Whitehough

April 24, 2019.

WHITEHOUGH, PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, BRIERLEY GREEN,THROSTLE'S NEST FARM, CRACKEN EDGE, BIG STONE, PEEP-A-DAY, THE LAMB ON A628 AT CHINLEY, MONK'S MEADOWS, GREENACRES FARM, THE NAZE, CHINLEY WAR MEMORIAL AND THE OLD HALL AT WHITEHOUGH

Distance: Seven miles.

Difficulty: Moderately steep climb.

Weather: Mainly cloudy with mist and some bright spells.

Walkers: Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart and George Whaites.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (sailing in Turkey), Peter Beal, Andy Blease (hols), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Alan Duckworth, John Jones (hospital appointment), Chris Owen (roofing), Jock Rooney (Isle of Man), Julian Ross (domestic duties)

Alternative walkers: Colin Davison and Lawrie Fairman.

Leader and diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The Old Hall at Whitehough.

Starting time: 9.42am. Finishing time: 1.48pm.

The late withdrawal of new leader John Jones through injury and forecasts of thundery showers in the afternoon caused us to foreshorten the proposed route. In the event we managed to muddle through, visiting two great pubs and returning just before the heavy rain began to fall.

En route we once again heard the seasonal cry of the curlew but also saw three rare sights in the ponds and fields of Derbyshire – a black swan, a pair of llamas and a friendly emu which joined us for  lunch !

The unusual sight of your diarist and leader clutching a map caused a sinking of hearts among some of our group, but I felt I always had the confidence of Daisy in my capabilities. Apart from one minor diversion by Tom, who claimed to know the way but proved otherwise, we aimed in the right direction and hit our targets on time, having already decided because of the weather forecast that The Lamb would be a wiser option than The Kinder Lodge at Hayfield.

From the car park of The Old Hall we exited to our right with the pub entrance on our left and headed right again downhill. On reaching The Peak Forest Tramway (2mins) we turned left.

The Peak Forest Tramway opened in 1796 and covered six miles from Bugsworth Basin through Chapel Milton to Dove Holes. It carried limestone from vast quarries down to “Buggy Basin” from where it was taken by narrow boats along The Peak Forest Canal to Ashton Canal and thence to Manchester and beyond. Built by the redoubtable Benjamin Outram, it remained in operation until the 1920s.

As we began our walk along the tramway we saw a black swan with a red beak in a pond on our right. Until last year there were a pair of these  birds which are natives of Australia.

Black swans (cygnus atratus) are pictured on the state flag of Western Australia. They are monogamous breeders and according to Wikipedia “they are unusual in that one quarter of all pairings are homosexual, mostly between males.” This might explain the lack of chicks .

We carried on past the ever-expanding Stephanie Works before crossing a wooden bridge over Black Brook on our right (17mins) and turned left. The footpath climbed up to a main road near a railway bridge where we turned left into Brierley Green (20mins)

As we passed Brierley Green Farm on our right two plaques informed us that this was the family home of  three early pioneers of the Wild West. Joel Clayton (1812-72) was a prospector, wagon master and founder of Clayton, California. His younger brothers settled in Wisconsin where Charles Clayton (1825-55) became a Congressman and James Clayton (1829-97) was a banker. Because of this connection Clayton, California, is twinned with Bugsworth.

We turned right at a wooden public footpath sign at Splash Lane End (23mins) and followed a series of paths until we were heading towards a farm. This is marked as Hill Farm on the OS Dark Peak map but we discovered it is now called Throstle's Nest Farm.

We were following a bridleway to the left of the farm when Tom confidently announced that the path to Big Stone was on our right and led us in that direction. We stopped for pies and port by a broken drystone wall (73mins) which provided protection from a chilly breeze.

Continuing uphill we discovered the field had no exit so we went back downhill to rejoin the bridleway, turn right and then turn right after the drystone wall.

