Bollington

BOLLINGTON, WHITE NANCY, KERRIDGE HILL, BULL HILL, WALKER BARN, NEW FARM,RAINOW FOLLY,ROBIN HOOD, DOG AND PARTRIDGE

Distance: 9 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Weather: Dry, warm, thin cloud with sunny spells.
Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman, , Colin Davison, Alan Hart,  George Whaites.
B walkers: John Laverick, Ken Sparrow and Geoff Spurrell.
Apologies: Peter Beal(boating), George Dearsley (Turkish hols), Tony Job (recovering from hip operation), Julian Ross (domestic duties).
Leader: Fairman with “ input” from Colin. Diarist: Fairman
Starting point: car park opposite the Spinners Bollington, Derbyshire.
Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.15pm.

Wed 25th June
Weather hazy sun very warm

Prompt start with only 4 walkers, Laurie, George, Colin and Tom
Apologies from Alan Hart (starting later with guests)  hopes to catch us at some stage     We left promptly at 9.35am pausing at the pie shop for orgasmic fodder George and Colin eating theirs immediately. Laurie made of sterner stuff kept his until 11 am (primarily to avoid indigestion when climbing) which we then did to the top of hill of White Nancy, as usual there were graffiti of unknown nature.( “50” on one side and “Thanks John” on another side: that is if a circular building can have sides!)

Laurie, worried about his knee on the stone,s went straight up on the grass to be the first arrival. Photos  were taken.
     
We followed the ridge to the road turned right at Kerridge to avoid losing height. The hidden steps on the left at the crown of the road took us up through a lovely meadow to the by road to Bull Hill Lane. More climbing up the road to Buxton New Road. Here we joined the Gritstone Trail over to Windyway  House.

On the way we paused at the well known picnic tables at 11am for a really welcome break (even Tom enjoyed a longer than usual break). As we left Colin dawdled and joined a lady and her daughter exercising her rescue dog. Tom unkindly remarked "that's her day spoilt".

Down we went to Walker Barn turned left to Gulshaw Hollow and contoured the hill to New Buildings Farm. Here we tried a small diversion to avoid the climb up to Thornsett Farm going down the Gritstone Trail –( better views on the way down) to the folly on Tower Hill road.

Nothing is known of the history of the folly but the adjacent house is grade II listed and recently sold for near £0.5 m

Then  up the hill to the Robin Hood the only pub left in the village out of 6 in happier days. Sitting outside having lunch at 12.15 pm we came across Harty with his visitors Howard and Lisa - for a horrible moment thought the pub might be closed.

Not so - excellent Welsh bitter @ £3.05 a pint also being enjoyed by the B team of Ken, John and Geoff . Left the pub and went our separate ways some taking the Virgin’s Path we opted for the high road just to give Tom another climb and got to the Dog and Partridge at 2.15pm  pleased to see a fit looking gent newly back in the driving mode -as  Ivor would say "Joby for a £"

Next week we will return to the Cock at Whaley Bridge leaving at 9.35am for the Swan at Kettleshulme for liveners around 12.30 pm returning to same at around 2.30pm

Castleton

CASTLETON, LIMESTONE WAY, MAM TOR, HOLLINS CROSS, BARBER BOOTH, BACK TOR, CHESHIRE CHEESE AT HOPE, HOPE PINFOLD, PEAKSHOLE WATER, CHESHIRE CHEESE AT CASTLETON

Distance: 8-9 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry and warm with early cloud giving way to sunshine.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Jock Rooney with Tips, and Julian Ross.

B walkers: Peter Morrall and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Tom Cunliffe (sole charge of pub), George Dearsley (prolonged Turkish hols), George Whaites (at Cheshire Show).

Leader: Beal. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Market Place, Castleton, Derbyshire.

Starting time: 9.57am. Finishing time: 2.32pm.

In perfect walking conditions, The Magnificent Seven enjoyed some splendid views in one of the prettiest parts of the Peak District. Our ranks were swelled by the return of Lawrie from a lecture cruise around the Norwegian fjords and by an all-too-rare appearance from Mickey.

The latter was celebrating his birthday which, he informed us, was the same day as The Battle of Waterloo. By my reckoning this would mean that Mickey will be 200 years old next year, although he only admits to 64. In any event it was good of him to turn out to buy five of us a birthday drink and we wish him many happy returns.*

On the subject of birthdays we should also raise a glass to one of our non-walking drinkers, Frank Dudley, who has just turned 98 !

