Danebridge

DANEBRIDGE, WINCLE, BROOM HILL, GRITSTONE TRAIL, HUGBRIDGE, CHURNET VALLEY RAILWAY LINE (DISUSED), THE ROYAL OAK AT RUSHTON SPENCER, HEATONLOW, BEARDA, DANE VALLEY, THE WINCLE BREWERY

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Easy apart from one steep climb.

Weather: Mainly dry after early drizzle followed by sunshine.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman and Alan Hart.

Apologies: Alastair Cairns, Mark Gibby and Chris Owen (Coast-to-Coast Walk), Tom Cunliffe (hangover), Mickey Barrett, Hughie Hardiman, Julian Ross, George Dearsley (in Turkey), Jock Rooney (back problems) and George Whaites (visiting Cornwall)

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Danebridge, Wincle.

Starting time: 9.50am. Finishing time: 2.23pm.

With three of our courageous comrades engaged in the Coast-to-Coast challenge, our numbers were depleted for this route in and around the Dane Valley using part of The Gritstone Trail. Some of the apologies for absence were less worthy.

Light drizzle was falling as we assembled, but the donning of your diarist’s magic waterproof pants soon drove it away. The rain returned briefly with a short light shower at Pietime but thereafter we enjoyed sunny spells and blue skies.

In some fields newly-born lambs suckled their mothers while in other meadows the ewes were ladies-in-waiting. In the skies and on the land we saw a number of pheasants, one of which was lying near a road and appeared to be destined to join the heavenly choir.

Our leader reached both our watering holes with excellent timing and the only downside of the day was the unavoidable thick, slimy mud which covered the paths on large swathes of The Gritstone Trail.

From Danebridge we headed uphill passing The Ship at Wincle on our right (3mins) and turned left along a lane (5mins) which headed steadily uphill. This lane took us through a farm which informed us it was an environmentally sensitive area (24mins) and we continued until we reached a wooden stile (35mins) with The Gritstone Trail going across our path.

The trail, with its distinctive yellow markers containing a boot-print and the letter G, runs 35 miles from Disley station to Kidsgrove Station. Its highest point is Sponds Hill at 1,345 feet. It is often broken into three sections by hikers, although two Wednesday Wanderers – and modesty forbids me from mentioning  their names  (Geoff Spurrell was the other) – completed it in less than two days.

We turned left and followed the GT signs through a series of gates and stiles, eventually crossing The River Dane by a roadbridge (54mins). Shortly afterwards we turned sharp right through a wooden kissing gate (58mins). The narrow path which ran along the right bank of a feeder canal for Rudyard Lake was covered in deep, slimy mud. It seemed odds-on that the day would produce a faller but we all completed the course unscathed.

At a fenced area we stopped for pies and port (70mins) as the last rain of the day made a brief comeback. Continuing our progress was slow through the slippery surface (where is the gritstone when you need it ?) until we followed the trail signs away from the canal and towards a main road (85mins)

Just before we reached the A523 Macclesfield-Leek Road at Hugbridge, we saw what appeared to be a mortally wounded cock pheasant. Let us hope that, unlike the Monty Python parrot, it was just resting. We crossed a stile and the road, entering a path on the other side through a metal kissing gate (92mins). After going under a former rail bridge we turned sharp left and over a wooden stile. A flight of steps took us to the former Churnet Valley railway line, where we turned right (94mins)

This line, 27 miles long linking North Rode, Macclesfield, with Uttoxeter, was built in less than two years at a cost of £330,000 by the North Staffordshire Railway. It was promoted as “Little Switzerland” and attracted tourists to Rudyard Lake. But the railway, which also transported limestone and sandstone from local quarries, closed in stages between 1964 and 1988.

The disused line brought us out at The Knot Inn, Rushton Spencer (107mins) which was closed and bearing a sign “Lease This Pub.” We walked to the right of the building as the old track continued, went under a bridge and turned left at a sign which promised The Royal Oak was 200 yards away (115mins)

When we reached the top of the bridge we had just passed under, a path took us across fields back to the A523 and The Royal Oak (118mins), where we received a friendly welcome and pints of refreshing IPA cask bitter for £3-30.