This brought us to Big Stone (91mins) and a photo opportunity, We turned left along the clifftop at Cracken Edge and went over a wooden stile (103mins) to start a steep descent along a rocky path. We passed a farmhouse on our left which was being refurbished (107mins) and reached the farmhouse called Peep-a-Day on our left (119mins). A few yards beyond it was the A628 main road linking Glossop and Chapel-en-le-Frith. We turned right and reached The Lamb at Chinley on our left (131mins).

The landlady gave us a warm welcome and we enjoyed pints of Jennings' cask ales for £3-60 .

on trestle tables outside in the sunshine.

Suitably refreshed we departed turning left along the A628, immediately crossing the main road and following a wooden public footpath sign down a steep slope and followed a lane towards a farmhouse.

Just before a cattlegrid we turned left (138mins) through a series of fields before stopping for lunch (149mins). In the field which we had just passed two llamas were grazing and our group was then approached by a curious emu. It poked its beak through the barbed wire seeking food and seemed quite keen on your diarist's Cornish pasty.

Resuming we turned right and crossed a stream by a footbridge to reach a lane where we turned left

(155mins), passing Naze House on our right and Moseley House Farm on our left before reaching the war memorial on our right.(167mins). We turned left opposite the monument and crossed a bridge over the Hope Valley railway line into Green Lane.

Where the road swung right we carried straight on following the signs for Whitehough, crossing Black Brook by a road bridge and reaching The Old Hall on our right (177mins). We just had time to de-boot before spots of rain turned heavy and watched the downpour from the comfort of the pub, while drinking pints of Wainwrights' cask bitter for £3-30

Details of next week's walk follow the photographs.

Meanwhile here's Colin's Sicknote Squad diary.

Walkers: Laurie Fairman, Colin Davison

Distance: 8 miles

Difficulty: Easy apart from the arduous going

Weather: Glorious Spring sunshine

Birch Vale, Gibb Hey, Over Lee Farm, Cold Harbour Farm, Moor Lodge, Laneside Road, New Allotments, Big Stone, Barnsfold Farm, Ridge Top, Kinder Lodge Inn, Sett Valley Trail.

Disappointingly, we missed our chums of the 'A' team at the agreed lunchtime venue. It would seem, from personal observation plus verbal and written testimony, they were unwilling to meet the ambitions of their leader.

Happy wandering

                                                               Pictures by Alan Hart

The emu which joined us for lunch 

Looking back at a misty Chinley Churn and Cracken Edge.

Big Stone

Five Wanderers standing on Big Stone

                                            A lovely display of cherry blossom at Brierley Green



                                                             Pictures by Hughie Hardiman

Our lunchtime companion.

A black swan on a lake at Whitehough.

Leader and diarist Alan Hart with an exotic bird.

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from an informal car park opposite The Wheatsheaf pub at Old Glossop. We will aim to reach The Anchor at Hadfield around 12.20pm and be back in Old Glossop at about 2.30pm for further refreshment in The Queens.

Happy wandering !

Disley

April 17, 2019.

DISLEY, ST MARY'S CHURCHYARD, LYME PARK, LYME CAGE, COCK KNOLL, WHALEY MOOR, THE DIPPING STONE, RINGSTONES CARAVAN PARK, THE SOLDIER DICK AT FURNESS VALE, PEAK FOREST CANAL, SWIZZELS SWEET FACTORY AT NEW MILLS , HAGG BANK AND THE WHITE HORSE AT DISLEY

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry with early mist giving way to blue skies and sunshine.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Andy Blease, Alan Hart, John Jones, Chris Owen and George Whaites.

Alternative walkers: Colin Davison and Lawrie Fairman.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (in Turkey), Alastair Cairns (gardening), Tom Cunliffe (supervising grandchildren),George Dearsley (in Turkey), Alan Duckworth (airport chauffeuring), Mark Gibby (hospital appointment), Hughie Hardiman (filial duties),Mark Kean (Thailand hols),  Jock Rooney (Isle of Man), Julian Ross (mending toilet)

Leader and diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The White Horse at Disley.