As we walked along the Limestone Way, the meadows were illuminated by vivid yellow buttercups, lilac speedwell and white daisies. Throw in some spectacular views from the top of Mam Tor and a visit to two cracking pubs, and a good time was had by all.

We also discovered why there are two pubs in Derbyshire called The Cheshire Cheese within three miles of each other. If this kind of local history interests you, read on.

From Market Place we headed uphill and turned right at Cavedale Cottage (2mins) and entered the Limestone Way (3mins). This was the start of a lengthy climb to the summit of Mam Tor. At the end of a drystone wall on our right (25mins) we turned right and climbed a steep bank. After pausing for breath and allowing the dawdlers to catch up (28mins), we continued upwards to a drystone wall where we turned right, went through an open gate and turned left. We soon came to a stone step stile on our left, which we crossed and headed diagonally right through a field (30mins).

Our route took us over three more stone step stiles, a wooden stile and finally a ladder stile (49mins) which we crossed and turned right along a gravel track. At this point it was noticed that Lawrie, our sprightly 79-year-old veteran, was wearing a brand new pair of boots. There was some suggestion that he would never wear them out. I would not bet on it.

After crossing a road (61mins) we stopped for pies and port before a set of stone steps led us to the top of Mam Tor at 1,696 feet (82mins). The name means “Mother Hill” because frequent landslips on its eastern face over the centuries have led to a series of smaller hills beneath it.

The landslips are caused by unstable layers of shale which give the hill its alternative name of “Shivering Mountain.” In 1979 the battle to maintain the A625 road between Sheffield and Chapel-en-le-Frith ended in the surrender of man to nature. At the base of Mam Tor are four show caverns – Blue John, Speedwell, Peak and Treak Cliff – where lead, Blue John, fluorspar and other minerals were once mined.

From the summit we continued along the gently sloping ridge down to Hollins Cross (97mins), where there is a memorial to Tom Hyett, a member of Long Eaton Ramblers’ Association. We are indebted to Peter B for the information that this was once known as the “corpse road” because bodies would be carried from the then-churchless village of Gridsbrook Booth, Edale, to Castleton for a Christian burial.

Beyond it we found two kindly old gentlemen pausing for rest. They turned out to be our B walk colleagues, Geoff and Peter M. After Julian had loaned a cap to protect the shiny head of the latter, we continued our journey, going through a gate on the right to walk along the right shoulder of Barber Booth and Back Tor.

Our gradual descent took us over a series of wooden stiles, the last of which had a large cairn beyond it (131mins). Here we turned right to go more steeply downhill and through a gate marked with a yellow arrow (142mins).

After crossing another wooden stile we turned left downhill (144mins) until we reached a road (149mins) where we turned right uphill. This took us under a railway bridge (153mins) to reach The Cheshire Cheese Inn at Hope on our right (154mins) for pints of Harvest Pale and Farmers Blonde at £3-30.

The friendly landlady explained that her pub was once one of three inns within six miles called The Cheshire Cheese. This was because in medieval times many traders from Cheshire brought salt and cheese along the Hope Valley to sell in Sheffield. To make them feel welcome, enterprising innkeepers in Castleton, Hope and Bamford hung signs depicting a Cheshire cheese outside their taverns. It also indicated guests could pay for their board and lodging with cheese.

The 16^th Century Cheshire Cheese at Hope and the one we would be visiting later in Castleton still survive. The Cheshire Cheese at Bamford has long since disappeared.

On leaving the pub we turned right, passing Hope Primary School on our right and reaching the main road where we turned right (162mins). After a few yards we crossed the main road in front of The Woodroffe Arms and walked up the road with the pub on our right. Just beyond the pub was Hope Pinfold, a pound which had once been used for keeping stray stock.

We turned right at a green public footpath sign for Castleton (170mins) and went over a wooden stile (174mins). On our right was a stream called Peakshole Water, which connects with the River Noe. We crossed a commercial railway line leading to and from the nearby quarry (177mins) and stopped on a grassy bank for lunch.

Continuing, we went over a stone step stile (180mins), then a wooden stile and through a gate (187mins) to reach a stony track. This brought us to a road (192mins) where we turned left to reach The Cheshire Cheese at Castleton (194mins). Here pints of Bosley Cloud were £3-40. Best Smooth Castleton was on offer at £2-80 but as most of us regard the use of the words “best smooth” in this context as an oxymoron, we ignored it.