Resuming our journey we turned left out of the pub and left again into Sugar Street. At a fork soon afterwards (119mins) we went left downhill. Another left turn was taken to follow a sign for Wormhough and Wormhill Farm (122mins). This brought us to a cattle-grid where we paused for lunch (125mins)

Afterwards we went right over a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (126mins) and crossed two more wooden stiles to go to the right of a farm (132mins). We turned left away from the main track (133mins) and crossed a roadbridge before turning right over a wooden stile (137mins). To our left was a mad-made cascade.

We followed the River Dane on our left and crossed a footbridge (155mins) to reach the far bank. Now keeping the Dane on our right, we followed the path which brought us to The Wincle Brewery on our left. We found that just before Christmas a special heated bar area had been created with a couple of tables and chairs. Pints of hoppy Wincle Waller were available for £3.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30am from The Miners Arms at Wood Lane Ends, Adlington. Peter has offered to lead us to The Holly Bush at Bollington for a bracer at about 12.15pm, returning along the Macclesfield Canal to The Miners Arms (their missing apostrophe: not mine) around 2.15pm.

Happy wandering !

Whaley Bridge

March 21, 2018.

WHALEY BRIDGE, CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY LINE (DISUSED), SHALLCROSS INCLINE GREENWAY, SITE OF SHALLCROSS HALL, COMBS RESERVOIR, TUNSTEAD FARM, SPIRE HOLLOW FARM, BEEHIVE AT COMBS, CHAPEL EN-LE-FRITH STATION, THE ROEBUCK AT CHAPEL, ECCLES ROAD, CROFT BARN, ECCLES PIKE, OLLERENSHAW HALL AND THE COCK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

Distance: Eight miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Mild and Dry with some Cloud: Good Visibility.

A  Walkers: Alastair Cairns with Daisy, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman and Alan Hart.

B Walkers: Phil Burslem, Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Ken Sparrow, Geoff Spurrell and Barry Williams.

Non-walking drinker: Jock Rooney.

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (New Zealand hols), Peter Beal (La Palma hols), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby (visiting parents), Hughie Hardiman, Steve Kemp (testing out new spade !), Chris Owen (full service and MoT), George Whaites (tending to sick wife)

Starting point: Main road outside The Cock at Whaley Bridge.

Starting time: 9.38am. Finishing time: 2.09pm.

We assembled on time in perfect walking conditions for a slight variation on a well-known route. What could possibly go wrong ? Your diarist discovered there is never room for complacency with the Wednesday Wanderers as he was brought crashing to the ground after a mere 100 yards.

The dramatic tumble caused alarm which swiftly switched to mirth. Well if anyone thinks it is funny to have Tom’s pole rammed between one’s legs, let me know and I’ll pass on your details.

Unashamed by his clumsiness Tom then brought blushes to the cheeks of a young barmaid when he said “I’ll have a pint of Wainwrights but can you pull me one off first.” As a former landlord he should know better and he is edging dangerously close to a summons by our disciplinary committee.

Lawrie led us through some spectacular scenery and a long climb up Eccles Pike. En route he managed to fight off another attempt by Colin to stage a coup d’etat and seize the lead. Colin relented when he discovered that despite his best efforts he had only managed to create a breakaway group of one.

With The Cock on our left we walked 20 yards and turned left over a stream to reach the track of the former Cromford and High Peak railway line, now disused. We turned right and had gone only a few paces when Tom inserted his pole between your diarist’s legs. You can imagine the pain, dear readers, as I sprawled full length on hands and knees. 

Concern quickly changed to laughter as I told Tom what I would like to do with his poles.

We continued along the disused line until we reached Shallcross Incline Greenway (10mins) and headed uphill. At the top was a plaque giving the history of Shallcross Hall, which was built in 1691, damaged by fire and allowed to deteriorate until it was demolished in 1967.

