Hayfield

Hayfield

October 31, 2018

SPORTSMAN INN AT HAYFIELD, SNAKE PATH, MIDDLE MOOR, SHOOTING BOX, CARR MEADOW, HOLLINWORTH HEAD, MONKS' ROAD, KNARRS NOOK, LITTLE MILL INN AT ROWARTH,  LANESIDE FARM, WETHERCOTES, HAYFIELD VILLAGE, SPORTSMAN INN

Distance: 9 miles Ascent/descent: 1,650 ft 

Difiiculty: Moderate

Weather: Mainly sunny

Walkers: Peter Beal, Micky Barrett, Alastair Cairns and Daisy, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Haine, Mark Keane, Jock Rooney and Tip, Chris Owen, George Whaites

Non-walking drinkers: Colin Davison

Apologies: Andrew Ashworth (recuperating from surgery), Laurie Fairman (recovering from knee op),  Mark  Gibby (unwell), Hughie Hardiman (domestic duties), Alan Hart ('flu symptoms), Steve Kemp (recuperating), Julian Ross (w@#king)

Leader: Beal Diarist: Beal

Starting point: Sportsman Inn, Kinder Road, Hayfield 

Starting time: 9.45am  Finishing time: 2.19pm

We enjoyed glorious weather for this moorland circuit around Hayfield, taking in two fine pubs and celebrating the birthdays both of George and your temporary diarist. He was forced in to this role by the absence of Alan, who having woken with a sore throat, gallantly chose to forego free pints for fear of spreading possible 'flu among his fellow walkers. It was such sacrifices that made Britain great.

We welcomed a new walker in Colin Haine and saw the return of last week's debutant Mark Keane, clearly not deterred by his initial experience.

On our return through Hayfield prominent poppies bore poignant reminders of the sacrifices made by villagers in the two World Wars - more of this later.

Your diarist is delighted to follow the example of Alan in contributing a more abbreviated record of our wandering than previously. This decision was the result of a chaotic and abortive attempt by Alan earlier in the month to lead a walk based solely on his detailed scribblings of an earlier walk on the same route.

Our walk got off to a false start when we set off down Kinder Road towards Hayfield village a few minutes earlier than the appointed time, figuring we would spot any other walkers arriving by car up the road. Sure enough we had covered barely 100 yards when Jock hove in to view, so we waited to allow him and Tip to catch up.

As the road descended in to the village we turned right up a track. This was the start of the Snake Path, an old trackway leading over the flanks of Kinder Scout to the Snake Inn on the Glossop to Sheffield road.

A Peak and Northern Footpaths Society sign here announces: 'This footpath to the Snake Inn via William Clough and the Ashop Valley dedicated for ever, May 29, 1897.' The footpath might have established the route as a right of way - but the surrounding moors were still out of bounds to the ramblers who flocked to the Derbyshire hills from the factories of Manchester in the early part of the 20th century.

Another, newer, plaque on a wall here commemorates the Kinder Mass Trespass on April 24, 1932 - widely acknowledged as paving the way to the National Parks' foundation and later the Right to Roam on open land.

We climbed the track through a series of fields, passing the local landmark of the beech copse known as Twenty Trees on our left, although in fact there are only 19 of them.

We emerged through a kissing gate on to open moorland and headed for the white-painted shooting boxes some 300 yards ahead. Here we swung left over a wooden plankway over a patch of boggy ground.

The path continued over the heather moor, dropping down a stone pathway to ford a stream, before bringing us to another footbridge over the stream of Hollingworth Clough  near to the Hayfield to Glossop road.

Here we bore right up a concessionary path alongside a stone wall. Pietime was declared at 11am at a small quarry half way up the slope.

We continued upwards and as the climb flattened out reached a stile at the crest of the Hayfield-Glossop road at Hollinworth Head. Colin left us here to take a short-cut down the road before being reunited with us later at the Sportsman.

We crossed the rather perilous blind road summit and took the Monks' Road opposite for around 300 yards before taking a track on the left. At a fork in the track we kept left and soon reached the farm buildings of Knarrs Nook, where extensive renovation was under way. We skirted some containers to reach a wall stile, which when crossed brought us in to two fields which we descended to reach a dilapidated barn on a lane.

