February 10, 2016.
DANEBRIDGE, DANE VALLEY, THE HANGING STONE, THE ROACHES, GRADBACH, EAGLE AND CHILD, THE ROSE AND CROWN AT ALLGREAVE, ALLMEADOWS FARM, THE SHIP AT WINCLE
Distance: Nine miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Weather: Dry but chilly with mixture of blue skies, sunshine and cloud.
Walkers: Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Mark Gibby, Graham Hadfield, Alan Hart, Jock Rooney with Tips, Julian Ross and George Whaites.
S.O.B. Walkers: Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Ken Sparrow and Geoff Spurrell.
Apologies: Ron Buck (Caribbean cruise) , George Dearsley (in Turkey) George Fraser (half-term duties) and Malcolm Smith (poorly).
Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.
Starting point: Road near Danebridge, Wincle, Macclesfield.
Starting time: 9.45am. Finishing time: 2.40pm.
Despite torrential rain during the week preceding this walk, we once again enjoyed a dry day, with plenty of sunshine and good visibility. There was a double-figure turnout of A walkers for our hike along the Cheshire-Staffordshire border country, while the B walkers took their exercise (and beer) around the Fernilee Reservoir in Derbyshire.
There was no escaping the muddy conditions, but it was never more than ankle-deep as our route took us from dry hills to boggy valleys. On the wildlife front, we observed a herd of alpacas normally seen on the Andes mountains of South America rather than the plains of Cheshire.
The only sour note to our safari came at our half-time watering hole, The Rose and Crown, Allgreave. Here Mark kindly ordered two bowls of chips to be shared by his chums and was rewarded with a £10 bill by our Estonian friend Luda, the landlady and owner. I fear her greed has led to her urinating on her French fries with regard to future visits.
From our cars Lawrie led us across the bridge over the fast-flowing River Dane, thereby taking us out of Cheshire and into Staffordshire (2mins). We ignored the first footpath on our left taking the second marked with a green footpath sign for Back Forest and Gradbach (4mins). This was the start of a series of consecutive paths leading directly uphill.
After crossing a wooden stile (14mins) we continued through a field with the distinctive formation called The Hanging Stone in the distance above us. Another wooden stile enabled us to exit the field (17mins) and turn right along a track for a few yards before heading left up a path which led directly to Hanging Stone.
At the foot of the rocks a memorial plaque informed us that Burke, a bull mastiff pet of Squire Brocklehurst, of nearby Swythamley Hall, was buried here in 1874. The inscription read: “A noble mastiff, black and tan, faithful as a woman, braver than man. A gun and a ramble his heart’s desire with the friend of his life, the Swythamley squire.”
Out of view was another plaque in memorial to Colonel Brocklehurst who was killed in Burma in 1942.
We reached the summit (30mins) where Colin sought a volunteer to animate a photo of the rock on the ridge. Your diarist stepped forward and climbed the rock to assist, but the slippery surface brought about my downfall. It is hard to maintain one’s dignity while sliding slowly down a rock face, especially when it is accompanied by hoots of derisive laughter.
After admiring the panoramic views of Bosley Cloud and Mow Cop behind us, we headed in the direction of Shutlingsloe, eventually spotting Tittesworth Reservoir below us on our right.
Tittesworth (no sniggering at the back) was opened in 1963 and is the second largest reservoir in Staffordhsire, fed by the River Churnet. It is run by Severn Trent Water.
The path along the ridge led us to a gate bearing on its far side a plaque in memory of Dr Barry McGeechan, who died aged 55. Here we stopped for pies and port (81mins). Although there was discussion about some of our group diverting to the summit of The Roaches nearby, in the end we all stayed together when the walk resumed.
The Roaches were named from the mispronunciation of the French for rocks – les roches – and are thus a legacy from the Norman Conquest. The rocky ridge forms a gritstone escarpment, part of The Peak District National Park. At the top is Doxey Pool, which, according to legend, is inhabited by a water spirit.