Starting time: 9.34am. Finishing time: 2.40pm.

This walk has become a familiar one, starting in Furness Vale, pausing for a livener in Disley, and returning for further refreshment back in Furness Vale. As an experiment in reversing routes for the purpose of variety of perspective we started and finished in Disley, stopping for drinks in Furness Vale.

Aided by fine weather the plan was working perfectly until George received a phone call. Colin's ability to try to change routes has reached legendary proportions but on this occasion he excelled himself by managing to disrupt a walk in which he wasn't even taking part. He also managed to lose his sole walking partner, more of which later.

Once again we heard the cry of the curlew and saw many new-born lambs enjoying the spring sunshine.

From the car park we turned right up Ring O' Bells Lane, passing the former pub of that name which is now a Quaker Meeting House but still displays the inn sign on its wall. We crossed a footbridge over a stream and turned right to go through the graveyard of St Mary's Church, Disley, to reach Red Lane. Here we turned left and at the end of the lane we entered Lyme Park.

An immediate left turn brought us to a stream which we stepped across and headed uphill towards the distinctive Lyme Cage.

Lyme Cage, a Grade 2 listed building, was originally built around 1580 as a hunting lodge for ladies to amuse themselves while their husbands were out killing deer. It was rebuilt in 1737 and used as a park-keeper's cottage and as a temporary lock-up for prisoners caught poaching.

We reached the building (31mins), pausing to admire the mist-shrouded views and pose for photographs. We turned left from the direction in which we had reached the building, descending to a gully and then climbing back up to a wooden stile (38mins) while a herd of motionless deer watched us in the distance.

The path uphill took us to the left of a wood. We ignored the first ladder stile on our right (46mins) and climbed over the second one (51mins) to follow a path through the wood. This brought us to two ladder stiles in quick succession. By turning left at the second one we exited Lyme Park (59mins)

We headed downhill towards the former Moorside Hotel, once a haunt of local celebrities which has been converted into a home for children with behavioural problems. On reaching a lane by the side of a newly-built mansion, we paused for pies, port and Chris's bootleg damson gin (69mins)

Continuing we crossed a ladder stile on the other side of the lane, walked through a field and crossed a road (74mins). The path took us through a metal kissing gate, over a wooden footbridge and to the left of a cattlegrid.

It was around this point that George received a phone call from Colin, who had chosen to walk with Lawrie in a similar area but not join our group because they might slow us down. Notwithstanding the reason for originally declining our company, Colin informed George that he had spotted our group in the distance.

While George paused to talk to Colin and while Colin stopped to talk to George, Lawrie continued forward, ultimately getting lost. Meanwhile the rest of the A team, having made good time, decided to make a minor detour to The Murder Stone, a local landmark which four of our group had never seen.

George eventually passed on a message that Colin had asked him to wait so he and Lawrie could catch up. As we proceeded at a now leisurely pace for George, Colin and Lawrie to catch us up, we discovered that George was left waiting for Colin who was in turn waiting for Lawrie to return from his misadventures. Consequently, with the time saved now being lost, the diversion to The Murder Stone was abandoned.

After crossing a ladder stile and a stone step stile (88mins) we made a modest detour while we waited for our three comrades to hove into view, examining The Dipping Stones.

This is believed to be a wayside and boundary cross which had been shaped for holding Anglo-Saxon crosses. According to legend the indentations in the rock were used during the Great Plague in the 17^th Century for coins to be disinfected in vinegar and left in payment for food from uninfected areas.

After inspecting The Dipping Stones we returned to the path 50 yards uphill and proceeded down to a road (115mins) where a phone call by John confirmed that the trio were now united and not far behind us.