Next week’s walk will start from the free car park opposite The Spinners Arms at Bollington, Macclesfield, with a bracer in The Robin Hood at Rainow around 12.15pm. It is expected we will reach our final watering hole, The Dog and Partridge at Bollington, at about 2.15pm.

*When you are buying birthday drinks, to avoid embarrassment please ensure you include the diarist in your round.

Mickey Barrett writes....

  I feel I must respond to your *

My birthday celebration drink experience with my friends was not a happy one! 

The three speed merchants which included our non illustrative diarist, Peter B 
and Colin appeared to be engaged in a race for the pub over the course of the 
last mile or so and consequently were guzzling their own hastily bought pints 
when the rest of us arrived. Indeed our diarist bragged at being on his third.

I purchased four beers for the remainder of us and watched Jock’s beer slowly 
lose its head and go flat as we all waited in eager anticipation of his 
arrival. On arrival some 20 minutes later he bought himself a lager and went and 
sat outside with Tip, by which time the three speedys had secured themselves 
more beer shunning my offer to pay!

Embarrassed I am not because I did manage to get Jock to drink the Doom Bar pint 
having revived it once or twice. By the time we reach Cheshire Cheese the second 
some were drinking softy stuff and I refuse to celebrate my 200th birthday 
without alcohol!

I have made a mental note that Peter B, Peter P, Geoff, diarist and Colin have 
missed out therefore I will ensure they each have two pints on my next birthday 
as my first pension payment will all be spent entirely on booze.

See you all July 9th if the Captain of the Queen Elizabeth has got more idea 
than the Captain of the Costa Concordia!

Happy Wandering!

Whitehough

WHITEHOUGH, ECCLES PIKE, BUXWORTH, SILK HALL FARM, BINGS, WHALEY BRIDGE, TODDBROOK RESERVOIR, TAXAL, GOYT VALLEY, THE SHADY OAK AT FERNILEE, TUNSTEAD MILTON, CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH GOLF COURSE, BRADSHAW HALL, LYDGATE FARM , ECCLES PIKE AND THE OLD HALL AT WHITEHOUGH

Distance: 10 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, warm, mostly cloudy with sunny spells.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Steve Courtney, Colin Davison, Alan Hart, John Jones, Jock Rooney with Tips, George Whaites.

B walkers: John Laverick, Peter Morrall and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Tom Cunliffe (Welsh hols), George Dearsley (Turkish hols), Lawrie Fairman (cruise lecturing), Tony Job (recovering from hip operation), Julian Ross (domestic duties).

Leader: Davison. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: car park of The Old Hall at Whitehough, Chinley, Derbyshire.

Starting time: 9.37am. Finishing time: 2.45pm.

Most of us would know the elite soldiers of the SAS have a motto: Who Dares Wins. They also have a mantra known to them as the six Ps – proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.

On this walk our leader disproved that theory by plotting a route to the wrong destination and then flying by the seat of his pants to reach both our true targets on schedule. This is the second time Colin has mistaken discussion for decision-making. May I remind everyone that because decisions about where we are going are sometimes concluded while people are at the bar or the gents they should consult this diary to confirm their views, which are sometimes befuddled by age or drink.

It is hard to insist you are in the right when written evidence shows otherwise, but Colin tried, bless him.

From the car park of The Old Hall we turned left uphill past The Paper Mill on our left. This used to be The Oddfellows Arms until the landlord of the Old Hall, Daniel Capper, bought and renovated it.  The Old Hall is now substantially a restaurant which serves good cask beer day and night. The Paper Mill is a pub open at night and weekends selling good cask beer and bar snacks. Both are now thriving and show what can be done if you get the formula right.

We crossed a road bridge over the A6 and turned right into Eccles Terrace (5mins). We then followed a wooden public footpath sign until we reached a lane and turned right (9mins). We went to the left of an elaborate gateway to Eccles House. At Buxton Farm we turned left (16mins) to follow a wooden public footpath sign and observed a hunting kestrel.

Our group went over a stone step stile (22mins), crossed a lane (23mins), and crossed a drystone wall by a stone step stile marked with yellow posts (31mins) to reach a quarry (33mins). There followed 12 minutes of inactivity while maps were studied by Colin and Peter and options considered. Eventually (43mins) we went through a wooden gate and walked downhill to a road (44mins), where we turned left into Buxworth village.

We turned left off Western Lane to Silk Hill (47mins) and passed Silk Hill Farm at the top of the hill on our right (52mins). We went through the hamlet of Bings and headed right downhill just past a red phone box at a green public footpath sign (58mins). This took us to Goyt Mills where we turned right over a former Cromford and District Railway bridge (65mins).