Having reached Shallcross Road we turned left (18mins) and then crossed Elnor Lane towards Shallcross Nursery where we crossed a wooden stile to enter a field (20mins). We soon went over a stone step stile into the next field, which we exited by wood and stone step stiles (27mins). A wooden gate was passed and we crossed a stream (36mins)

As we climbed the bank we enjoyed a splendid scene across the valley with Eccles Pike on our left and Combs Reservoir below us in the distance. We are indebted to Tom for the information that “pike” is an old English word, possibly derived from the Roman occupation of Britannia, meaning a hill with a warning beacon.

The well-trodden path took us over a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (42mins), through a wooden gate to the right of a row of farm cottages (46mins) and to the entrance of Tunstead Farm (48mins). We followed a footpath to the right of the farm and crossed a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (51mins)

After crossing a stone step stile (60mins) we turned left down a stony track and swung left downhill (68mins). 

We passed Spire Hollow Farm on our left (72mins) and Carr Green Farm on our right (76mins) to reach Combs village and its solitary pub, The Beehive (82mins). We passed the pub on our left and stopped at benches on opposite sides of the road for pies and port.

Continuing, we went along a road with a stream below and headed towards a rail bridge. Just before it (87mins) we turned right at a footpath sign marked with a yellow arrow. At the end of this path we turned left over a railway bridge and immediately right along a path with the Manchester-Buxton line now on our right (91mins)

When we reached Chapel railway station (103mins) Lawrie indicated we should turn left along the road. However Colin insisted this was “the wrong way” and carried straight ahead ploughing a lone furrow to the left of the railway track while the rest of us turned left and followed Lawrie down the road. Colin eventually came to heel as the road swung right, reached a T-junction and we headed left with Chapel-en-le-Frith High School on our left (115mins)

The settlement, which means Chapel in the Forest, was established as a hunting lodge by the  Norman conquerors in the 12^th Century. Older Wanderers might remember one of their townsfolk, Hubert Selwyn Pink (1878-1946) played cricket for Derby shire and England.

More recently Neville Buswell, born in the town in 1943, joined the cast of Coronation Street and at the height of its popularity from 1966-78 he played Ray Langton, the building partner of Len Fairclough. 

After having an extra-marital affair with waitress Janice Stubbs, love-rat Langton begged forgiveness and asked wife Deirdre to make a new start with him in Amsterdam with their daughter Tracy. She stayed and he departed for Holland. In real life Buswell had become sick of fame. He emigrated to America where he worked first in a casino as a croupier and later in a bank.

After passing under a railway bridge we turned right down a passageway (117mins) which was a short cut to the main road (118mins) where we turned right. We passed the New Inn on our right and reached The Roebuck on our left (122mins)

We were delighted to find the pub open eight minutes ahead of its formal noon opening time. Tom pushed our luck with his ambiguous remark but both the Wainwrights and the Tetley’s cask bitter at £3-25 were on top form. 

A second pint had just been started when Jock, who has been suffering with back pains from the start of the year, joined us. He gave us a brief medical bulletin about the problem, which arrived mysteriously and refuses to improve. We wish him a speedy recovery. We also send our best wishes to George’s wife Lesley, who was stricken earlier in the week but who is hoped to make a full recovery with medication.

We left Jock to finish his pint, turning right out of the pub along Eccles Road. Before long we were climbing steadily uphill passing Frith Knoll (133mins) and Croft Barn (149mins) on our right before we reached a bench to mark the peak of Eccles Road (155mins). We were only a few metres short of the summit of Eccles Pike itself, which was 150 yards behind us as we stopped for lunch at the form dedicated to Joan and Bill Bates.

It was mainly downhill now back to Whaley Bridge as we passed a field containing a pair of young llamas on our right and a large building called Sycamores on our left (165mins) before reaching Ollerenshaw Hall, also on our left.

This Grade ll listed building dates from around 1800 and has been converted into three houses.

When the road ahead was marked Private we swung right before a cottage (173mins) and turned immediately left (174mins) to cross a wooden stile. The path took us past Whaley Bridge cricket ground on our left and through a metal gate (180mins)

A choice of two wooden footpath signs on our right (185mins) both led down a series of flights of steps to a road. If you had taken the left sign you now turned right to reach and follow a green footpath sign indicating a left turn (187mins). Just before Buttercup Cakes we turned right (189mins) to reach the main road. Here we turned left to reach our cars and de-boot (190mins)

We were joined in The Cock by members of the six-strong B team for pints of Robbies’ Unicorn.

