High Lane

December 14, 2016.

HIGH LANE, JACKSONS EDGE, DISLEY GOLF COURSE, STANLEY HALL, STRINES, GOYT WAY, GREENCLOUGH FARM, ROMAN LAKES, SITE OF MELLOR MILL, MANCHESTER-SHEFFIELD RAILWAY LINE, RING O’ BELLS AT MARPLE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, GOYT MILL AND DOG AND PARTRIDGE AT HIGH LANE

Distance: Eight miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, warm and sunny.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Steve Kemp, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

B walkers: Phil Burslem, George Fraser, Tony Job, Terry Jowett and Geoff Spurrell.

Non-walking drinker: Pete Morrall.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (foot injury), George Dearsley (in Turkey) and Mark Gibby (caring for relative in Ripon),

Leaders:  Davison and Fairman.

Starting point: 11, Carr Brow, High Lane, Disley.

Startring time: 10.10am. Finishing time: 2.04pm.

This walk marked the start of the Wednesday Wanderers’ festive activities and we celebrated Yuletide in style. Colin demonstrated his multi-tasking skills as host, maitre d’, chef and wine waiter as he produced bacon balm cakes and mulled wine for his guests. As we were let down by the non-appearance of Angela in her promised role as pole-dancer last year, we were grateful that Colin did not attempt to add that feat to his accomplishments.

The free food and wine swelled our ranks to 14 walkers and the former category of non-walking drinker returned with the arrival at our final watering hole of Pete Morrall. His emigration to Spain ended prior to the Brexit vote in the Referendum so we have every reason to hope he will not be deported when the terms are negotiated.

In our continued efforts to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, there will be more free food and drinks to look forward to next week, the details of which can be found at the end of this report.

From Colin’s home we turned left uphill and entered Jacksons Edge Road (5mins) before turning left at a green public footpath sign marked Stanley Hall (7mins). This path took us on to Disley Golf Course, where we kept right and passed the sign for Disley Golf Club, founded in 1889.

Scotland claims to have invented the game of golf in the 15^th Century and the old course at St Andrews is regarded as the “home” of golf. Interestingly (I hope), the game was banned in 1457 by Scottish King James ll, who thought young men were neglecting their archery skills. The ban was upheld by subsequent kings until it was lifted in 1502 by James lV, a keen golfer.

After passing this sign on our right (14mins) we passed the rebuilt Stanley Hall on our left. The former Grade 2 listed building was a derelict ruin a year ago, but has been given a thoroughly modern makeover. We followed a public footpath sign with a yellow arrow down a flight of steps and another yellow arrow pointing diagonally left to reach a path which exited the course.

We crossed a wooden stile and a bridge over the Peak Forest Canal, turning right to swing under Bridge 23 with the waterway on our left (25mins). We turned right at a gap stile (31mins) to walk down to a wooden stile which we crossed and turned right (32mins). On our left we passed a house with an inscription reading “Peeres Swindels purchest this house in the yeares 1694.” Clearly dyslexia is not a 21^st Century phenomenon.

Crossing Strines Road we entered Station Road and crossed a bridge over the River Goyt (41mins). On our left was Bruce’s Clock. This turret clock was made by Thomas Bruce, a foreman mechanic at Strines Print Works, in 1809.

We passed a lake containing a dovecote on our left and Strines Hall to our right before turning left at a red sign for the Goyt Way (45mins). After crossing a bridge over the Manchester-Sheffield railway we paused for pies and port (49mins). This was to be the first of several criss-crossings of the line.

Continuing we passed Greenclough Farm on our left and headed left along the Goyt Way (52mins). Where the path forked we kept to the higher one marked with a yellow arrow and went through a tunnel under the railway line (63mins). The path joins the right bank of the Goyt and we passed Roman Bridge on our left (69mins).

After walking under a viaduct (72mins) we inspected the remains of Mellor Mill, a huge six-storey building once employing hundreds of people. The mill was established by Samuel Oldknow on his Bottoms Hall Estate in 1788 and destroyed by fire in 1892. Lottery funding to unearth the foundations of the mill and its ancillary buildings runs out in July next year, we were told by a guide.

We returned from our brief foray into Bottoms Mill Road on our right and crossed a bridge over the Goyt (90mins) before following a yellow arrow which led us up a flight of steps to Strines Road (91mins). Again we crossed the Manchester-Sheffield railway line, this time via a footbridge. A flight of steps brought us to a road where we turned left (97mins) and climbed a road to the left of Churchgate Lodge.

This took us past All Saints Primary School, Marple, on our left and the cheery sight of the Ring O’ Bells directly ahead. We reached it at precisely 12 noon (102mins) and it was no fault of our leaders that we had to wait a further two minutes, along with the B walkers, for the doors to open. The Robbies’ cask bitter, at £3-10 a pint was in excellent form.

Suitably refreshed, we turned left out of the pub and descended to the right bank of the Macclesfield Canal. This was a direct route back to High Lane, passing Goyt Mill on the left bank (112mins) before exiting at Bridge 11 (143mins). We turned left on the main A6 towards Buxton and soon reached The Dog and Partridge at High Lane on our right (146mins).

After several efforts to start a new barrel, the Wainwrights’ cask bitter was in good nick at a modest £2-95 a pint and the Christmas roast meal was a real bargain at £4-49.

Next week’s walk will start from your diarist’s home at 68, London Road North, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1BY, at about 10am. From 9am there will be bacon butties, mince pies and mulled wine. We intend to take a walk in the direction of Lyme Park and after some perambulations reach The Boar’s Head at Higher Poynton around 12.15pm. After a bracer there, we will finish our walk at The Bull’s Head, Poynton, at about 2.15pm.

It might be helpful if some of those driving used the car park at the end of my road next to Poynton Pool, where it is an eight-minute walk from the Bull’s Head finishing post.

Happy wandering !