We went left here through a gate on to Matley Moor, which we crossed briefly to reach another gate, where we bore right down a track to rejoin the lane. This led us downhill and over a stream ford,where we took a footpath on the left to bring us to the small village of Rowarth and its excellent pub, the Little Mill Inn.

Birthday pints of Jennings' Cumberland Ale were supplied here by George and your diarist.

Resuming, we turned right out of the pub and followed the lane to Laneside Farm, where it turned in to a stony track. This was followed for more than a mile, through the messy farm of Wethercotes, to reach Sitch Lane above Birch Vale.

We turned left here and descended the lane to Hayfield village, where we took Kinder Road on the left towards the Sportsman.

Six poppies on railings here bear the names of the victims of a surprise German bombing raid on the village on July 3, 1942. At 8pm two JU88s swept up the Sett Valley strafing and

bombing New Mills, Low Leighton and Hayfield. They were on their way home from an unsuccessful attempt to bomb a propellor factory at Lostock near Bolton.

Two people died in Low Leighton as well as the six in Hayfield - one of them 10-year-old Freda Thorpe, an evacuee. She was said to have protected her two younger brothers during the bombing, which killed 61-year-old Albert Gibson, his wife Edith, 47, their daughters Margaret, 23, and Gladys, 19, along with local rent collector Hannah Robinson, 47.

The two aircraft then bombed a quarry at Stoney Middleton before strafing Chatsworth House. They were both shot down by Polish Spitfire pilots near Lincoln.

We continued back to the Sportsman for welcome pints of Wainwright's, at £3-70.

Next week's walk will start at the Miners' Arms, Wood Lane North, Adlington, at 9.30am.

We will climb to Sponds Hill above Lyme Park, before descending the Gritstone Trail to Bollington, where refreshments will be at the Hollybush. We will return to Adlington by either the Macclesfield Canal or the Middlewood Way.

Happy wandering!

Poynton

October 24, 2018.

POYNTON SPORTS CLUB, LADY’S INCLINE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, LYME PARK, LYME CAGE, NELSON PIT MUSEUM, THE BOAR’S HEAD AT HIGHER POYNTON, ANSON ROAD, DAVENPORT GOLF CLUB, PRINCES INCLINE, POYNTON SPORTS CLUB

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, cloudy but warm.

Walkers: Micky Barrett, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Steve Courtney with Luna, Tom Cunliffe, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Mark Kean, John Laverick, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney with Tip, Julian Ross, George Whaites and Charlie Yates.

B walkers: George Fraser, Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Phil Oldham, Geoff Spurrell and Barry Williams.

Non-walking drinkers: Mark Gibby and Wilf Seville.

Apologies: Andrew Ashworth (receiving medical treatment), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (recovering from knee op), Steve Kemp (recovering from bone marrow op)

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Poynton Sports Club car park.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2pm.

Another dry autumnal day produced another spectacular turnout for this tried and trusted walk. A cynic might think that the promise of free food and drink had influenced the attendance but we were delighted to welcome two new walkers to the A team and a debutant to the B team.

We were also pleased to see a long-term absentee, John Laverick, return to the ranks, not least because of his knowledge of the local routes, and to be joined at the end by Mark Gibby, fresh from his spell in hospital, and Wilf Seville, the former manager of Poynton Sports Club.

May I say it was a joy to see you all to celebrate my birthday and thank you so much for your thoughtful presents. Can I also thank our club manager Sean Vincent for opening the bar especially for us and providing the delicious chilli, rice and chips.

The day had begun unpromisingly when the leader overslept and, trying to make up for lost time, left home without any money. As a result the start was delayed by ten minutes, for which I offer my profuse apologies. We welcomed Keano and Charlie to our A team walk and later encountered Phil, making his debut for the B team.

As readers of these weekly scribblings will be aware, your diarist is painfully aware of his shortcomings in the field of navigation. I find maps a mystery and compasses confusing. However, with a little help from my friends, we were able to make up the lost time and arrive punctually at both hostelries.