Pictures by Tom

Next week’s walk will start at 9.40am from Danebridge, Wincle. We will be heading for The Royal Oak at Rushton Spencer for a livener at about 12.30pm and expect to stop for further refreshment at The Wincle Brewery around 2.30pm.

Happy wandering !

Brabyns Park

BRABYNS PARK, MARPLE BRIDGE, COMPSTALL, REDBROW WOOD, ETHEROW VALLEY, PEAK FOREST CANAL, HYDE TUNNEL, ST CHAD’S WELL, CHADKIRK CHAPEL, OTTERSPOOL WEIR, STOCKPORT GOLF COURSE, COWN EDGE WAY, MARPLE GOLF COURSE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, GOYT MILL, THE RING O’ BELLS AT MARPLE, MARPLE LOCKS, PEAK FOREST CANAL AND THE NORFOLK ARMS AT MARPLE BRIDGE

Distance: 8-9 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, Mild, Cloudy with Sunny Spells.

Walkers: Alastair Cairns with Daisy, Steve Courtney with Luna, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Steve Kemp and Chris Owen.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (New Zealand hols), Peter Beal (La Palma hols), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby and Hughie Hardiman (monitoring Cheltenham races), Julian Ross (w*^king) and George Whaites (domestic duties)

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park at Brabyns Park, Marple Bridge.

Starting time: 9.37am. Finishing time: 2pm.

The ongoing conflict between footpath rights campaigner Colin and the golfing fraternity resulted in another verbal battle during this pleasant walk through the Cheshire countryside. Although we were never far from suburbia, it was often hard to detect among the valleys and woodland.

The first skirmish of the day came in the car park when Daisy, never embarrassed by her diminutive stature, decided to show Luna who was boss. As the friendly Labrador tried to introduce herself, Daisy, a Jack Russell, made it quite clear that she was not to be messed with. It proved to be a sign of things to come from Colin.

For the second week running we were treated to a round of drinks. On this occasion the birthday boy was Alastair, who will be 61 on Friday. We say “Cheers” to him and wish Alastair many happy returns of Friday.

Along with a route which gave us a glimpse of history, ancient and modern, and a feat of engineering based on principles devised by a Greek scientist in the 3^rd Century BC, the journey was conducted in dry, mild weather. Shame about the mud into which our leader fell head first.

From the top car park at Brabyns Park, Marple Bridge, we followed the pathway in the direction of Compstall with fields on our right and a wood to our left. After crossing a bridge to exit the park (10mins) we passed Watermeetings Cottage on our left as we followed a path to the main road (15mins)

Here we turned left passing a building which until recently was a large public house called The George at Compstall, with its own bowling green. The pub has closed and it is undergoing a conversion. After using the road bridge to cross the River Etherow we turned left along Valley Way and walked along the bank of the river into Redbrow Wood (18mins)

We remained on the Etherow’s right bank until the path swung away from it towards farm buildings (30mins). We walked through the farmyard (33mins) and followed Tom steadily uphill until we reached the outskirts of Woodley, where a phone call informed us we had gone the wrong way (38mins). We retraced our footsteps downhill and turned right over a wooden stile (42mins) to head for a viaduct.

After going under the railway viaduct we walked beneath an aqueduct and climbed a steep flight of steps to reach the Peak Forest Canal (51mins). We turned left with the canal on our right until we reached Hyde Bank Tunnel (59mins).

The tunnel is 308 yards long, 16 feet wide and 6ft 8ins high above the waterline. Since 1800 when the Lower Peak Forest Canal opened, it was used by bargees who used to lie on their backs on the roofs of their narrow-boats and walk along the roof of the tunnel to propel them through it. This was known as “legging.”Meanwhile their horses would follow a half-mile route to the other side and wait.

We left the canal on our right and passed Hyde Bank Farm on our left before emerging back on the towpath at the other side of the tunnel (63mins). Continuing with the canal once again on our right, we turned left (73mins) down a flight of stone steps to a road. Here we turned left, passing the delightfully-named Burymewick Cottage on our right, As the road swung right we reached St Chad’s Well on our right (75mins).

