Little Hayfield

February 22, 2017

Little Hayfield

LANTERN PIKE INN AT LITTLE HAYFIELD, PARK HALL, MIDDLE MOOR, NAB BROW, WILLIAM CLOUGH, BROAD CLOUGH, TUNSTEAD HOUSE, BOWDEN BRIDGE, SPORTSMAN INN, HAYFIELD VILLAGE, LITTLE HAYFIELD

Distance: 8 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Weather: Overcast but mainly dry

Walkers: Micky Barrett, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Steve Kemp, Chris Owens, Jock Rooney and Tip, Julian Ross, George Whaites

SOB walkers: George Fraser, Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Geoff Spurrell

Apologies: Colin Davison (Spain), Laurie Fairman (imminent hernia op), Mark Gibby (unwell), Alan Hart (dodging terrorists in Tunisia)

Leader: Beal                                   Diarist: Beal

Starting point: Lantern Pike Inn at Little Hayfield

Starting time: 9.34am                             Finishing time: 1.50pm

Despite the absence of some of our most prominent regular Wanderers there was a good turnout of eight walkers, joined by four SOBs, both to mark the sad departure (not for him maybe) of Tom from the Lantern Pike Inn and Julian's birthday.

Tom sadly was unable to walk (not literally) because of the imminent arrival of the removal men, but redeemed himself by the provision of the Lantern Pike's superb chips on our arrival back at the pub. He is planning an extended journey to Spain but we are sure he will return to become a welcome regular again on our Wanderings.

Unfortunately the provision of a covenant ensuring free chips for any Wednesday Wanderers by any future licensees seems to be outside the bounds of the legal system. We will obviously have to ingratiate ourselves with the new tenants.

Despite the predicted arrival of Storm Doris later - it duly came and the resultant power cuts caused your temporary diarist to have to rewrite chunks of his report - the Wanderers escaped with only a short burst of rain on our journey around the moors surrounding the Kinder Reservoir.

We left the Lantern Pike and turned right up the main Glossop to Chapel road, turning left and crossing the road soon afterwards to take the track leading in to the wooded Park Hall estate.

As has been documented before, Park Hall was the home of local-man-made-good Joseph Hague, who made his money in London from textiles in the 19th century before buying the property at the age of 80 and becoming a kindly benefactor to the area.

We passed on the left the remains of the estate's outdoor swimming pool, a popular bathing place for local residents in the summer up to the 1970s.

Before we reached a group of houses, we turned right and went through a large gate on to the open expanse of Middle Moor (7 minutes).

We turned immediately left and forded a stream before climbing steadily on a track up the heather-clad moor. Where the track forked midway up the climb we bore slightly right and continued to join the bridleway running across Middle Moor at a junction marked by a wooden post (20 minutes).

We turned right here and followed the bridleway through the heather, dropping down to ford the same stream as earlier, climbing the far side up rocky steps. Shortly after this two white-painted shooting boxes came in to view on our left, with the bulk of the Kinder Scout plateau, shrouded in mist, ahead of us.

We crossed a wooden bridge, spanning a bog, and came to a junction of tracks marked by a green Northern and District Footpaths Society sign, indicating we were at an altitude of 1,090 feet (32 mins). We bore left, following the sign to the Snake Inn and soon the Kinder Reservoir came in to view below us to the right.

The reservoir was built by Stockport Corporation and opened in 1912 after nine years of work by a force of 700 navvies who were accomodated in a makeshift town. A special railway that crossed Hayfield's main street was constructed to ferry materials. At the time of its opening the dam which we looked down on was the largest earth dam in the world.

We ignored a makeshift sign indicating a bridleway descending to the right and continued on the path descending through the heather towards the head of the reservoir. As the wall we had been following on our right ended we ignored a path on the right and took the gentler option of descending straight ahead in to the confines of the ravine of William Clough, where we turned right downstream to soon reach a footbridge at the head of the reservoir (60 mins).

This was close to the scene of the 1932 so-called Mass Trespass of Kinder, which is attributed with paving the way for the establishment of Britain's National Parks and the open access to the countryside laws.

