

What a view

Plane wreckage

An old wreck…with the Flying Fortress in the background

Memorial

It was a very emotional scene and I thought I detected a tear in Mr Hart’s eye. But if I did, it wasn’t caused by the post wartime tragedy but by Tips nutting him again in the nether regions, just as we were about to set off at 12.08pm.

Mr Beal gave us the choice of a circuitous route or going “off piste” in a more or less straight line across country to the highest point on the horizon.

We opted for the “as the crow flies” approach and at 12.20pm stopped for lunch at a cluster of rocks called Wain Stones about half a mile from the aforementioned point.

Here Mr Rooney surprised us all by producing wine glasses and a bottle of red vino and opening his own private “pub”…the Bleaklow Bar.

The Bleaklow Bar

As we supped the cheeky Rioja….(or was it Merlot?) we insisted that Jock told us more of his holiday in the Caribbean.

We set off again at 12.38pm spotting a mountain hare nearby.

We were back on the Pennine Way here, as were a charabanc load of ramblers including a woman who moaned at Tips being off the lead.

“Can you call your dog off?” she bleated.

Mr Hart was not quick enough with what would have been the perfect riposte …”it’s a bitch, you should know”.

We went over a stream and made a quite short but stiff climb up onto a path.

Because of the nature of the terrain and the lack of identifiable landmarks it was difficult to describe our route accurately. Mr Beal was navigating by Garmin.

We went over a fence at 1.38pm and the next memorable location that hove into view at 2.04pm was the shooting box where we famously sheltered on one very rainy walk a good few weeks ago.

We headed for Cock Hill, the quickest way down and eventually came out on the edge of Old Glossop into Charles Lane by a cottage called Hill View on the left.

We were back at the cars at 2.48pm and drove the few yards to the Queens, where Old Speckled Hen and Wainwright were both £2.95 and Unicorn was £2.90.

More pictures of the walk, kindly provided by Mr Cunliffe follow at the end of the blog.

B Walkers' Diary

Walkers..John Laverick, Mike Ridgway,Ken Sparrow, Terry Jowett, Laurie Fairman.

Non Walking Drinkers.. Geoff Spurrell, Tony Job

Apologies.. Mike Walton who did turn up in his sandals and claimed that he could not walk because he was w*#king.

Walk Leader and Diarist ..John Laverick

This was a record making B Team walk of 8 miles yes your eyes do not deceive you 8 miles and all the walkers returned safely.

The walk started as always from the cricket nets at Poynton Sports Club at 10am with the regular B Teamers welcoming Laurie Fairman who due to a poorly knee has dropped a division ,and of course did not include any bus journeys until the Walk Leader gets his bus pass.

It started as a gentle wander towards the Bulls Head turning left and following the public footpath/track across the fields past Birch Hall Farm. Pie time was was gobbled at 11:00 hours and taken with a couple of friendly exotic turkeys that must have remained undetected last Xmas.

Onward the team wandered through a housing estate past the Happy Valley School, turning right down towards the Happy Valley turning left at the bottom of the valley towards Bramhall Hall. The pace set by the leader must have too fast because it was too early for the first comfort break. At this point a well known manouvre called a Spurrell loop was thrown onto the equation and the walk was extended to see the duck eating snapper turtles of Bramhall Hall.

None were seen but it was noticed that all the ducks were drakes no hens to be seen. This according to my learned friend Laurie was due to stuff been washed into the environment and hence the water which caused a genetic problem making hens lay duck eggs that hatched as drakes.

From the male domination of the duck pond the walk continued to the first stop at the Ladybrook Hotel for a welcomed pint or two. The beer, Tim Taylors and Doombar, was on excellent form and came close to Tom's beer prices but not quite at £3:30 a pint.

After the refreshments it dawned on the team it was 3.5 miles back so retraced our steps back to the Happy Valley and continued along the brook, following the path, until the Woodford Road, turned right over the bridge, turned left up Mill Hill Hollow. Followed path to London Road.

Over London road turn right walking along the path along the Poynton Pool back to the Sports Club where Laurie and Ken picked up their cars. The remainder of the team headed to Weatherspoons where we met with our non walking drinkers, where our good friend Mr Job insisted on buying us beer as he had just enjoyed a birthday and may he enjoy many more.

Next B walk to be advised but might be Macc Forest......watch this space.

Next week’s A Walk will start from the square in Hartington at 9.55am.

Sadly your diarist is w*rk^ng. Mr Beal also misses the next five Wednesday, two walking in Menorca and the next three in the Greek Islands. I wish I had his pension.

Happy Wandering!

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