We turned right at the Sports Club entrance to head in the direction of Hazel Grove and turned right into the next side road. After 100 yards we headed left up Lady’s Incline which took us across Towers Road, past the studio home of late Wednesday Wanderer Ian Price, a renowned local landscape and piss artist.

Shortly afterwards we crossed a bridge over the Middlewood Way, an 11-mile hiking, cycling and horse-riding route linking Macclesfield with Marple opened in 1985 by Dr David Bellamy, the noted environmentalist. It follows the route of the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway which opened in 1869 and closed in 1970.

Beyond this we reached the Macclesfield Canal and turned left with the waterway on our right. At the first bridge we turned left to swing over it by the side of a lavishly-decorated World War 11 pill-box. (Presumably this would have helped our defences if Hitler had decided to invade by narrow-boat !)

After crossing the bridge we were heading for Lyme Park with the comforting sight of Lyme Cage coming into view. We stopped for Pietime at 11am just short of the gate at the entrance to Lyme Park, with Alastair providing samples of his delicious home-made sloe gin.

We then entered the estate granted to Sir Thomas D’anyers who, in 1346, had retrieved the standard of the Black Prince at the Battle of Crecy. He was rewarded with an annuity of 40 marks a year drawn on his Cheshire estate, which could be exchanged for land of that value. The annuity passed to his granddaughter, Margaret D’anyers, who in 1398 married Piers Legh, and the land was transferred by Richard 11.

The first house on the Lyme Handley estate was recorded in 1465 but this was demolished so the present house, the biggest in Cheshire, could be built during the middle of the 16^th Century. The house, occupying 15 acres within a deer park of 1,359 acres, remained in the Legh family until 1946 when it was taken over by The National Trust.

Lyme Hall attracted new interest in 1995 when the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice used it as Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy. The character was played by Colin Firth, who sent female hearts a-fluttering when he dived into the lake beside the hall and emerged in a see-through shirt and dripping breeches.

We resisted the temptation to walk up to Lyme Cage, a former hunting lodge and holding pen for poachers, passing it on our left and meeting our six comrades from the B team. They were on a similar route in a counter-clockwise direction.

After passing the toilets, tea room and lake on our right, we swung right to head downhill out of the park and back to Higher Poynton. We crossed the canal at Lord Vernon’s Wharf, passing the Nelson Pit Museum on our right and crossing a bridge over the Middlewood Way to reach The Boar’s Head at 12.15pm for pints of Black Sheep cask bitter, which was not on best form. We were joined some 20 minutes later by the B team.

For our final leg we turned left out of the pub and left again into Anson Road, passing the council refuse tip on our right and further down we passed the entrance to The Anson Engine Museum also on our right. At the bottom of Anson Road we crossed the road to Middlewood and climbed up to Davenport Golf Course, where we turned left to cross a fairway along a public footpath.

This took us through a copse of trees and ultimately across Towers Road to join Princes Incline. This led us down a route which once took mined coal to a yard next to London Road North, where tubs were emptied. The weight of the loaded tubs coming down the incline hauled the empty ones back uphill.

We reached the main road, turned left and then left again to go through the entrance to Poynton Sports Club grounds. After de-booting we entered the clubhouse at 2pm for pints of excellent Wainwrights’ cask bitter for £2-95. Because of a Buy 5 Get 1 Free deal, your diarist was able to purchase his birthday drinks for a bargain £2-48 a pint.

Next week’s walk will feature another birthday celebration when Peter is our host and leader. We will start at 9.40am from outside The Sportsman pub on Kinder Road, Hayfield. From there we will head across Middle Moor to Chunal, aiming to reach The Little Mill at Rowarth around 12.10pm for a livener. We intend to return to The Sportsman for further refreshment at about 2.15pm.

Happy wandering !

  

Butterton

October 17, 2018.

BUTTERTON, CROFT HEAD FARM, WARSLOW BROOK, STONEYFOLD, LOWER ELKSTONE, HOLE FARM, BLACK BROOK FARM, FARMOOR, THE JERVIS ARMS AT ONECOTE, 47 SQUADRON CAIRN, SHELDON FARM, GREENHEAD COTTAGE AND BLACK LION INN AT BUTTERTON

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Easy apart from barbed wire and water hazards.