After passing the Goyt Valley Medical and Dental Practice, we turned left to reach the road opposite the Jodrell Arms, one of many closed pubs in Whaley Bridge. We headed for the right of the pub, turning left at a green public footpath sign by The Old Coach House to reach the Whaley Bridge railway platform and use a footbridge to cross the Manchester-Buxton line (69mins).

On the far side we left the platform and turned right uphill past The Sacred Heart RC Church on our right. We turned left at a green public footpath sign and paused for pies and port (78mins) overlooking Toddbrook Reservoir.

Resuming, we walked along a gravel path with the reservoir on our right. Just before we reached a skateboard park on our left, we turned right through a gate (82mins). The path took us through some converted farm buildings to reach a modern housing estate (85mins). We exited Reddish Lane, crossed the road and followed a green public footpath sign (90mins).

We crossed a wooden stile and passed Lodgewood Cottages on the left. Colin informed us this was once the site of an approved school. We followed a yellow arrow and the path took us past a former pub, The Chimes at Taxal, which has been de-licensed and converted into a house. Soon after we passed St James Church (98mins) on our left.

Carrying straight ahead we reached a footbridge over the Goyt and crossed it (118mins). Our route then took us uphill and slightly left to reach and cross a wooden stile (126mins). Another uphill climb through a field brought us to a farmyard (129mins). Beyond it, on the far side of the main road, was The Shady Oak at Fernilee (131mins).

We arrived moments after our B team companions, who had reached Whaley Bridge by bus. We persuaded them to join us outside, where we drank pints of Marstons’ cask bitter at £3, admiring the view across Fernilee Reservoir and inhaling fumes from the passing traffic.

Bidding farewell to the B-teamers before continuing our journey, we turned right out of the pub and immediately right uphill. We crossed Elnor Lane (136mins) and continued up a track. This brought us to another lane where we headed right and then swung left (138mins). After a steady climb we reached a stone step stile which we crossed and stopped for lunch (153mins) with a view across the valley and Coombs Reservoir to our right.

Suitably refreshed we headed downhill in the direction of the reservoir. We went over a ladder stile (160mins) to reach a farmhouse. We went left through a gate and then right over a ladder stile (162mins) where we had to run the gauntlet of a herd of Houdini goats.  They are so named because of their defiant ability to escape from the custody of their owners.

The name is based on the exploits of the world-famous escapolgist Harry Houdini (1874-1926) who was born Erik Weisz in Budapest and emigrated to the USA. He graduated from card tricks to escapology, appearing for six months at The Alhambra Theatre in London during a sensational tour of Europe.

He had taken his name from his boyhood hero, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, who claimed he had mastered the art of levitation. Ironically, Houdini later unmasked his near namesake as a liar and a fraud.

We managed to escape the attentions of the Houdini goats via a gate leading to a field. We went through a tunnel below the Manchester-Buxton railway line (168mins) and headed for the right corner of a field, where we were obliged to ford a stream (173mins). Some of us fared better than others.

We headed left beyond the stream and crossed a footbridge (175mins) to fight our way through thick undergrowth and reach the main road from Whaley Bridge to Chapel-en-le-Frith. It is rumoured that members of the legendary Fukawe tribe still live in the chest-high foliage.

We emerged at Haycrust Farm (177mins) in Tunstead Milton. We crossed the road, turned right and after 40 yards went left at a green public footpath sign (181mins). After a series of wooden stiles and finally a stone step stile, we emerged by a pretty cottage. We crossed the drive (188mins) and went over a wooden stiletto enter Chapel-en-le-Frith Golf Club (192mins). After walking alongside a fairway, we exited the course by a wooden gate on our left (195mins). A wooden gate then brought us into the grounds of Bradshaw Hall which appeared on our right (200mins).

Steve was especially impressed with its arched gateway. Who, one wonders, could fail to marvel at its plain spandrels, its deeply-chamfered semi-circular arch and its pair of fluted, shouldered pilasters, with the inscription “1620 Francis Bradshawe” ?

We exited the Bradshaw estate through a gate by Lydgate Farm (211mins) and then proceeded to a gate on our right at the entrance to Eccles Pike (212mins). Instead of following the path we went through a gate on our right and continued to the far corner of the field. Here, instead of crossing a stone step stile, we headed left downhill (218mins).

