Bollington

BOLLINGTON, WHITE NANCY, KERRIDGE, BULL HILL LANE, WALKER BARN, GUNSHAW HOLLOW, BERRISTAL ROAD,  THORNSETT FARM, ROBIN HOOD AT RAINOW, OAKENBANK, DOG AND PARTRIDGE AT RAINOW.

Distance: 8 miles​​Ascent/descent: 1650 ft

Difficulty: Moderate

Weather: Cold and windy with occasional snow and hail showers

Walkers: Peter Beal. Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Laurie Fairman, George Whaites

Apologies: Micky Barrett (dodgy foot), Alan Hart (Benidorm), Jock Rooney (dodgy back), Julian Ross (w^*king)

Leaders: Davison and Fairman

Starting point: Free car park opposite Spinners' Arms, Bollington

Starting time: 9.40 am​Finishing time: 2.15pm

Lashing rain and fierce winds earlier in the morning failed to deter the five Wanderers who arrived at Bollington and escaped with nothing worse than occasional snow and hail showers, although one of which it has to be said was particularly vicious.

The wet underfoot conditions made going tricky at times and three of our number went base over apex at various points in the walk.

Our original plan to ascend Charles Head and follow the exposed concessionary ridge path over Broad Moss was abandoned in view of the wind and the weather forecast.

Instead we decided to follow a more sheltered route which however started with an ascent to White Nancy and Kerridge.

We commenced with our customary visit to Smith's Orgasmic Pie Shop (all pies £1-35) and continued up the road to turn right into Church Street past the Tullis Russell factory. We then took a left turn up the steep Lord Street. At the top we continued straight on up a flight of stone steps, through a gate and followed a stone-flagged path with occasional flights of steps, climbing steadily.

We reached a road and immediately took a track to the left past Redway House, which Laurie informed us used to be the Redway Inn. Research shows it closed its doors finally in 2003.

We followed the concrete track before taking a steep path to the right, following a rocky staircase to emerge at White Nancy (28min).

Some mystery surrounds this 18-foot high sandstone monument, built in 1817 by John Gaskell Jr of North End Farm, whose family lived at nearby Ingersley Hall.

Local folklore has it, perhaps because of the date, that work on it started to commemorate Wellington's victory at Waterloo. But in fact the structure, now Grade 11 listed, once boasted a doorway and interior with benches and a stone table. So Mr Gaskell could have had it erected merely as a folly or summerhouse.

It's name is perceived locally to come from the carthorse which led the team used to transport building materials up the hill. But a more mundane explanation is that it was named after one of his daughters.

Whichever is true, he did not call it White Nancy - in fact until 1925 the structure remained unpainted in any colour.

Our visit found it enhanced with a giant red poppy to mark last year's Centenary Remembrance and the fourth verse of RL Binyon's poem For the Fallen (the verse that starts "They shall grow not old"...etc.)

We sheltered in the lee of the monument for some minutes in the vain hope that the snowclouds looming over Macclesfield would somehow blow away but eventually girded our loins and headed amid snow flurries south along Kerridge, a 1,000-foot high imposing ridge. 

Following the route of the Gritstone Trail, the 35-mile-long route linkng Disley with Kidsgrove, we continued with a wall on our right, then our left, then right again, before reaching a Gritstone Trail sign pointing left down towards Rainow (48 min).

We followed this parth briefly before striking right on a muddy path along the flank of Kerridge, before descending to reach the B5470 Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield road just south of Rainow (73 min).

We turned briefly right towards Macclesfield before taking a stile (one of what seemed like a record number on this walk) on the left. This brought us quickly to the tarmac of Bull Hill Lane, where at a handily-placed wall outside the converted farmhouse of Carlofold pie-time was declared (78 min). There was sadly no port as Mr Hart was otherwise detained in the sunny climes of Benidorm. How he would have wished to be here instead.

A mere 9 minutes later the sergeant-major-like tones of Tom Cunliffe urged us onwards and we continued up the lane to its junction with the A537 Buxton to Macclesfield Road, where we turned left then immediately right over a stile in to a field. Somewhere round here loud and merciless laughter from Tom announced that Colin had become the first faller of the day. He was followed not too long after by Laurie.

We were on the Gritstone Trail again here, on a path that would have brought us shortly to Tegg's Nose Country Park. But at the top of the first field we turned left (92 min), along a wall (more stiles), emerging at two cottages called Brink Farm, where the first of our party were confronted by three noisy, bad tempered dogs - only one of them on a lead - before they were called off by their surly owner.

We continued along a track to soon reach the Buxton to Macclesfield road again (101 min). Here we turned right along the pavement and reached Walker Barn, one of whose buildings used to be the Setter Dog pub.

Research failed to reveal when this shut but it was certainly open as recently as nine years ago.

Here we took a stile on the left and dropped down through fields in to Gunshaw Hollow (110 min). At the bottom we took a path to the left, running above the stream and with the main road above us on the left. Here your diarist took an unseen tumble to which he owned up afterwards.

The path took us through Horder Farm, briefly along a track, then down a path to the left where three fields further on we reached Berristal Road, a former farm track now metalled and serving the works at Lamaload Reservoir a mile to the east (124 min).

We crossed this and dropped in to the valley of the River Dean, which emerges from the reservoir and flows towards Bollington. We followed a path uphill to the left and skirted buildings at Thornsett Farm to join a track.

Ahead of us we could see the roof of the Methodist Chapel that marked our goal of the Robin Hood pub opposite, on the Whaley to Macclesfield road. The only beer on offer was Jennings Cumberland (£3-15), which was pronounced as of indifferent quality. Tom's sandwich - albeit with extra chips - took an eternity to arrive, served by the solitary member of staff, so some members of the party were forced to have a second pint.

It was the general opinion, shared by our expert on such matters, Tom, that the evidence was that this establishment might not be long for this world.

Leaving the pub we eschewed our normal route to Bollington along the Virgin's Path and instead turned right along the lane at the rear of the pub, soon to reach its junction with Oakenbank Lane on the left (181 mins). We turned up the lane and after a short distance had a brief lunch stop in the lee of a drystone wall.

The fine if muddy track brought us to the hamlet of Oakenbank, where it became tarmac, and dropped us down to a minor road at a three-way junction.

Here a brief but fierce hailstorm was blowing directly in to our faces and we were glad ro reach our objective of the Poachers pub (198 min). Sadly relief was not to be had here - the lights inside were blazing in a welcoming way but the door had just shut at a rather unseemly 2.06pm

We continued in improving weather down to Bollington and reached the car park at 2.15 pm. Laurie and George departed for home and warmth while your temporary diarist and Tom and Colin sought the shelter of the Dog and Partridge, where Robinson's Dizzy Blonde and Unicorn Bitter were both £2-80.

Photos below by Colin Davison

Next week's walk will start at the Lantern Pike Inn at Little Hayfield at 9.40am. We intend to walk over Chunal and stop for refreshment at the Little Mill Inn at Rowarth at around 12.15 pm, returning to the Lantern Pike at 2.15pm. Tom will be providing free beer for all those partcipating. There will also be a competition to guess which bit of this paragraph I just made up.