Sutton

September 26, 2018.

SUTTON HALL CAR PARK, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, MACCLESFIELD GOLF COURSE, LANGLEY METHODIST CHURCH, BOTTOMS RESERVOIR, TEGGS NOSE, LOWER CROOKED YARD FARM, MACCLESFIELD FOREST, LEATHERS SMITHY AT LANGLEY, RIDGEGATE RESERVOIR, LANGLEY CRICKET CLUB, FOLD FARM COTTAGE, TRINITY LANE ESTATE AND SUTTON HALL

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry, warm and becoming sunny.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

Cyclist: Colin Davison.

Apologies: Micky Barrett (Turkey yachting hols), Tom Cunliffe (twisted knee), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (awaiting knee op), Hughie Hardiman (filial duties), Steve Kemp (recovering from op)

Leader: Owen. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of Sutton Hall, Sutton, Macclesfield.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.06pm.

For the second successive week there were six A-teamers for a walk led by Chris. This time Peter and Julian replaced Alastair and Tom in the starting line-up. Julian explained that Tom had sent his apologies after twisting his knee while sitting on a child’s swing that had gone out of control.

I would like to state that nobody laughed when they heard this story. Unfortunately I cannot. But I would like to add that after the hysteria had subsided we all wished Tom a speedy recovery. It could be that this is why children over 12 are banned from playground swings.

After the early summer’s prolonged heat-wave gave way to showers and blustery winds, we were treated to lovely weather and magnificent views as September went out in style. We also enjoyed sun-drenched tables in the beer gardens of two attractive watering holes.

From the car park we headed back to the main road and Bridge 44 of the Macclesfield Canal (3mins). Here we turned left with the waterway on our right.

The Macclesfield Canal, designed by Thomas Telford, opened in 1831 and runs for 26 miles linking the Peak Forest Canal at Marple with the Trent and Mersey Canal via its Hall Green branch to the Hardys Wood section. It has 12 locks at Bosley which alter its levels by 118 feet.

One of its innovatory features are its roving bridges, also called snake bridges, which enabled barge horses to switch towpaths on different sides of the canal without being untethered.

We used one such bridge to switch to the opposite bank at Bridge 43, now walking with the canal on our left and Macclesfield Golf Course on our right. Leaving the canal at Bridge 40 (21mins) we turned right downhill and then left into Black Road (23mins). We soon headed left up Richmond Hill (24mins) and followed a green public footpath sign at the top, heading right (25mins)

When the footpath split two ways we turned left (26mins) and crossed a gravel track to continue along the footpath. We went slightly right when we reached a sign for Macclesfield Golf Club to our left (30mins) and followed the footpath across a stony track (36mins). As we passed through a kissing gate (38mins) we identified the telecom mast on the summit of Croker Hill on our right and the shape of Shutlingsloe immediately ahead of us in the distance.

We turned right downhill at a green public footpath sign (46mins)and crossed a wooden footbridge (51mins) before passing through a metal kissing gate and reaching a road (54mins) where we turned left. At Langley Methodist Church we turned left in the direction of Macclesfield Forest (60mins)

Passing St Dunstan’s Inn on our left we turned left down Holehouse Lane (63mins) and reached the new wall in front of Bottoms Reservoir where we turned left (66mins). We walked through a wooden gate and turned right to start a climb up Teggs Nose (69mins) but soon veered off to the right (71mins) following a less distinct track uphill.

After passing through two wooden gates (72 and 74mins) we reached the Gritstone Trail and turned left (81mins), pausing for pies and port on three conveniently-sited logs overlooking the valley below (85mins)

Resuming we went through a five-barred wooden gate (86mins)and followed the wooden public footpath sign for Macclesfield Forest and Shutlingsloe (87mins). This took us past Lower Crooked Yard Farm on our right (91mins) before we turned left over a stone step stile (99mins). We crossed another stone steps stile and turned left along a gravel track (103mins)

A metal gate led us into Macclesfield Forest (104mins) and we followed a wooden public footpath sign marked Forest Bridleway (109mins) to continue our journey. A metal gate (125mins) marked the end of the forest and we proceeded down a road which brought us to the Leathers Smithy (134mins)

Pints of cask bitter were priced at an eye-watering £3-95 but they were in good form and we enjoyed them in the beer garden in bright sunshine. Within minutes we were joined by a pseudo cyclist as Colin arrived on his hybrid electric bike.

As we bade him farewell and resumed our return route we took a path along the Gritstone Trail opposite the pub and walked with Ridgegate Reservoir on our left and turned right along the Gritstone Trail (139mins). After crossing a wooden footbridge (142mins) we went through a wooden gate (143mins) and turned left at a metal kissing gate just before we reached the Langley Water Treatment Works (147mins)

After some 100 yards along the footpath we stopped for lunch (149mins). Continuing we went through a metal kissing gate (157mins) where we fed Jacko, a Shetland pony, with two apple cores before turning right and right again along a road. We passed Langley Cricket Club (158mins) and Fold Farm Cottage (163mins), both on our right.

We turned left at a public footpath sign (164mins) and passed Langley Methodist Church on our right (167mins) as we turned left along Langley Road. We turned left into Trinity Lane (180mins) and entered a modern housing estate where we turned right into Fitzwilliam Avenue (181mins), left into Peter House Road (184mins), right at a T-junction into Gonville Avenue and left into Selwyn Drive (186mins)

At the end of Selwyn Drive we turned right at a major road (187mins) and left at Sutton Hall Farm (189mins). This brought us to a door on our right (190mins) which we entered and arrived in the car park of Sutton Hall to de-boot (191mins) before enjoying pints of Lord Lucan for £3-80.

Sutton Hall was the birthplace of Ralph Holinshed, a 16thCentury scholar, whose tome The Chronicles of England , Scotland and Ireland – whatever happened to Wales  ? – were published in 1577. It is alleged his works were shamelessly plagiarised by a budding playwright called William Shakespeare.

The hall later became part of the family estate of the Earls of Lucan. The 3rd earl, Charles George Bingham, was a field marshal at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War and commanded the cavalry. He and his brother-in-law Lord Cardigan, commander of the Light Brigade, despised each other which may have caused misunderstandings leading to the heroic but foolhardy Charge of the Light Brigade immortalised in literature and film.

The 7th Earl of Lucan, George Charles Patrick Bingham, disappeared in 1974 after the murder of the family nanny at their home in Belgravia. Rumours of his whereabouts in different corners of the globe were never confirmed and he was never seen again. He was officially presumed dead in 2014 and his son, George Bingham, became the 8th Earl of Lucan in 2016.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.35am from outside The Sportsman on Kinder Road, Hayfield, led by Peter. He aims to take us up Williams Clough before reaching The Lantern Pike, Little Hayfield, around 12.30pm. We expect to be back at The Sportsman for a final drink at about 2.15pm.

Happy wandering !