 This is believed to have been named after the 7^th Century Bishop of Lichfield who was the patron saint of wells and springs. Beyond the well on our left was Chadkirk Farm, whose west wing dates back to the 17^th Century. The south wing was built in 1748 by George Nicholson, whose family owned Chadkirk House from 1745 until 1918, when it was sold to the Calico Printers’ Association. It was bought by Bredbury and Romiley Urban District Council in 1974 and passed to Stockport Metropolitan District Council in 1974.

Chadkirk has had a chaplain since 1347 and a Roman Catholic Church was built near Chadkirk Farm 170 years before the Reformation. It was neglected and in a “ruinous condition” before it was restored in 1747 by the Church of England. It became the property of Stockport MBC and was repaired as a tourist attraction in 1995.

We paused for pies, port and damson wine on benches in the chapel garden (80mins). Resuming we turned left along a footpath which brought us to a T-junction at Otterspool Road, where we turned left (88mins). Crossing the busy main road we reached Stockport Hydro on our right on the banks of the River Goyt, where we paused for an inspection (91mins)

It is a community-owned hydro-electric energy scheme at Otterspool Weir near Romiley which has been generating power since 2012. Water from the Goyt is diverted from the weir to two screws invented by the Green mathematician Archimedes from Syracuse (287-212 BC). Up to 360 tonnes of water flow through every minute generating 230,000kw of electricity every year.

We continued along the main road, crossing the Goyt and passing The Hare and Hounds pub on our right. At the T-junction traffic lights (104mins) we turned right and then left into Offerton Road (108mins). After some 50 yards we turned left again (109mins) at a green footpath sign and followed a wooden public footpath sign for Marple by crossing a wooden stile (110mins)

Crossing a new wooden stile in the right corner of the field we had entered we exited by another wooden stile and headed diagonally left to reach a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (118mins). We descended a flight of steps and crossed a wooden footbridge (122mins). This led us to a path on the left of the grounds of Stockport Golf Club.

A yellow arrow on a tree pointed us down to a wooden footbridge (130mins) and we crossed a broken wooden stile (137mins) to follow a path beside a rugby pitch on our right. After reaching the Middlewood Way we crossed it by following a sign for the Macclesfield Canal (139mins). A footpath sign for the Cown Edge Way (141mins) then led us on to Marple Golf Course, which we crossed by public footpath following yellow arrows.

During this stage of the journey Lawrie fell to his knees, muddied but unbowed, and Colin once again found himself at odds with golfers. It seems they had played their shots without waiting for Colin to get out of their way. Voices were raised angrily and your diarist heard Colin declare “I was on the Queen’s highway and you owed me a duty of care.” The witty riposte was “You’re a f---ing nutcase.”

It was hard to find fault with either argument.

We reached the Macclesfield Canal and turned left (151mins) with the waterway and the imposing Goyt Mill on our right. We followed the towpath under Bridges 4 and 3 before exiting at Bridge 2 to emerge opposite The Ring O’ Bells at Marple (164mins), known locally as The Ringers.

By now the sun was shining, albeit weakly, and we enjoyed pints of excellent Robbies’ Unicorn cask bitter at £3-20 a pint, courtesy of Alastair, in the beer garden. An old tobacco advertising sign there invited us to “ASK FOR RINGER’S SHAG – The Old Welsh Favourite.”

Suitably refreshed, after a warm inside the pub, we continued our walk along the towpath to Bridge 1 (166mins) where a series of locks link The Macclefield Canal with The Peak Forest Canal. Marple Locks were under repair and we were forced to divert to the right of the towpath along Oldknow Road (171mins)and left into St Martin’s Road (173mins) which took us back to the right bank of The Peak Forest Canal.

Lunch was taken by the side of Lock 9 (178mins) before we crossed the main road and passed Lock 8. Immediately beyond the lock we turned right through a gap stile and turned left to follow the path (180mins). We crossed a bridge over the railway line (183mins) and followed the path leading back to our cars through trees on our left (192mins)

Four of us walked to The Norfolk Arms at Marple Bridge for a final pint or coffee.

