Marple

July 15, 2002.

MARPLE, PEAK FOREST CANAL, STRINES THE FOX AT BROOK BOTTOM, HAGUES BAR, FLETCHER TOWERS, NEW MILLS GOLF COURSE, STONYPIECE FARM, COACH HOUSE FARM, BIRCHENCLOUGH FARM, THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS AT MELLOR, LINNET CLOUGH, MELLOR AND TOWNSCLIFFE GOLF COURSE, ROMAN LAKES

Distance: 9-10 miles.

Difficulty: Mainly easy with two stiff climbs.

Weather: Cloudy with frequent light showers.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Alan Hart, John Jones, Dean Taylor.

Alternative walkers: Colin Davison, Lawrie Fairman and Jock Rooney.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett, Alastair Cairns, Mark Gibby and Hughie Hardiman (self-isolating), Andy Blease, Julian Ross, Keith Welsh and George Whaites (hols), George Dearsley (in Turkey)

Leader: Jones. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Side of Strines Road on the Marple boundary.

Starting time: 9.37pm. Finishing time: 2.04pm.

The production of your diarist's magic waterproof pants was enough to bring a stoppage to the rain which had been falling until just before this walk started. The witchcraft did not last, however. The rain soon resumed and we spent most of the day hiking through drizzle.

JJ had created a new route linking together some familiar sections to provide an interesting diversion from our tried and tested walks which some critics decry as being tired and detested. He had certainly done his homework in the planning stages as we set foot on fresh pastures without losing our bearings or any of our members.

The only quibble was the lack of welcome at The Devonshire, where we were required to stand dripping in the doorway for ten minutes while the bar manageress searched in vain for our booking before allowing us inside the otherwise empty pub. Can it be only four months since we were allowed to enter pubs freely, choose tables for ourselves and order beer at the bar ? More to the point how soon will it be, if ever, before those halcyon days return ?

From the roadside we walked in the direction of Strines before turning right into Lime Kiln Lane (2mins). The road became a path which brought us out by Lock 16 on the Peak Forest Canal. We turned left to cross the bridge and joined the towpath with the waterway on our left (7mins). At Bridge 19 we crossed to the left bank with the canal now on our right until a green footpath sign on our left indicated the way to Strines (38mins)

Reaching a main road we crossed into Station Road (45mins) and admired Bruce's Clock on our left.

Thomas Bruce was a foreman mechanic at Strines Print Works which produced calico. He lived in Whitecroft Cottage nearby and made the turret clock in 1809 to time the arrival of the millworkers.

After passing the dove-coted pond on the left and 16^th Century Strines Hall on our right (53mins) we started to climb uphill, taking the left fork away from the station and ascending the rocky path which led us to one of our old haunts, The Fox at Brook Bottom (66mins). We turned right and after passing a bench in memory or Eric Burdekin we turned right (68mins) down a restricted by-way heading steeply down to the main road at Hague Bar (75mins)

We crossed this and JJ led us to a children's playground on our left where he was proposing to stop for Pietime. However the light drizzle had now become more substantial rain and we reversed back to the main road and turned right (81mins). As we reached the haven of two bus shelters on opposite sides of the road, the rain eased and we reconvened for pies and port (83mins)

Suitably refreshed we continued our journey of discovery, turning left at a public footpath sign (85mins) which led up a vertiginous route to a road where we turned right (91mins). This took us past on our left an eccentric modern gated house called Fletcher Towers which boasted an exterior clock, a Royal Mail style letter box, a red phone box and its own cannon !

Shortly after passing this we turned sharply left passing a house called Country Wynds before turning left to follow a yellow arrow (96mins). We crossed a wooden stile and continued uphill to enter New Mills Golf Course (105mins). Turning right we stuck to the right side of the course before exiting and passing Stonypiece Farm on our left (115mins). The lane took us past Coach Horse Farm on our right (123mins) before we turned left (124mins) along a restricted by-way. After crossing a road and heading towards Birchenhough Farm (137mins) we proceeded through the farm following a sign for Mellor Church.

The path took us through fields to the main road through Mellor (149mins) which we crossed and turned left to bring us to the shelter of the Davenport Arms at Mellor on our right (150mins). At this point Peter shamed his former profession as a journalist by eschewing a pint on the ground that Covid 19 was making it unwise for him to enter pubs. He left us at this point.

With the bar in sight our dampened spirits soared but, as another wordsmith once wrote, there's many a slip twixt cup and lip. Before we could get beyond the doorway an earnest-looking bar manageress was asking if we had booked. JJ confirmed that he had rung to make a booking in his name at 11am that very day. Apart from three staff the pub was empty. Nevertheless she kept us waiting for ten minutes while she searched repeatedly and vainly for the booking. At this point I was tempted to ask “Can we start again and pretend we don't have a booking ?”

Eventually she selected one of the dozens of empty tables for us and despatched an exceptionally tall young barman to take our order. With Dean deciding to forgo his usual pint of lager our round was two pints of Unicorn and one pint of Dizzy Blonde. This the barman laboriously wrote down in case it slipped his mind during his three-steps journey to the bar. Happily the beer itself was in excellent form.

Resuming our walk we headed up the road opposite the pub's front entrance and took the right fork towards Linnet Clough scout camp (155mins). We followed a sign for the main car park at Mellor and Townscliffe Golf Club (162mins) and stopped by some of the greensmen's equipment for a brief lunch (164mins). Continuing we followed a green public footpath sign for Marple Bridge (168mins) as we left the golf course and pursued a sign for Roman Lakes(180mins)

A plaque informed us we were in the former grounds of the massive Mellor Mill owned by Samuel Oldknow, a gentleman farmer who used the latest technology from the Industrial Revolution to earn his fortune (which he enhanced by selling fruit and vegetables from his garden to the millworkers !)

We proceeded along the track uphill and crossed a bridge over the River Goyt (190mins). This led us to a main road which we crossed into Oldknow Road (197mins). At the T-junction we turned left towards Strines and reached our cars (199mins)

Meanwhile the alternative walkers had an enjoyable seven-mile hike round Tittesworth Reservoir.

Next week's walk will start at 9.45am from Bishop's Lane, Burbage, Buxton SK17 6UN (Grid ref SK04733). Follow the A34 towards Congleton out of Buxton and after a mile, shortly before traffic lights, turn right. Park responsibly on the road and meet at gateposts.

Happy wandering !

pictures by John Jones

Strines Clock

Finally in the dry

Lunch break

One man and his dog