Whaley Bridge

October 14, 2015.

WHALEY BRIDGE, CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY LINE (DISUSED), SHALLCROSS INCLINE GREENWAY, TUNSTEAD HOUSE FARM, MANCHESTER-SHEFFIELD RAILWAY LINE, SPARK FARM, CROFT BARN, CHARLEY LANE PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, FORGE MILL RUINS, THE OLD HALL AT WHITEHOUGH.PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, BLACK BROOK, BUGSWORTH BASIN, SILK HILL AND THE COCK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

Distance:  7+ miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry and sunny.

Walkers: Ron Buck, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, John Jones and George Whaites.

B walkers: George Fraser, Tony Job, Ken Sparrow and Geoff Spurrell.

Apologies: Peter Beal, George Dearsley and Jock Rooney (in Turkey), Mark Gibby (in Canaries).

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Outside The Cock at Whaley Bridge.

Starting time: 9.37am. Finishing time: 1.47pm.

After the deluge of last week, we reverted to yet another glorious sunny day which gave us a total turnout of 11 walkers. Although the route was shorter than average, it took in some spectacular views across the hills and valleys between Whaley Bridge and Chinley.

On the historical front we passed Bradshaw Hall, family home of John Bradshaw, who was president of the court which tried Charles 1 in 1649 and whose name was first on the king’s death warrant. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, Bradshaw suffered a bizarre fate.

On the nature front, we saw a huge skein of geese and a nice pair of tits. Ron would have preferred it the other way round: more about the barmaid at The Old Hall later.

After passing The Cock on our left we turned immediately left over a stream and then headed right along the disused track which was once the Cromford and High Peak Railway. After passing Cromford Court retirement flats on our left, former site of the railway goods yard, we entered Shallcross Incline Greenway (8mins).

At the end we turned left (16mins), crossed Elnor Lane and followed a wooden public footpath sign across a stone step stile, through a field and over a broken wall (23mins). We crossed a wooden barred stile (36mins) and had a beautiful view over Coombs Reservoir ahead to our left.

We passed Tunstead House Farm (39mins), entered The Old Farm House gate and turned right over a wooden stile. There was no sign of the herd of Houdini goats which used to live here. Perhaps they had escaped !

After exiting the field they used to occupy via a wooden gate (42mins) we headed downhill through a tunnel underneath the Manchester-Sheffield railway line (46mins). We headed towards some trees, turned left and kept a fence on our right until it dipped and we crossed a wooden stile on our right. This brought us to two railway sleepers which had been reused as bridges across a stream (50mins).

A wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow led to a path which emerged on the Whaley Bridge to Chapel-en-le-Frith road. We crossed over, turned right and then headed left at a green public footpath sign (53mins). After crossing first a stone step stile and then a wooden stile we kept just left of a stream and crossed another wooden stile ((58mins).

After passing Spark Farm on our left we went straight ahead to cross a wooden stile (61mins). Another wooden stile took us into Chapel en-le Frith Golf Course (63mins). As we crossed the course, a skein of some 150 geese flew past in two rather untidy V formations high above. Lawrie was able to identify them as pink-footed geese on their way to spend winter in the marshes of Norfolk.

We were left to speculate whether they would be honking at the Norfolk turkeys as Christmas approached or whether they would be recruited for any seasonal productions of Mother Goose. Oh no they won’t. Oh yes they will.

After passing a golfing foursome on the 16th tee, causing one to slice his drive wildly to the right of the fairway, we left the course via a stile and passed to the right of Bradshaw Hall (76mins).

This 17th Century building was the family home of John Bradshaw, who presided  over the court which found King Charles 1 guilty of treason and sentenced him to death. His name was the first signature on the king’s death warrant.

After Charles’ execution, John Bradshaw died before the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. But his death did not prevent Bradshaw facing justice. Along with other commissioners who had tried the king, he was found guilty of treason. Many of them were hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn.

Bradshaw’s body was exhumed and taken to Tyburn where his remains were hanged and his body was beheaded. His head was impaled on a spike outside Westminster Hall where the trial of King Charles 1 had taken place. (Sir Jimmy Savile got off lightly !)

After crossing a stone step stile, we paused for pies and rum and blackcurrants at a drystone wall overlooking Bradshaw Hall (78mins). Resuming, we walked with a fence on our left and crossed a wooden stile on our left. We headed uphill, crossing a wooden stile and heading diagonally right across a field, which we exited by a stone step stile (85mins).

We turned left with a drystone wall on our left and crossed a stile made from concrete posts (87mins). We went through a gate to reach a lane with Croft Barn on our right. We turned left to pass Croft Barn and then turned right at a green public footpath sign. This took us into a field and a sign for Eccles Pike, but instead of passing this sign we headed right downhill and went through a wooden gate (90mins).

Our group crossed a wooden box stile (92mins) and then four more wooden stiles in quick succession which brought us to a refurbished farmhouse on our right. We passed close to the house to reach a road (99mins), which we crossed and followed a wooden public footpath sign into a field. We went through a wooden gate on the right marked with a yellow arrow (103mins) and headed downhill with a drystone wall on our right.

After passing through another wooden gate marked with a yellow arrow (106mins) we turned left downhill to reach a road (107mins), where we turned left. This took us underneath the A6 and we turned immediately left along Charley Lane, at the start of the Peak Forest Tramway. We passed Chapel Wastewater Treatment Works on our right (111mins).

Further along on the right were the ruins of Forge Mill, which in its time had been an iron bar slitting mill, a paper mill and a bleaching works. More recently the land on our right had been the massive site of the Dorma bed linen factory, and it was here we met and then overtook the B walkers(117mins). The site has been flattened ready for redevelopment.

At the end of the Tramway we turned left and soon reached The Old Mill at Whitehough on our right (129mins). Here we enjoyed pints of excellent Marston’s cask-conditioned bitter at £2-80. The beer was of such a high quality that Tom pronounced it to be “OK.” This is one of his finest accolades for any beer outside his own pub.

Ron, however, expressed his disappointment that the slim barmaid was not as amply proportioned as one of her colleagues he had ogled on a previous occasion. By this time we had been joined by the B team.

After discussing the exploits of the landlord Daniel in the Iron Man challenge, which involved a four mile swim, a 225-mile bike ride and a 52-mile run, we discussed entering the veterans’ version but decided against it.

Continuing after our refreshment, we went right out of the pub down to the Tramway and turned left (131mins). When we reached a newly-rebuilt wooden bridge over Black Brook, we stopped there for lunch (144mins). We proceeded, following the sign for Bugsworth Canal Basin (149mins) and passing The Navigation Inn on our right.

After crossing the bridge across the canal on our left we turned right up Silk Hill (152mins) and turned right again at a wooden public footpath sign (165mins). We exited a wood via a stile made with two iron bars (169mins) and turned left along the disused track of the Cromford and High Peak Railway.

At The Shepherds Arms on our right (another one missing its apostrophe), we went down to the main road, turned left (174mins), went under the bridge and returned to our cars (176mins). After de-booting, Colin, John and your diarist enjoyed pints of Robbies’ Unicorn in The Cock.

Next week’s walk will start by catching the 9.54am 199 bus to Buxton from The Rising Sun at Hazel Grove. We expect to arrive at the terminus in Market Place, Buxton, shortly before 11am, from where we will head for The Shady Oak at Fernilee, arriving between 12.30 and 1 pm. We will then aim for The Soldier Dick at Furness Vale, expecting to arrive between 2.30 and 3pm, before catching the 199 bus back to Hazel Grove. (Don’t forget your bus passes).

Happy wandering !