Photos by Tom Cunliffe

Next week’s walk will start at 9.35am from the road outside The Cock at Whaley Bridge. We intend to reach The Roebuck around 12.20pm for a tincture before returning to The Cock for a final drink about 2.20pm.

Happy wandering !

Dean Row

DEAN ROW, BOLLIN VALLEY TRAIL, MOTTRAM HALL HOTEL AND GOLF COURSE, THE BULL’S HEAD AT MOTTRAM ST ANDREW, LEGH OLD HALL, LOWER GADHOLE FARM, THE ADMIRAL RODNEY AT PRESTBURY, PRESTBURY WATER TREATMENT PLANT, BOLLIN VALLEY TRAIL AND THE UNICORN AT DEAN ROW, HANDFORTH

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry and cloudy becoming sunny.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Steve Courtney with Luna, Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman, Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Steve Kemp, and Chris Owen.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (New Zealand hols), Colin Davison (having medical scan), George Dearsley (in Turkey), George Whaites (domestic duties)

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The Unicorn Inn, Dean Row, Handforth.

Starting time: 9.41am. Finishing time: 2.12pm.

After the atrocious weather of last week, we enjoyed an unexpectedly bright and sunny day for this walk. We also welcomed the return of a prodigal wanderer and the pleasure was multiplied by the news that he would be celebrating a forthcoming milestone birthday.

Sailor Steve, our merry matelot mate, also brought a lovely companion, a three- year-old black Labrador bitch(my apologies if this fails the PC test). 

Steve bought a round of drinks to mark the arrival of his 60^th birthday this weekend. Congratulations and commiserations in equal measure, although we are told that 60 is the new 40.

 There was a minor delay while Alastair had to collect his forgotten boots. He is in good company in this respect as advancing years take their toll on our memory banks. We will all, however, have to go a long way to surpass Jock, who set off some years ago leaving his dog behind in the car. 

We had gone the best part of a mile when Jock, carrying a lead, was asked: “Where’s Tips today then ?” Our bearded buddy replied: “Oh bother (or words to that effect). She’s still locked in the boot.” It has to be said that Tips was far more pleased to see him than wife Mary would have been in similar circumstances.

From the Unicorn car park we turned right at the main road and right again at the nearby roundabout. After 100 yards we turned right again at a green public footpath sign (5mins) to follow a lane into a muddy farmyard. We exited this by a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (14mins). We went through a kissing gate marked with a yellow arrow (22mins) and through one metal gate before turning immediately right through another to enter a field (24mins)

At the far end was a metal kissing gate leading to a road. To reach it we had to pass a huge white bull and his harem of cows. They stopped grazing and eyed Luna with great suspicion but allowed us to pass unmolested.

At the road we turned right across a bridge and then immediately left into a field with the River Bollin on our left (28mins). After ascending a flight of wooden steps we turned right and walked through a path between high hedges. Two metal kissing gates then took us into the grounds of Mottram Hall Golf Club (33 and 34mins)

We turned left at a sign for the Bollin Valley Trail (40mins) and walked along the side of a soccer practice pitch with Mottram Hall Hotel in the background behind it.

Mottram Hall Hotel, with 120 bedrooms, was bought by Q Hotels in 2014 from the De Vere Group. The Mottram Estate was established in 1310 by Adam de Mottram, and bought in 1650 by Nathaniel Booth, fourth son of William Booth, of Dunham Massey. He lived in the timber-framed Old Hall, now a private house next to the driveway.

His third son, Nathaniel junior, built himself and wife Jane a manor house on his 150 acres of land in 1721. The hall was bought in 1738 by William Wright, a wealthy landowner from Offerton, Stockport, and it remained in the Wright family until 1914. It was bought and converted into an hotel in 1940 and is now a listed building.

We followed the public footpath signs, exiting the golf course briefly and ignoring the first stile on the right to rejoin it (51mins). We carried on through a wood on the edge of the course and turned right across a second wooden stile (54mins) and followed the directions of yellow arrows through the course.

