Furness Vale

February 15, 2017.

FURNESS VALE, GOW HOLE, OLLERSETT MOOR, BIG STONE, THE ALDERS, ST MARY’S CHURCH, CHINLEY, THE OLD HALL AT WHITEHOUGH, PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, BUGSWORTH BASIN, PEAK FOREST CANAL, FURNESS VALE STATION AND THE SOLDIER DICK AT FURNESS VALE

Distance: Ten Miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry, with some sun, some mist and some cloud.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Steve Kemp, Jock Rooney with Tips, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

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

Apologies: George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (preparing for hernia operation) and Chris Owen (family duties).

Leaders: Beal and Davison. Diarist: Hart.

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

Starting time: 9.34am. Finishing time: 2.16pm.

This was another good turnout for a new walk devised by Peter and Colin. Although it involved two of our favourite pubs, the route had never been attempted by the Wednesday Wanderers before. We congratulate our joint leaders for their skill in directing our journey without mishap and getting us to the pubs on time.

It has become traditional for the walk to begin with a series of medical bulletins. We were pleased to welcome back Mark after an absence caused by alarming side effects to his medication for Chron’s Disease. We also heard that Lawrie was taking things easy this week prior to his hernia operation next week. We all wish him well.

Meanwhile Mickey seems to have made a complete recovery from his foot injury and was walking without a hint of a limp. Tom on the other hand was having problems with his knees during descents and we hope his strict diet will pay dividends when the weight on his joints is eased.

This was a week when our feathered friends were in good voice with a premature celebration of spring. Apparently their tweeting, chirping and whistling comes from the males who are basically asking if any members of the opposite gender might be interested in a sexual encounter. They repeat the offer all day long until a response comes back on the lines of “Ok you silver-tongued smoothie.”  Just like Tinder really.

The day got off to an unpromising start when, despite your diarist’s promise from a staff member that we would be OK to use the pub car park, the landlady made objections on the bizarre grounds that the chef was off so we couldn’t park there. However this was remedied and at the end of the walk the landlady was informed that we had obtained permission to park prior to our walk. In short we were not taking liberties.

On leaving the car park we crossed the road, turned left for 20 yards then turned right into Old Road. This took us through a tunnel under the Manchester-Buxton railway line, from which we emerged and turned right. At a road we turned left and crossed first the Peak Forest Canal and then the River Goyt before exiting Station Road and entering Marsh Lane.

Soon after we turned right at a green public bridleway sign up a flight of steps (8mins). We passed Ing Cottage at Gow Hole on our left and reached a lane where we turned left (9mins). After 50 yards we turned right at a public pootpath sign and went through a tunnel under another railway line as a freight train passed overhead (12mins).

The path took us through a field and across a stone step stile (16mins) before we turned left along a farm track. After 50 yards we turned right at a broken public footpath sign and entered a wood. We crossed a wooden stile (22mins) and went through a gate into a farmyard (27mins). When we reached a lane we turned right (34mins).

This brought us to a crossroads (39mins) where we carried straight on and entered Ollersett Moor. We went through two wooden gates as we climbed remorselessly until we reached a drystone wall, turned left and started to descend (63mins). We crossed a wooden stile and reached Big Stone (69mins).

On a better day this would have afforded magnificent views across the valley, but not on this occasion with the mist quite thick on the hilltops. There followed a comic interlude while we waited for a straggler to catch up, only to realise on his arrival that he wasn’t one of our group.

We turned left for 50 yards before Peter led us downhill right on a vertiginous route from the ridge which struck fear into some of our group. Despite these misgivings we made the descent without casualties, going through a wooden gate and a stone step stile before we reached a second stile where we paused for pies and port (91mins).

Resuming, we crossed the stone step stile and turned left along a road opposite Upper Lodge and Lower Lodge. After 80 yards we turned right at a wooden public footpath sign (92mins) and followed the path through two wooden gates (96mins). After going through a kissing gate we turned right (100mins) and went through a metal gate to reach a paved lane (101mins) and turned left uphill.

We swung right to reach a main road, crossed it and turned left. Just before The Lamb Inn we turned right over a stone step stile (105mins) and started a steep climb which took us through a kissing gate (113mins). After avoiding any serious mud for the best part of two hours, we now encountered the sort our brave boys had to contend with in 1916 during The Battle of the Somme.

By the time we had gone through a gate (121mins) and carried on at a yellow arrow to reach a farm track (123mins) we had been up to our ankles in slime. We reached a main road, crossed it and went straight over a wooden stile (131mins). We walked through a wooden five-barred gate, through a farmyard, passed The Alders on our left (136mins) and went through a tunnel under a railway bridge (142mins).

We reached a road (143mins) and turned right, passing St Mary’s Church, Chinley, on our left before swinging left into Green Lane (147mins). Our group now headed in a straight line following a sign for Whitehough, crossing a road-bridge over Black Brook and reaching The Old Hall on our right (154mins).

As usual the beer was in fine fettle at a modest £3-05 a pint, although why the marketing department had changed the universally-enjoyed brand known as Marstons’ cask bitter into Saddle Tank was a mystery.

From the front door we headed right downhill, passing The Old Band Room on our right before turning left along The Peak Forest Tramway (156mins). This was an early horse and gravity-powered transport link opened in 1796 and operated until the 1920s. It was started by Benjamin Outram at Bugsworth, was six miles long, and carried limestone quarried round Dove Holes to “Buggy Basin” via Chapel and Chinley. From there it was taken by boat along the Peak Forest Canal to the Ashton Canal into Manchester and beyond. 

Immediately on our right was a large pond containing two black swans, which are indigenous to New South Wales in Australia. Soon after we passed the vinyl compounds factory called Stephanie Works before crossing a footbridge over Black Brook to stop for lunch (169mins).

Continuing we reached The Navigation Inn on our right at Buggy Basin (175mins) and carried on past Canal House on our right, where substantial landscaping is taking place to create a market garden. Beyond it, also on the right, was a junkyard full of discarded boilers, containers and industrial waste of every description (183mins).

We stayed on the right side of the canal and when it turned right towards Marple we stayed on the towpath, passing a sewage farm on our right (197mins) until we reached Bridge 31 at Furness Vale Marina (199mins). Here we left the canal by turning right and then left over the bridge to pass a level crossing and reach the A6 (203mins).

We crossed the road, turned right and were soon back in the car park of The Soldier Dick to de-boot (204mins). The Wainwrights’ cask bitter was in excellent form and great value at £2-85 a pint.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30am from the car park of The Lantern Pike Inn at Little Hayfield. A walk around the lower reaches of the Kinder Plateau will end with a livener at The Sportsman, near Bowden Bridge, Hayfield, around 12.10pm. It is then anticipated a return to The Lantern Pike will be at about 2.15pm. Here there will be a double celebration – Julian’s birthday and a farewell from Tom as pub landlord.

Happy wandering !