We went over a stone step stile and left for 20 yards before turning right at a wooden public footpath sign (223mins). We emerged from trees to a road where we turned right before swinging left in the direction of Whitehough. We reached The Old Hall (230mins), de-booted and enjoyed a variety of excellent cask bitters at £2-80 a pint.

Next week’s walk will start outside The George pub in Castleton, Derbyshire, at 9.50am, calling at The Cheshire Cheese in Hope around 12.15pm and finishing at The Cheshire Cheese in Castleton at about 2.20pm. Happy wandering.

The following pictures courtesy of John Jones

Furness Vale

FURNESS VALE, RINGSTONES CARAVAN PARK, MURDER STONE, DIPPING STONES, HIGH PEAK SCHOOL (FORMERLY MOORSIDE HOTEL), DISSOP HEAD FARM, LYME PARK, LANTERN WOOD, LYME CAGE, ST MARY’S CHURCHYARD, DANDY COCK AT DISLEY, PEAK FOREST CANAL, THE TORRS RIVERSIDE PARK, FURNESS VALE MARINA AND THE SOLDIER DICK AT FURNESS VALE

Distance: 8 Miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather:  Cloudy with some light drizzle.

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Alan Hart, John Jones, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

Leader: Davison. Diarist: Hart.

Apologies: Peter Beal (Greek hols), Steve Courtney (French hols), George Dearsley (Turkish hols), Lawrie Fairman (cruise lecturing), Jock Rooney (caring for convalescing wife).

Starting point: Car park of The Soldier Dick, Furness Vale.

Starting time: 9.39am. Finishing time: 2.06pm.

Once again the weather gods smiled kindly down on the Wednesday Wanderers as we enjoyed a walk in the hills, visited a murder scene and called in two pubs with a phallic connection.

The forecast had predicted a series of showers, some heavy, but we experienced nothing worse than the lightest of drizzle. When the first serious rains came we were already safely sheltered in The Dandy Cock, supping a livener. By the time the heavens opened with a vengeance we were back at The Soldier Dick and our walk was over.

Congratulations to our oft-maligned leader for plotting this rain avoidance with such adept anticipation.

From the car park of The Soldier Dick pub we turned right along the A6 until we reached The Imperial Palace and turned right into Yeardsley Lane. (For those readers who were unaware that there was anything remotely palatial in Furness Vale, I should point out that the building of that name is a Chinese restaurant)

At allotments on our left we passed two stylish scarecrows and at the top of the lane we turned to the right of Ringstones Caravan Park (8mins). We went through a gate by the side of a shippon (14mins) and entered a field. Keeping a drystone wall on our right we walked uphill until we reached a road at Longside on the routebetween Disley and Whaley Bridge.

Here your diarist suggested a diversion by turning right for 400 yards toward Disley until we reached a monument known as The Murder Stone. It is a memorial to William Wood, of Eyam, Derbyshire, whose lifeless body was found at the spot on July 16, 1823.

Mr Wood, aged 30, a cotton manufacturer with a wife and three children, was battered to death as he was returning from Manchester’s Tuesday market carrying an estimated £100 from sales. Three men were seen by several witnesses running from the scene.

Mr Wood’s body was found and taken back on a cart to The Cock Inn, Whaley Bridge, where an inquest was held.

Meanwhile three men answering the descriptions of the suspects arrived in Macclesfield wearing bloodstained clothing which they replaced with new outfits. One of them, Charles Taylor, 17, from Salford, was arrested at The Greyhound pub. Taylor had two convictions for theft and had been released from prison the day before the murder.

The two other suspects fled, while Taylor hanged himself with his own stockings in his prison cell. One of the men at large, Joseph Dale, 18, was arrested in Liverpool where he was trying to enlist with a ship. He gave the name of the third man as John Pratt.

Dale pleaded not guilty but was convicted of murder. He was hanged in April, 1824. According to the historical records, it appears John Pratt was never apprehended. The memorial to William Wood was unveiled 57 years after his death.

We retraced our footsteps in the direction of Whaley Bridge to a point just beyond where we had turned right along the main road. Here we turned right at a footpath sign for Bowstonegate and Lyme Park (42mins). This led us through a field where we again took another minor diversion. This time, instead of going over a wooden stile on our right, we ventured downhill to rocks called The Dipping Stones.

These were where, according to legend, people from plague areas placed money in holes filled with vinegar as anticeptic. Other villagers, from unaffected areas, would take the money and leave food in its place.