From this road, Disley Old Road at Longside , you can turn left and after 500 yards The Murder Stone is on the right of the road. It reads: “William Wood, Eyam, Derbyshire, Murdered July 16, 1823.” It marks the site where 30-year-old William, married with three children, was battered to death as he walked home with the proceeds of sales from a market in Manchester the previous day. After stopping for a drink at a pub in Whaley Bridge, he was followed by three sailors who bludgeoned him to death and tried to hide his body under a drystone wall they had broken. The killers went to Macclesfield where they bought new suits and shoes and left their bloodstained clothing behind. One was arrested and hanged himself in his cell in Macclesfield, a second was caught in Liverpool and sentenced to death after a trial. The third man was never apprehended.

With the 21^st Century trio now in sight behind us we went down the road for 50 yards and turned right at a wooden public footpath sign over a stile (118mins). We headed downhill through a field, turning left through an open gateway just before a drystone wall, passing stables on our left and a farmhouse on our right (130mins)

The gritted lane swung right, passing the entrance to Ringstones Caravan Park on our right (134mins). Here we turned left to reach the A6 (141mins). Another left turn brought us to The Soldier Dick on our left (142mins)

Here the Wainwrights' cask bitter was on excellent form at £3-10 a pint.

Resuming our perambnulations we crossed the A6 and went down Old Road which took us through a tunnel under the railway track. On the other side we turned right and then left at the road before turning left again to reach the right bank of The Peak Forest Canal (145mins). The towpath took us past the spot where Peter's narrowboat is moored at Furness Vale Marina.

We also passed a boat which had been painted yellow by an afficianado of Only Fools and Horses. It was inscribed Trotters Independent Traders and the stern was in the shape of a Reliant Robin.

After pausing for lunch at a bench (156mins) we were approaching the Swizzels sweet factory at New Mills when John bade us farewell. We continued until Bridge 26 (194mins) where we switched to the left bank. After passing several gardens we turned left up a flight of steps (200mins) leading to  Dryhurst Drive.

Turning right we passed Hagg Bank Allotments on our right (205mins) before swing left under a railway bridge and emerging at the A6 on the right of The Dandy Cock (208mins). We turned right and then left at the traffic lights to reach The White Horse on our right for ;pints of Unicorn and Dizzy Blonde cask bitter.

Next week's walk will start at 0940 from The Old Hall at Whiterhough, Chinley. We plan to reach The Kinder Lodge at Hayfield around 1220 for a bracer and then return to The Old Hall around 1430 for further refreshment.

Happy wandering !

                                                               Pictures by John Jones

Chris, Peter, Alan and Andy at The Dipping Stones

Your diarist and leader preparing to take a photo of Lyme Cage

George Whaites tackling a ladder stile

Pictures by Alan Hart

Colin's troops: Walkers: Laurie and Colin plus George latterly after he waited for us to struggle up Whaley Moor.

George cheered us with tales of colonic investigation.

Weather: Idyllic Spring sunshine

Distance: 5 miles

Difficulty: Easy apart from the arduous going

199 to Whaley Bridge

Toddbrook reservoir run off dyke to Kishfield Bridge; Cornhill Farm; Cornfield Farm ; Whaley Moor; Dipping Stone; Yeardsley Hall; Soldier Dick Inn.

199 to Carr Brow

                                                                    Pictures by Colin

Bollington

BOLLINGTON RECREATION GROUND, HOLE IN THE WALL HERITAGE STEPS, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, KERRIDGE RIDGE, RAINOW, BULL LANE, WINDYWAY HOUSE, TEGGS NOSE COUNTRY PARK, LANGLEY,  MACCLESFIELD GOLF COURSE, THE JOLLY SAILOR IN MACCLESFIELD, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, MIDDLEWOOD WAY AND THE VALE AT BOLLINGTON

Distance: 11miles.

Difficulty: Mainly moderate with some strenuous climbs.

Weather: Dry, blue skies and sunshine. 