After a rally at the nearby Bowden Bridge car park a group of between 200 and 400 (estimates vary) set off up William Clough and at a pre-arranged signal a number of them headed on to the open moor where they were confronted by the Duke of Devonshire's gamekeepers.

There were scuffles and a keeper suffered what were described at Derby Assizes later as 'grievous injuries'. In fact he had a sprained ankle. The five Manchester men charged were from the blatantly communist British Workers' Sports Federation. But in similar political vein the jury who tried them included 11 men from landowning families, including two brigadier generals, three colonels, two majors and three captains.

The sentences of between two and six months horrified many of the public and weeks later a rally of 10,000 people gathered at the Winnats Pass near Castleton. Had World War Two not intervened there is no doubt the legislation that followed would have been enacted sooner.

Our party crossed the footbridge and, ignoring a steep path to the left heading towards the Kinder plateau, headed along the reservoir's left bank, climbing gently on a narrow path. We passed through a narrow gate and later dropped down to cross the small River Kinder by a wooden footbridge.

We followed a rocky path first left and then right up the opposite slope, bearing left near the top, with woods on our right. This brought us to a gate with a National Trust path sign. From here we descended steeply in to Broad Clough, where at the fast-flowing stream pietime was declared (95 mins).

After a leisurely 11-minute break (Tom was not with us) we set off on the steep climb up the opposite bank. We soon crossed a stile and the slope steepened for a stiff pull to the crest of the hill. From here we had a spectacular view, as the mist briefly cleared, of the 98-foot waterfall of Kinder Downfall being blown back in to the air by the fierce winds.

The waterfall - sometimes non-existent in dryer weather - was known in Old English as Kinder Scut, giving the name to the whole plateau.

We continued along a path with a wall on our right. As the wall end we turned right on a path bringing us to a point where a sign declared we were at Kinder Low End (120 mins). More correctly, this referred to the hill above us on our left, the eastern end of the plateau.

We went through a gate on our right and descended directly through fields to the former farmhouse of Tunstead Clough, now two impressive private homes (140 mins).

Skirting the house on the left we followed a metalled track down the valley to emerge on a lane, where we turned right to follow the River Sett. This brought us to the road junction at the Bowden Bridge quarry car park, where we swung left to enter the drive of the Hayfield camp site.

We continued with the river on our right, before crossing a footbridge near some stables to emerge at the Sportsman Inn (160 mins). Thwaite's Wainwright bitter was in good form, albeit at £3-60 a pint. But undeterred, generous birthday boy Julian treated us to a second pint.

Refreshed, we turned right out of the pub and continued down Kinder Road in to Hayfield village, passing the terrace with a blue plaque marking that actor Arthur Lowe, Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, had been born there. Reaching the Pack Horse Inn, we crossed the main street and took a track under the relief road to head up through the public field to a gate bringing us on to Swallow House Lane. A quick decision was made to forego a lunch stop, no doubt with anticipation of the Lantern Pike chips, hence our early finishing time.

Here we turned left, and shortly afterwards right, into Bank Vale Road. Nearing the bottom we took a path on the right that soon brought us to Little Hayfield. We turned right up a lane, then left on the main road to the Lantern Pike Inn (195 mins).

A while later we were joined by B walkers Terry, George, Geoff and Tony, who had followed an arduous five-mile route from Four Lane Ends, via Mill Brow, the old Moorfield pub, the Little Mill at Rowarth and over the flanks of Lantern Pike. They are to be congratulated, although on arrival Geoff pronounced himself 'knackered'.

We reflected that this would be the last time we would gather here after a walk during Tom's tenure and we thank him for all his hospitality (especially his chips) over the past years.

Next week's walk through the Etherow Country Park to Werneth Low will start at 9.30 am at the Andrews Arms in George Street, Compstall. Parking permission has been sought and granted (car park is opposite the pub). Refreshments en route will be at the Hare and Hounds on Werneth Low.

Happy wandering!