We returned uphill to the stile and crossed it (51mins). Looking back Coombs Reservoir was clearly visible in the distance. As we walked across the moors we could see lapwings circling. They nest on the moorland at this time of year, as do the curlew we heard shortly afterwards. We are indebted to an occasional wanderer, twitcher John Jones, for identifying our feathered friends in the absence of resident ornithologist Lawrie Fairman, a.k.a. The Birdman of Knutsford.

We passed the former Moorside Hotel (71mins), which once held the retirement party in the 80s for Pat Phoenix when she ended her Coronation Street role after 20 years of playing soap sex symbol Elsie Tanner. It is now called High Peak School and isabout to open as a rehab centre for troubled youngsters. What a difference three decades makes !

After crossing Higher Lane we headed uphill towards Dissop Head Farm. Opposite the farm is Hill View House, a newly-built mansion commanding magnificent views, which has remained unoccupied for 12 months with its windows boarded up (76mins).

We turned right at a wooden public footpath sign (77mins) crossing first a wooden stile (80mins), then a stone step stile (84mins) and finally a ladder stile (85mins) to enter Lantern Wood. Here we stopped  for Pietime (86mins).

Continuing our perambulations, we exited the wood by a ladder stile (91mins) and turned left downhill, heading for and reaching Lyme Cage (108mins). On reaching this former hunting lodge and gamekeepers’ look-out post, we turned right.

As we descended first Bollinhurst Reservoir and then at a lower level Horsecoppice Reservoir came into view to our right. Also on our right a few yards from the path was a 50-strong herd of red deer who stared at us as if they had never seen a herd of humans before.

We continued our downhill journey, stepping over a stream to reach the east gate and exit Lyme Park (122mins) to enter Red Lane. Towards the end of the lane we chose the right fork and then went left downhill through St Mary’s Churchyard (132mins) where, in the view of Julian, the slippery cobbles were a Health and Safety hazard.

Emerging by the side of the Ram’s Head (134mins), we turned right along the A6 and crossed it to reach our first watering hole, The Dandy Cock (136mins), where the Robbies’ bitter was £2-80 and their mild £2-75. The pub has undergone a refurbishment, now looking lighter and brighter than before with its walls decorated with interesting photos of how the Disley area looked a century ago.

A prolonged shower which had started soon after our arrival ended just before we left. Not wishing to tempt providence any further we opted for the flatter route rather than that recommended by our leader, walking round the back of the pub, heading downhill, turning left into Sherbrooke Road (139mins) and reaching The Peak Forest Canal (143mins).

We turned right along the footpath with the canal on our left until we reached Bridge 26 where we crossed to the far bank (146mins) and stopped for lunch. This attracted a paddling of odd-looking ducks. John, a new recruit to UKIP, explained that these were a mongrel breed created by American ruddy duck immigrants forcing themselves upon our maiden mallards. It was a reminder of the wartime slogan describing GIs as “overpaid, over-sexed and over here.”

Resuming with the canal now on our right, we passed a mallard with her two home-grown chicks by the waterside and the Swizzels Matlow factory at New Mills on our left (166mins). The scent of parma violets and love hearts being manufactured always brings a nostalgic tear to your diarist’s eye, dear readers.

The firm started in the early 20s with a market stall run in Hackney by Maurice and Alfred Matlow. They opened a small factory called Matlow Brothers, and in 1933 they merged with a rival sweet manufacturer called David Dee (Records do not show at what stage Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch joined the firm, but we digress).

Because of the Blitz, the company re-located to New Mills and in 1975 changed its name to Swizzels Matlow Ltd. It employs 500 people, exports to 20 different countries and has an annual turnover in excess of £50million.

Our towpath route took us past The Torrs Riverside Park on our left with a caravan park on our right (171mins) and past Carrs Swing Bridge (181mins). We then reached the Furness Vale Marina, where we surprised to see Hot Metal, the narrow-boat owned by absent wanderer Peter Beal, submerged in the canal.*

At Bridge 31 we left the canal and turned right (188mins). This took us past The Crossings pub by the side of the Manchester-Buxton line and back to the A6. We turned right, crossed the road and reached The Soldier Dick car park to de-boot (192mins). Inside we enjoyed excellent pints of Wainwrights’ bitter for £2-80.

The following pictures courtesy of Tom Cunliffe.

The following pictures are courtesy of John Jones

Next week’s walk will start from The Old Hall at Whitehough, Chinley, at 9.35pm. We intend to climb Eccles Pike on the way to The Shady Oak at Fernilee, which we hope to reach shortly after 12 noon, returning to The Old Hall by 2.20pm.

Happy wandering.

*Only kidding, Peter !