Weather: Warm and dry with blue skies and sunshine.

Walkers: Andrew Ashworth, Micky Barrett, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney with Tip, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

Apologies: Colin Davison (attending funeral), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (awaiting knee op on Oct 20), Mark Gibby (in hospital) and Steve Kemp (recovering from op)

Leader: Cunliffe. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Lay-by near Butterton Parish Church, south of Warslow, Staffs.

Starting time: 10.30am. Finishing time: 3.15pm.

For the second week running, glorious sunny weather brought ten walkers and two dogs for this new walk selected and led by Tom. We also welcomed a debutant, Andrew, who must have felt as though he had wandered on to the set of Last of the Summer Wine.

The best way to describe this walk was “incident-packed”. Butterton is one of the southernmost starting points I have visited with the Wednesday Wanderers and a series of traffic hold-ups on the journey there led to a delayed start. But as Tom was in possession not only of a large scale map of the area, but also his Global Positioning Satellite device (GPS) what could possibly go wrong ?      Read on.

After passing Croft Head Farm on our right (3mins) the first drama unfolded as Tom attempted to cross a stile on our left. He slipped on the far side, temporarily losing both his map and his spectacles. He also sustained a rip to the seat of his pants and smears of brown mud in an unfortunate area.

While Tom attempted to regain his composure, map and specs, Daisy bounded into the field and immediately started rounding up a flock of sheep which fled in terror from their tiny tormentor. It is unlikely they had seen a miniature poodle before, let alone been chased by one. Tom’s orders for Daisy to return, issued in a loud commanding voice, were totally ignored. Daisy has clearly been trained by Stella.

We proceeded with many consultations being made by our leader to both the map and the GPS. Chaos ensued however when he decided it was necessary to cross a barbed wire fence and ford a stream to continue. The double jeopardy of castration and drowning were avoided, but Peter slipped off the rocks into Warslow Brook and Chris realised belatedly that he had lost his specs as he stumbled across.

While this mayhem was going on, your diarist, Alastair and George explored a path to the left which led to a bridge across the river and into a farmyard at Stoneyfold. We emerged along the proper path where we joined by the unhappy remnants of Tom’s lost legion. As we approached a sign for Elkstones, we paused for pies and port on a drystone wall. It seemed incredible we had squeezed so much drama into one hour of walking.

Continuing we passed Hole Farm on our left and Town Head Farm on our right, where first we came under the alarming gaze of a huge black Alsatian and were then treated like a flock of wayward sheep by a border collie. After passing Breach Farm on our right and Farmoor Farm on our left we reached the road to Onecote and turned right along it.

Passing Malbon House Farm and Butterton Moor Home on our left, we reached Onecote at 1pm. We are obliged to our learned friend Mr Rooney for the information that the village is pronounced Onnercot by locals. With the sun beating down, we enjoyed a choice of three different cask ales in the beer garden by the side of the River Manifold.

On leaving the pub we reached an intriguing sign for the 47 Squadron Cairn. When your diarist suggested this could be visited on the way back to Butterton he was rebuked by the leader who informed us we would not be passing the cairn.

Imagine our surprise, dear readers, when 35 minutes later, after much aimless wandering and map and GPS consultation, we arrived at the 47 Squadron Cairn.

This was a memorial to a Halifax RT922 which came down on the hillside here in February, 1947. Six RAF personnel and two press photographers were all killed when the plane crashed as it attempted to deliver supplies to snowbound Grindon.

After passing Sheldon Farm, Tom lost his lead which must have been a huge relief to Daisy who had twice nearly been strangled by it as Tom led her through a gate and over a stile. The lost lead was found and retrieved by our following group.

After passing Greenhead Cottage and the closed Black Lion pub in Butterton, which was built in 1782, we returned to our cars to de-boot at 3.15pm. There had been a plan to drive to the Knights Table at Flash, but because of the lateness of the hour your diarist decided to head straight home.