Walkers: Andy Blease, Alastair Cairns with Daisy, Steve Courtney with Luna, Alan Duckworth, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (too much climbing involved), Peter Beal (in Cotswolds), Tom Cunliffe (hospital appointment), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby (filial duties in Ripon), Hughie Hardiman (in Houston), Mark Kean (Bali hols), Lawrie Fairman (seeking gentler climb), Jock Rooney with Tip (unhappy with route choice)

Leader: Owen. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Bollington Recreation Ground car park.

Starting time: 9.30am. Finishing time: 3pm.

In 18 years of Wednesday Wandering, this is the first time the day has started with a fight in the car park. We were still putting on our boots when hostilities broke out between two of our favourite bitches, Daisy and Luna. It seemed their barks were worse than their bites as the skirmish quickly ended but the two animals kept a wary distance for the walk which followed.

Alastair defended Daisy by explaining that she had been traumatised in her youth after she was attacked by a black Labrador which resulted in a permanent kink in her tail. I think a simpler explanation is that Daisy is a Jack Russell terrier, the bravest of breeds with a notoriously short temper. It may well be that Luna gave her a funny look.

This was a new route devised by Chris when we were trying to find alternatives to The Robin Hood in Rainow as a mid-walk watering hole when starting and finishing in Bollington. (One of our regular haunts, the pub does not open now until 4pm on Wednesdays)

Clearly from the apologies given, this new journey did not meet with universal approval, although most of the eight participants enjoyed the views and the spring sunshine. We managed to reach the heart of Macclesfield without spending much time in its suburbs and were rewarded with excellent pints of draught Bass in a traditional pub steeped in historic memorabilia.

From the car park we walked to the right of the recreation ground with the River Bollin on our right. When we reached the main road we crossed and turned left for a few yards before climbing a flight of steep stone steps on our right which a plaque informed us were The Hole in the Wall Heritage Steps (5mins).They brought us to the Macclesfield Canal, where we turned right with the waterway on our left and walked under Bridge 27.

We left the canal at Bridge 28 (18mins) and followed a gravel track which swung to the right. At Higher Lane we turned left (25mins) and passed to the left of a house with a clock on its wall. On the left is an easily-missed flight of steep stone steps (30mins) which took us to a road. Here we turned left (33mins) for 50 yards and then turned left again towards Bridge House. This was the start of another stiff climb which brought us to Kerridge Ridge (40mins), from where we had magnificent views of Rainow in the valley on our left and less picturesque views of the Hurdsfield Industrial Estate on our right.

We turned right along the ridge, passing the Trig Point (50mins) and reaching the main road (65mins) where we turned right. After 60 yards we crossed to the left and went up a flight of stone steps to enter the right side of a field. This brought us to Bull Lane where we turned right (71mins)

At the end of the road we turned left and immediately right at a wooden public footpath sign by a flight of steps (80mins). The footpath then went over two wooden stiles, two metal kissing gates and a wooden gate before emerging at a road opposite Windyway House.

This is a kennels and behind a gate at the front was a demented dog, part collie, which barked and wagged its tail with equal ferocity while running round in tight circles in a frenzy of excitement. Daisy and Luna stared at their crazy canine cousin in disbelief.

We turned right for 100 yards then headed left into Teggs Nose Country Park, where we enjoyed pies, port and samples of Chris's home-made damson gin at a picnic table (99mins)

Continuing we followed a concessionary bridleway down a rocky path, taking a right fork towards Langley Car Park (110mins). This took us between Teggs Nose and Bottoms Reservoirs, passing Rock Cottage on our right and a pond on our left (129mins). At a road we turned right, passing St Dunstans pub on our right (131mins) and Langley Village Hall (137mins) before turning right at a metal kissing gate by a wooden public footpath sign marked with a yellow arrow.