Instead of turning right after passing through Dr McGeehan’s gate towards The Roaches, Lawrie led us left down the road, passing a sign for Roach End Farm (83mins). After 80 yards we went left off the road through a gap stile and followed a path (84mins).
This led us all the way down to the River Dane (98mins), wher we turned left with the river on our right. The muddy path brought us to a footbridge on our right (116mins) where we turned right following a wooden public footpath sign for Gradbach.
On the far side of the bridge we turned right uphill until we reached a stone step stile on our left (117mins) and crossed it. We squeezed through a gap stile on our right and turned left (122mins). After going through a wooden gate 123mins) we reached a former mill which had until recently been Gradbach Youth Hostel. It is now an agricultural training college.
We turned left in front of the building and crossed a footbridge over the Dane (125mins). We headed uphill through a gap in the wall and turned left at the start of a steep climb. We went through a wooden gate to reach a farm track (132mins).
As we continued along it we noticed somebody had childishly written “Colin” in some wet cement which had been laid to fill a pothole. We reached a road (135mins) opposite a former pub once called The Eagle and Child. It is now a private dwelling.
There are a number of legends going back centuries over the origin of this pub name, which appears throughout the UK, including horror stories of an eagle sweeping down and snatching a baby to feed its eaglets. This particular pub was built in 1738 by Joseph Hadfield (any relation Graham ?) but it closed down in the 1960s when it could not meet new rules imposed when Britain joined the Common Market.
After posing for a group photo we turned left downhill in the direction of Croker Hill with its distinctive telecom mast on the distant skyline. On our right in a field (146mins) was a small herd of eight alpacas.
As every schoolboy knows, the alpaca is a member of the llama family but half its size. Whereas the llamas are used as beasts of burden in their South American homeland, alpacas are grown for their fine coats. They have been bred for 5,000 years on the flat heights of the Andes in southern Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Chile between 11,500 and 16,000 feet above sea level. There are two different breeds, the Suri and the Huccaya, although Lawrie was unable to identify which on this occasion.
We arrived at The Rose and Crown at Allgreave on our left (155mins) and ordered pints of Nimrod or Champion for £3-50. When Luda (who had greeted Tom especially warmly), tried to tempt us with her special price of £5 for a bacon sandwich and chips, Mark was emboldened to ask for two extra bowls of chips on top of Tom’s bacon order.
There were cries of disbelief when the innocent waitress brought them and announced a price of £10 for the chips. One suspects that if Britain leaves the European Union, Luda might find herself heading back to Estonia along with her British collaborator husband.
From the pub’s front door we turned left and swung right round a sharp bend before crossing the Dane (162mins). We took the first road left after the river (163mins) and turned left again at Allmeadows Farm (166mins) at a green footpath sign. Where the path forked we followed the one marked with a yellow arrow (171mins) and stopped for lunch at a fallen tree (174mins).
Resuming, we went over a stile marked with a yellow arrow (175mins), through a gate into a farmyard (188mins) and crossed a footbridge (194mins). After going over another wooden stile we descended some steps leading down to a road where we turned left. We passed The Ship at Wincle on our left (198mins) and reached our cars (200mins).
After de-booting we went back to The Ship, which is now open all day.
Meanwhile the SOB walkers had caught the 199 bus from opposite The Rising Sun at Hazel Grove to Whaley Bridge, from where they caught the 61 bus up Long Hill to Goyt Lane, where they alighted. They walked down to Bunsall Cob and the top of Fernilee Reservoir, thence to The Shady Oak at Fernilee.
The Pedigree was still settling so they tried two alternative ales, which did not go down well. They returned to Whaley Bridge via the Shallcross Greenway Incline and enjoyed pints of Unicorn and Trooper in The Cock. All too soon, however, they had to catch the bus back to Hazel Grove.
Photos by Colin
These photos by Tom
Happy wandering !
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