Pictures by Andrew Ashworth

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30am from the car park of Poynton Sports Club, heading up Princes Incline and along the Ladybrook Trail into Lyme Park before heading back and calling for a bracer around 12.15pm at The Boar’s Head, Higher Poynton. The walk will finish back at the Sports Club where chilli, rice and chips are being provided to celebrate the 73rdbirthday of your diarist. We hope the B team will be able to join us at both venues.

Happy wandering ! 

Brabyns Park

October 10, 2018.

BRABYNS PARK, MARPLE BRIDGE, COMPSTALL, REDBROW WOOD, ETHEROW VALLEY,PEAK FOREST CANAL, HYDE BANK TUNNEL, ST CHAD’S WELL, CHADKIRK CHAPEL, OTTERSPOOL WEIR, HIGHER DANBANK, THE RING O’BELLS AT MARPLE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, PEAK FOREST CANAL AND THE NORFOLK ARMS AT MARPLE BRIDGE

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Warm with blue skies and sunshine all the way.

Walkers: Peter Beal *, Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Colin Davison, Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney with Tip, and George Whaites.

Apologies: George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (awaiting knee op), Steve Kemp (recovering from op).

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Upper car park at Brabyns Park, Marple Bridge.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 1.50pm.

Glorious sunny weather and warm temperatures attracted a bumper turnout of ten walkers and two dogs. We also welcomed back Hughie after a prolonged absence through holidays and filial duties and Tom, who was injured in a playground accident but is now on the road to recovery. Colin also rejoined the main party after health problems and was soon revising the route in his customary style.

*Peter, who had overnight visitors, made a delayed start and ploughed a lonely furrow until he joined the rest of the group at the Ring O’ Bells. We also received a couple of toots on the horn from Julian and a cheery wave from his wife Dee as they passed us at traffic lights near Rose Hill, Marple.

The walk also provided an opportunity to test the theory that the diaries can be printed out and followed by future ramblers without the assistance of a map. I have to tell you, dear readers, that the experiment failed. 

 The purpose of this diary has been to inform, entertain and enable readers to follow in our footsteps. On this route, a copy of our walk led by Lawrie on March 16 this year, I attempted to follow a print-out of my diary from that date. As I twice led us astray, once briefly the other totally, it became clear that far more detailed information was necessary than I have the time to devote.

 So henceforth my diaries will contain the usual bullet points at the top of the page and a brief description of the journey and any amusing incidents. There will, however, no longer be any detailed information about fields entered and stiles crossed. They will still end with the vital information about the starting time and venue for the following week’s walk. Other diarists may continue as they wish.

As we left Brabyns Park in the direction of Compstall we paused to examine the iron bridge, once used for owner Nathaniel Wright’s carriage, built in 1813 by Salford Iron Works. There was speculation that Lawrie might have been an apprentice around this time.

We could only admire the pattern of diminishing circles in the spandrels which, as every schoolboy knows, is familiar in cast iron bridges of this era. At the crown of the bridge, we noted, the ribs are joined together by a bolted flange. Diagonal braces are fitted between the three arch ribs, which we all agreed was an unusual feature for such an early bridge.

Our journey continued into Compstall, over the River Etherow and then along its right bank on the Valley Way into Redbrow Wood. We went first under the railway viaduct immediately followed by the aqueduct supporting the Peak Forest Canal. Climbing up steps to reach the canal we headed towards Hyde Bank Tunnel with the canal on our right.

We left it to head past St Chad’s Well to stop at benches in the garden of Chadkirk Chapel for pies, port and rhubarb gin kindly supplied by Chris. Continuing in the same direction we turned left along Otterspool Road, stopping briefly at the community-owned hydro-electric scheme at Otterspool Weir. Continuing again past The Hare and Hounds on our right we reached traffic lights at a T-junction. As we waited to cross the road two beeps drew our attention to a car being driven by Julian with Dee waving enthusiastically through the passenger window. 

Following Lawrie’s earlier route I turned right, followed by Chris and Alastair, later pursued by Hughie, who announced that the others were following Colin along an alternative path to Marple. We continued going left into Offerton Road and left again to Higher Danbank with the intention of heading for Stockport Golf Club.