We left it via a wooden kissing gate and walked to the right of a farmhouse to reach a lane where we turned right (63mins). This brought us to a main road with the Bull’s Head (shamefully missing its apostrophe) opposite us diagonally left (70mins). We crossed and headed down Priest Lane before turning left (71mins) at a sign pointing towards Rose Cottage.

Our group soon went left again at a wooden public footpath sign (72mins) and went through a metal kissing gate (73mins) before crossing a series of wooden stiles and a footbridge until we reached a flight of wooden steps and paused for Pietime (80mins). After snacks supplemented by delicious damson gin provided by Chris and a drop of fortifying port, we continued our odyssey.

Swinging left to reach the main road (81mins), we crossed it diagonally left and headed uphill towards Legh Old Hall. We passed this on our left and then turned left to go through a metal kissing gate marked with a yellow arrow and enter a field. The path took us across a series of three wooden stiles marked with yellow arrows (87, 90 and 91mins) to reach a lane with Woodend Farm on our left. We went down a gravel path to the right of the farm (95mins) and turned right in front of Lower Gadhole Farm (97mins) to negotiate our way round a horse paddock.

We crossed a wooden footbridge and went through a wooden kissing gate (104mins) before crossing a cattle-grid and a concrete bridge over the Bollin (109mins). Here we turned right with the river on our right and passed a soccer pitch as we entered the outskirts of Prestbury (112mins). Immediately after we had passed The Village Club on our left we turned left (117mins) and entered the rear of the Admiral Rodney (no tittering please)

Although it was only 11.53am the pub was already open and Steve generously bought a round. This was made up predominantly of Robbies’ Unicorn cask bitter at £3-40 a pint. It was in such fine fettle that Tom positively purred with pleasure. Furthermore we were able to enjoy it in the beer garden outside where we were bathed in sunshine.

Resuming our perambulations we retraced our footsteps to the concrete bridge over the Bollin (127mins). Instead of crossing it at this point we carried on along the right bank until we reached the start of Prestbury Water Treatment Works on our right (133mins). It was protected by a chain-link fence, leaving us to wonder who might try to break into a sewage farm.

At an overgrown bridge on our left we paused for a lunch-break (141mins). When we carried on we finally left the treatment works on our right behind us and reached a wooden footbridge over the Bollin on our left (150mins). We crossed this and followed the well-trodden path before swinging right past a pond and reaching the steps up the road bridge over the Bollin which we had crossed earlier.

We turned right (173mins) and immediately left to enter the field. The bull and his retinue were out of sight. From here we retraced our earlier footsteps through the muddy farmyard and back to The Unicorn car park (199mins). After de-booting we were able to enjoy pints of IPA at £3-43.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.35am from the upper car park at Brabyns Park, Marple Bridge. From there we will be guided to The Ring O’ Bells at Marple around 12.15pm for a bracer, then returning to our cars to de-boot at about 2.15pm. We will walk to the nearby Norfolk Arms, Marple Bridge, for a final libation ten minutes later.

Happy wandering !

    

Carr Brow

Sadly, in the absence of our usual diarist Alan Hart, the standard of Wednesday Wandering reportage has this week taken an unprecedented dive.

Perhaps it was too cold to hold a ballpoint pen.

Despite some excellent photographs details of the walk from Carr Brow to the Fox at Brook Bottom,  via Lomber Hey Farm, Ridge Fold, Strawberry Hill, Linnet Clough and Capstone are limited to the contents of the e mail below sent by Colin.

Gentlemen

S.O.B. Terry Jowett joined Tom Cunliffe, Steve Kemp and myself and treated us all to a pint of Unicorn each to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of his birth. Happy Birthday, Terry.

We returned via Strines and the ruins of Springwater Mill.

Conditions were arduous at times as may be deduced from the photos. There was little incentive to remove gloves at its worst as you might imagine. I shall leave you to contemplate those extremes.

Photos by Colin

Full inventory of photographs here.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c1bctypo109o2gl/AADJSyznlPaz2SW_bhLhL2_ia?dl=0

Pictures by Anon (possibly Steve Kemp)

Next weeks walk starts at The Unicorn Adlington Road SK9 2LN at 9.30am

Happy Wandering.