The path took us through two metal kissing gates and over a stream (145mins) before we turned left at a green public footpath sign for Macclesfield (151mins)

The route took us through Macclesfield Golf Club until we emerged at a track opposite a house called Pin High, where we dog-legged left and right to follow a footpath downhill (170mins). At a lane we turned right again downhill (172mins) and crossed The Macclesfield Canal to reach a road. Here we turned left (174mins) and crossed the road to then cross a recreation ground and emerge at St Peter's Church, Macclesfield. After crossing the main railway line we turned left at the Storm Brewing micro-brewers (182mins), crossing the Bollin before turning right into Sunderland Street with The Jolly Sailor on our left (184mins)

Several cask ales were available at this old pub where your diarist has often joined the Sunday lunchtime crib school. The draught Bass at £3-50 is like nectar.

Turning right out of the pub door we took the first road left and crossed the traffic lights over the road to Leek (189mins). After passing The Wharf on our right we also went past the former Hovis factory before joining the right bank of The Macclesfield Canal at Bridge 37 (196mins)

When we reached Bridge 35 (204mins) we paused for lunch before continuing along the towpath. We left the canal at Bridge 30 (228mins) and turned left to join the Middlewood Way towards Marple (230mins). We crossed a main road following a sign for Higher Poynton (250mins), passing a collection of artistically placed rocks called The Festival Labyrinth and continued along The Middlewood Way until the Bollington Recreation Ground car park appeared below on our right. We swung back to our cars to deboot (261mins) before making our way to The Vale for pints of White Nancy and Bollington Best cask bitter.

Next week's walk will start at 9.30am from the car park of The White Horse at Disley, where those who become customers later have been given permission to park by landlady Amy. We intend to reverse a route normally starting at The Soldier Dick in Furness Vale by heading uphill through Lyme Park and heading east across the moors to The Soldier Dick, arriving for a bevy around 12.15pm. We will then return along The Peak Forest Canal to Disley, expecting to return to The White Horse at about 2.15pm.

Happy wandering ! 

Pictures by Alan Hart

Pie Time at Teggs Nose

Crib table at The Jolly Sailor

Picture by Colin Davison

Lawrie, Jock and Tip

Distance: 6½miles

Difficulty: easy apart from the arduous going

Weather: perfect Spring sunshine

Walkers: Laurie, Jock, Colin, Tip

Since his recovery from severe back pain, Jock barely qualifies for the Knacard but we welcomed him to our number. In return he regaled us with tall tales and opinions on how the world may be set to rights.

Route: Rowarth, Ayton farm, Ludworth Moor, Far Coombes, Coombes Edge, Cown Edge Way.

Little Hayfield

April 3, 2019.

LITTLE HAYFIELD, PARK HALL WOODS, MIDDLE MOOR, SNAKE PATH, SHOOTING CABIN, WILLIAM CLOUGH,  PENNINE WAY, SANDY HEYS, KINDER DOWNFALL, RED BROOK, BROAD CLOUGH, TUNSTEAD HOUSE, BOWDEN BRIDGE, THE SPORTSMAN AT HAYFIELD, CALICO TRAIL, CARNIVAL PARK, THE COACH HOUSE AND THE LANTERN PIKE AT LITTLE HAYFIELD

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Strenuous.

Weather: Dry, cloud, sunshine and light wind.

Walkers: Mickey Barrett, Andy Blease, Steve Courtney with Luna, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Alan Duckworth, Alan Hart, John Jones, Chris Owen and Julian Ross.

Apologies: Alastair Cairns (visiting Turkey), George Dearsley (living in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (Arctic cruise), Mark Kean (Bangkok hols), Jock Rooney (walking with SOBs), George Whaites (domestic duties)

Leader: Cunliffe. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Outside The Lantern Pike Inn, Little Hayfield.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.50pm.

This is one of the most gruelling walks on the Wednesday Wanderers' calendar. It involves a long steep climb which always leaves your diarist wondering why he bothered. The answer lies in the spectacular views afforded from the Kinder Ridge.

On this outing we also heard the cry of the curlew signalling the start of the mating season and witnessed a brace of red grouse chasing a goose off their moorland. Some of our group also witnessed a lamb being delivered by a farmer who brought it back from the dead.