However we must have exited a field by the wrong stile and were misdirected further by a dog-walker who pointed us towards the wrong footbridge. When we thus reached the wrong section of the Middlewood Way, a helpful cyclist directed us towards the Ring O’ Bells by a route along the main road.

When we arrived at 12.30pm the other walkers and Peter were already in situ in the beer garden drinking pints of Robbies’ Unicorn and Dizzy Blonde. We departed along a short stretch of the Macclefield Canal before a series of locks started the Peak Forest Canal. Once again Colin insisted on ignoring the normal route and racing off on another trail to reach his car and leave us in a cloud of dust.

The rest of us de-booted at 1.50pm, one of our earliest finishing times, and had a final drink before heading home.

Tom’s plans for next week’s walk left us all agog with excitement at the prospect of a new route and two new pubs. We will start at 10am at a lay-by north of the church in Butterton, Staffs, at Grid Ref SK075566. We will be aiming for the Jervis Arms at Onecote around 1pm before returning after   8.5miles  to  de-boot.  Then  we  will  drive  up  the  A53 to  the  Knights  Table  north  of  Flash. Happy wandering !

  

Hayfield

October 3, 2018.

HAYFIELD, KINDER ROAD, KINDER RESERVOIR, NAB BROW, WILLIAM CLOUGH, MILL HILL, THE KNOTT GROUSE BUTTS, MIDDLE MOOR, PARK HALL, THE LANTERN PIKE AT LITTLE HAYFIELD, THE CALICO TRAIL, MAY QUEEN FIELD AND THE SPORTSMAN ON KINDER ROAD, HAYFIELD

Distance: 7-8 miles.

Difficulty: Mainly moderate with strenuous climb.

Weather: Dry with early mist giving way to sunny spells.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney with Tip, and George Whaites.

Strollers: Colin Davison and Lawrie Fairman.

Apologies: Micky Barrett and Julian Ross (sailing off Turkey), Tom Cunliffe (recovering from playground injury), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Hughie Hardiman (filial duties), Steve Kemp (recovering from operation) 

Official leader: Beal. Unofficial leader: Owen. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Road outside The Sportsman on Kinder Road, Hayfield.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.25pm.

Early mist gave way to autumnal sunshine for this walk up Derbyshire’s highest peaks. We were eventually rewarded for our efforts by some spectacular views from the foothills of Kinder across the valleys leading to Hayfield .

Once again we were deprived of Tom’s company because of an injury incurred on a runaway swing in a children’s playground. No doubt he will be pleased to learn this news was greeted with a combination of sympathy and giggling.

Peter had volunteered to lead this walk although it has to be said that Chris spent most of the time in front of his leader. Nonetheless we all reached our destinations in time without a backward step.

We were also delighted to meet Lawrie and Colin in our first designated watering hole, The Lantern Pike Inn, where Tom and Stella were once mine hosts. (They may be pleased to learn the pub was almost empty before we arrived to a warm welcome)

Lawrie will be having an operation to replace his knee later this month and we wish him a speedy recovery and return to the fold. Colin’s malaise is more problematical and we look forward to his joining us again soon in a normal role. Meanwhile we must make do with his sporadic guest appearances.

With The Sportsman on our left we crossed the road and followed a public footpath sign opposite to cross a bridge over the Sett. We turned left with the river on our left (2mins). At a fork in the path we kept left along the riverbank, passing a campsite on our right (6mins). We turned left towards Mill House Booth and Farlands (13mins) before heading right past a cottage built in 1723 (17mins)

We went through a wooden gate, reached a lane and turned left (27mins) before turning sharp right at a wooden public footpath sign (28mins). With the River Kinder on our left we reached the end of Kinder Road and turned right through a wooden gate on to a cobbled path (32mins)

The route took us past the derelict building attached to Kinder Reservoir on our right as we ascended Nab Brow. We went through a wooden gate (41mins) and ignored a footbridge over a stream on our right (52mins) to start the ascent of William Clough.

