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 !