Furness Vale

June 5, 2019.

FURNESS VALE, RINGSTONES CARAVAN PARK, THE MURDER STONE, WHALEY MOOR, LYME PARK, COCK KNOLL, LYME CAGE, RED LANE, THE DANDY COCK AT DISLEY, HAGG BANK, PEAK FOREST CANAL, NEW MILLS MARINA, FURNESS VALE MARINA AND THE SOLDIER DICK AT FURNESS VALE

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Cloudy with early drizzle dying out and ending in sunshine.

Walkers: Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, John Jones, Jock Rooney with Tip, Julian Ross and George Whaites.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (sailing off Turkey), Andy Blease, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns (Lake District), Tom Cunliffe (recovering from wrist operation), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman (cruise lecturing in Baltic) and Chris Owen (Britanny hols))

B Walkers: Tony Job, Ken Sparrow, Geoff Spurrell and Barry Williams.

Starting point: Outside The Soldier Dick at Furness Vale on A6.

Starting time: 9.33am. Finishing time: 2.20pm.

For reasons which escape me this is known as The Phallic Walk, starting with a steady climb, followed by a steady descent and ending with three flat miles along the canal towpath. Although it remained cloudy until the last half hour, there was only a spot of light drizzle at the start and we enjoyed good visibility. From the vantage point of Lyme Cage we were able to see beyond Beeston Castle to the Clwydian hills in the distance.

We visited The Murder Stone, which was erected in memory of an Eyam merchant who was battered to death by three men on his way home from market.

We also called at two of our favourite watering holes, The Dandy Cock and The Soldier Dick, where we were joined at the latter pub by our chums from the B team. Their walk had started from Chapel-en-le-Frith but there was a suspicion that bus rides had played a part in their journey via The Old Hall at Whitehough.

The Magnificent Seven headed for 20 yards in the direction of Buxton before turning right past The Imperial Chinese restaurant into Yeardsley Lane. At the entrance to The Ringstones Caravan Park we turned right  (10mins)before swinging left to pass a farm on our left with stables on the right (13mins)

After passing a drystone wall through an open gateway we turned right and headed uphill, crossing a wooden stile ((21mins) to reach Disley Old Road, Higher Disley, and turn right (25mins). Just short of half a mile away, in an area called Longside, The Murder Stone is on the right of the road.

It marks the spot where, on July 22, 1823, a merchant from Eyam called William Wood was battered to death by three sailors. One of them was caught in Macclesfield and hanged himself in a police cell. One of them was never caught. The third member of the group of killers, Joseph Dale, 17,  was tried on August 16, 1823. The jury took two minutes to find him guilty of murder. The defence appealed against his conviction but it was upheld and on April 24 he was sentenced to death by hanging the following Wednesday.

It is interesting to note the swiftness with which justice was carried out in those days. In contrast it took 57 years before a public subscription was raised to pay for The Murder Stone to mark the spot in 1874.

Although we were privileged to be in the presence of three retired police officers, it is sad to report that none of them could offer suggestions as to how the missing fugitive might be found and brought to account.

We retraced our footsteps to a point 50 yards beyond where we had entered the road via a stile and turned right at a green public footpath sign for Bowstonegate and Lyme Park (44mins). We followed the path on to Whaley Moor where we could see Coombs Reservoir, Coombs Edge and the Iron Age hill fort of Castle Naze on our left.

After crossing a wooden stile and a wooden footbridge we crossed a ladder stile (62mins) and the building which was once The Moorside Hotel came into view on our right. It is now a residential centre for children with behavioural problems.

We turned left at a gravel path for 20 yards until we reached a cattlegrid. Before it we turned right keeping a barbed wire fence on our left. This led us down to a footbridge across a stream which we crossed to reach a road through a metal kissing gate (72mins)

On the other side of the road  we followed a green public footpath sign which led us to another lane (78mins) which we crossed and again followed a green public footpath sign. This took us past an impressive mansion on our right which had been erected in recent years on Green Belt Land as a barn conversion.

After crossing three wooden stiles we reached a stone step stile which we crossed (87mins). To its right was a ladder stile which we used to enter Lyme Park and pause for pies and port (88mins)

Continuing we walked along a path with a wall on our right which went down through a wood to a ladder stile (94mins). We crossed this and turned left towards Lyme Cage in the near distance. We crossed a wooden stile  (105mins) and headed up to the right side of Lyme Cage for panoramic views (113mins)

We turned right away from the cage, descending with Bollinhurst Reservoir on our right. We reached the hut at the park entrance and turned right to exit the park and enter Red Lane (131mins). We forked left downhill, briefly joining The Gritstone Trail before swinging right to emerge on the road with The Ram's Head on our left. Crossing the A6 we turned right and reached The Dandy Cock on our left (146mins), where we enjoyed pints of Robbies' Unicorn at £3-30.

Resuming we turned right out of the front door of the pub and right again to go under a railway bridge and past Hagg Bank Allotments on our left. We turned left into Sherbrooke Road (151mins) and this brought us to the bank of the Peak Forest Canal  (153mins). Here we turned right with the waterway on our left.

When we reached Bridge 26 we exited to our right and turned left to cross the bridge, turn left again on the far side and swing down to the left bank. Beyond the bridge, with the canal now on our right, we stopped at a bench for lunch (158mins)

Afterwards we headed along the towpath, passing Swizzels' sweet factory in New Mills (176mins) on our left and the narrowboat belonging to our absent walking chum Peter Beal in Furness Vale Marina on our right. We left the canal at bridge 31 (202mins) and turned right to cross the railway line back to the A6. We crossed this, reached the cars, de-booted and called in The Soldier Dick.

Here pints of Wainwrights' cask bitter were in fine form at a bargain price of £3-10. We were soon joined by our pals from the B team who had arrived from Chapel via Chinley.

Next week's walk will start at 10am from Ashford-in-the-Water, off the A6 south-east of Buxton.

We expect to reach The Pack Horse at Little Longstone for a livener around 12.45pm before returning to The Bulls Head at Ashford at about 2.30pm.

Happy wandering !