We are indebted to our learned friend Mr Beal for the information that this was named after a 13th Century smith called William, although the whereabouts of his forge have been lost in the mists of time. William Clough was also the scene of skirmishes between 400 militant hikers and servants of the Duke of Devonshire who tried to stop them trespassing in 1932. Six of the walkers were arrested on charges of assault and one of them was subsequently jailed for six months. The Kinder Mass Trespass has since been credited with the creation of National Parks and The Right To Roam Act of 2000.

 Our ascent of the clough was interrupted by a break for pies, port and rhubarb gin made and kindly supplied by Chris (90mins). When we reached a junction of pathways soon after our pause, we turned sharp left (98mins), following a sign a little later towards Bleaklow (100mins). This brought us to a cairn (108mins) where Peter started to lead us by compass bearings across the moorland.

We reached a series of grouse butts and headed towards Knott Hill and reached a well-trodden path with Chris now striding out ahead of the group. The mist had lifted and we enjoyed sunlit views across the foothills of Kinder Scout. The path brought us to a wall and a stream which we crossed by stepping stones with the wall on our right (162mins)

A few yards beyond the stream we turned right through a gate to exit Middle Moor. With Park Hall on our right we turned left down a gravel track to reach the A624 road linking Glossop and Chapel-en-le-Frith. We turned right (167mins) and reached The Lantern Pike Inn on our left (170mins) for pints of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord cask bitter at £3-70. Here we found Colin and Lawrie already ensconced after a stroll from Hayfield.

Lawrie announced he had been given a date for his knee operation on October 20 and we all wished him a speedy recovery.

Continuing our walk we turned right out of the pub towards Hayfield and then right again down Slack Lane (171mins). We turned left at a green footpath sign for Hayfield (173mins) and reached a lane through a wooden gate (180mins). We turned left uphill and at the end of the road we turned left again (182mins) At a green public footpath sign we turned right into the May Queen Field (184mins) and stopped for lunch at a set of benches (186mins)  

A plaque at the field entrance had informed us that the production of calico dominated Hayfield life in the 19th Century with the village population doubling in size and three out of every five inhabitants employed in its mills. Working hours were 6am till 6pm from Monday to Friday and from 6am till 1pm on Saturdays.

Continuing the last leg of our journey we ignored a footbridge across the Sett on our right (187mins) and emerged at Market Street, which we crossed and headed up Kinder Road (189mins). At Number 63 on our left (194mins) was a blue plaque erected by Derbyshire County Council inscribed: “Arthur Lowe 1915-82. Actor, Captain Mainwaring in Dad’s Army. Born in this terrace.”

But that is just a small part of Arthur Lowe’s story. The son of a railwayman, he served in the Middle East with the Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry taking part in stage shows for the troops. He later served as a radar technician with the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, reaching the rank of sergeant. 

Lowe made his debut with the Manchester Repertory Company in 1945 and appeared in West End Musicals such as Call Me Madam, Pal Joey and The Pyjama Game. He can also be seen as a reporter for Tit Bits in the movie classic Kind Hearts and Coronets starring Alastair Sim and Dennis Price.

But his break-through role was as draper Leonard Swindley in Coronation Street from 1960-65. Lowe grew to hate Britain’s favourite soap opera, although when he left he starred in a spin-off sit-com called Pardon The Expression. He also played Mr Micawber in a BBC serialisation of David Copperfield. On the silver screen he appeared as a drunken butler in The Ruling Class with Peter O’Toole and as a murder victim in Theatre of Blood, starring Vincent Price.

His greatest achievement was to win a BAFTA award in 1973 as Best Supporting Actor in O Lucky Man. This put him alongside Hollywood superstars Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Fred Astaire and Jack Nicholson.

In real life he was a bumbling, pompous alcoholic, but I concede this is all too long for a plaque.

We reached The Sportsman on our left (201mins), de-booted and enjoyed pints of Wainwrights’ cask bitter for £3-40.

Next week’s walk will start at 9.35am from the upper car park at Brabyn’s Park, Marple Bridge. We intend calling for a bracer at The Ring O’ Bells, Marple, around 12.25pm and returning for a final drink at The Norfolk Arms, Marple Bridge, at about 2.15pm.

Happy wandering !