We were walking in the footsteps of the protestors who staged an historic Mass Trespass in 1932 which paved the way for the rights to roam which we enjoy today.

Our leader had been warned that his estimate of the time it would take to reach our first watering hole was unduly optimistic. So it proved. Tom submitted the somewhat feeble excuse that he was working off Greenwich Mean Time rather than the British Summer Time which began the previous Sunday.

From our meeting point outside The Lantern Pike Inn we headed in the direction of Hayfield for 60 yards before crossing the road to enter Park Hall Woods on our left. Just before we reached the hall we turned right through a gate to enter Middle Moor and took the path directly in front of us (6mins)

This took us through bracken and heather to the Snake Path (20mins) where we turned left towards the distinctive white shooting cabin. Some 100 yards before the cabin we followed a path to our right which took us to the left of Kinder Reservoir below on our right. We crossed a brook by using stepping stones and began our ascent of William Clough (46mins)

When we reached a cairn (76mins) we paused for pies, port and damson gin kindly provided by Chris and prepared ourselves for the final assault on Kinder Ridge along The Pennine Way.

On April 24, 1932, this same route had been taken by 400 hikers who had assembled at Bowden Bridge under the leadership of Benny Rothman, a member of The Young Communist League. Ignoring the civil laws against trespassing they had climbed William Clough where they were confronted by gamekeepers near Ashop Head. Scuffles broke out. Six of the protestors were arrested and subsequently jailed for periods up to six months for assault on the gamekeepers. Their “martyrdom” marked the start of a media campaign by The Ramblers' Association which led to The Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act of 2000 which legislates rights to roam on mapped access land.

We reached the summit (83mins) turned right and posed for photos at Sandy Heys, which commanded magnificent views of the valley below. This spectacular vista was on our right continually as we crossed Kinder Downfall (108mins) This is where the embryonic River Kinder falls over the cliff edge and, on windy days, is blown back up again in gravity-defying loops which can be witnessed from below.

We progressed along the ridge until we reached Red Brook (123mins) and turned right along an ill-marked path. This led us down, with uphill undulations, to Broad Clough. We followed the by now well-marked path through fields to reach Tunstead Barn (193mins) and turned right following a wooden public footpath sign.

We crossed a road bridge over the River Kinder (200mins) and crossed Bowden Bridge to its right bank (206mins). We turned left and arrived at The Sportsman on our right (213mins) some 45 minutes behind schedule to enjoy pints of Wainwrights' cask bitter at £3-70. The main peloton of walkers arrived 15 minutes later.

Resuming we formed into three different groups for our return journey to The Lantern Pike. Your diarist crossed the road and followed a footpath opposite the pub to reach a bridge and cross the river before turning right towards Hayfield.with the river on his right. I went under the main road via a tunnel and followed signs for The Calico Trail which went over the River Sett to reach Carnival Park for lunch (230mins)

Continuing I exited the park and turned left to reach a country lane and turned right, passing The Coach House on my left and turning right at a green public footpath sign for Little Hayfield (238mins). This emerged at Slack Lane (246mins) where a right turn brought me to the main road.

Turning left I reached the pub on my left (248mins).

Here, over pints of Timothy Taylors' Landlord cask bitter at £3-65, Tom described the birth of a lamb they had witnessed. It had been delivered by hand by a farmer of his acquaintance. The new-born was not breathing, but by massage, swinging and unblocking nostrils, he had restored it and handed the lamb to its mother for cleaning. A charming springtime story to end our day. Details of next week's walk below after the pictures.

                                                                Pictures by Alan Hart

Pictures by John Jones

Next week's walk will start at 9.30am from the Bollington Recreation Ground car park. We will be embarking on fresh territory as Chris attempts to lead us to The Jolly Sailor in the heart of Macclesfield, trying to avoid any industrial estates or urban sprawl. We aim to be there to try their excellent draught Bass around 12.30pm and return to The Vale in Bollington for a final drink at about 2.15pm.

Happy wandering !