POYNTON SPORTS CLUB, POYNTON POOL, NORBURY BROOK, PARKGATE FARM, NORBURY HOLLOW, MIDDLEWOOD STATION, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, POOL HOUSE FARM, JACKSONS BRICKWORKS NATURE RESERVE, THE MIDDLEWOOD WAY, THE BOAR'S HEAD AT HIGHER POYNTON, COPPICE CAR PARK, COPPICE ALLOTMENTS, DAVENPORT GOLF CLUB, PRINCES INCLINE, POYNTON
Distance: 10 miles.
Difficulty: Easy.
Weather: Mainly dry with intermittent drizzle.
Walkers: Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Alan Hart, Howard Jones, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney, Dean Taylor, Keith Welsh, George Whaites.
Special guest: Mark Gibby.
Alternative walkers: Colin Davison and Laurie Fairman.
Apologies: Mickey Barrett, Peter Beal, Andy Blease, Alastair Cairns, George Dearsley (in London), Julian Ross.
Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.
Starting point: Poynton Sports Club car park.
Starting time: 9.36am. Finishing time: 3.14pm
After the disappointment of last week's turnout due to uncertainty over the ever-changing Covid19 restrictions, we doubled our tally to eight for this week's walk. It is a matter of conjecture as to whether this could have been contributed to by the anticipated largesse to celebrate your diarist reaching three quarters of a century.
Regardless it was encouraging to see so many willing to combine exercise and companionship within the latest bewildering rules amid bewildering times. An added bonus was the brief attendance of Mark Gibby, who had driven to the car park to say Hello and wave us off from a social distance. It was great to see him and we wish him well in his battle against various medical problems which have prevented him from joining us these past eight months.
For many this was a new route, virtually skirting the boundaries of Poynton and its “suburbs”. Despite complaining about the pace, the steep flights of steps, and threatening to take a short cut back to his car, Tom later described it – as he always describes any hike from Poynton – as a “white handbag walk.” He will no doubt be thrilled to learn that there is another two-mile loop to the journey which was abandoned due to the forecast of imminent rain. This can be added for his benefit next time.
From the club car park we turned right along the main road in the direction of Hazel Grove, turning right into South Park Drive and turning immediately left to follow the public footpath alongside Poynton Pool (3mins).
A flock of seagulls appeared to have taken up residence in addition to the normal occupants – mute swans, Canada geese, mallards, coots, moorhens, great crested grebes and, occasionally, cormorants. In recent times some other new inhabitants, iridescent green parakeets, have been seen and heard squawking in the surrounding trees.
With the lake on our right we walked to the car park at the far end (17 mins) and crossed Anglesey Drive to follow a public footpath next to the pillar box between the trees.
At the end was Towers Road where we turned right and then after 200 yards went left through a metal kissing gate (22mins) into a field. With a fence on our left we swung left to go through metal gates across the farmyard to continue along a lane between fields of cattle.
At a signpost (27mins) we turned left through a metal kissing gate across a field, exited to the right along a path crossing Norbury Brook, and immediately turned right into woods (34mins). At a signpost for Middlewood we turned right and reached Parkgate Farm.
Beyond the new wigwam and showjumping arena on our left and stables on our right was a stile on the right marked with a yellow arrow. We took this steep path uphill, passing a traditional gipsy caravan on our right, gaily painted in reds and greens.
This led us up to a field which we crossed speedily but carefully as we walked through cows and calves, trying not to separate them.
After going through a gate we turned left to cross a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (56mins). We followed the lane as it swung right and turned left just before a corrugated iron building (61mins). This took us past the ruins of farm buildings on our left and across a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow leading into a field.
Heading across the field we had started to descend when we crossed a wooden stile leading into woods. This path emerged on Middlewood Road (70mins) which we crossed and went over a footbridge on the far side. We turned left and then right up a lane to enter the area known as Norbury Hollow.
On our left was a steep flight of steps leading to a footpath crossing of the Manchester-Buxton railway line. On the far side we went through a wood to emerge on The Middlewood Way (77mins), the former Macclesfield to Marple railway line.
Now a trail for horse riders, cyclists and hikers, we turned right for 150 yards, reaching Middlewood Station and turned left through a gap stile.
The trail wound through woods with the rail line occasionally becoming visible on our right. We emerged at The Macclesfield Canal and turned right (93mins). At benches opposite an elaborately-decorated former World War Two pillbox we stopped for Pietime (95mins)
Resuming we followed a footpath to the right of Bridge 13 which headed downhill towards fields where horses were grazing. The path swung left through a kissing gate and emerged by an area used for parking horse-boxes (100mins). To the right, just before a path marked Private, was the entrance to Jacksons Brickworks Nature Reserve.
Here the removal of clay had created a series of ponds and marshlands where environmentalists hope to attract birds which enjoy such habitats. In the summer it was also a magnet for dragonflies, damselflies and great crested newts.
On the far side of the nature reserve we rejoined The Middlewood Way and turned left towards Macclesfield. This brought us on the right to The Boar's Head (130mins) moments before the doors opened at noon.
After enjoying pints of Timothy Taylor's Landlord or Black Sheep cask bitter, accompanied by snacks (and wishing me happy returns), we rejoined The Middlewood Way yet again and turned right for 100 yards before taking a path on the left to enter a field with a soccer pitch. In the diagonally opposite corner we exited the field to reach the Macclesfield Canal and turned right (138mins) with the waterway on our left.
Just before a bridge we turned right (148mins) and followed a path down, passing a cottage on our left before turning right down steps to walk through a copse. The path emerged by the side of a house on the road linking Higher Poynton with Pott Shrigley
(152mins)
We turned left along the road for 20 yards then went right through Coppice car park entering a path between wood carvings. The left path took us down into a valley by the side of a stream before we climbed a series of steps to reach the higher path and turn left (162mins)
After going through a wooden gate we turned immediately right along a path which passed Coppice Service Reservoir - an underground lake - on our left. Keeping the reservoir on our left we turned left at the T-junction (166mins). The lane led us through a vehicle barrier to a a footpath on our left leading to a footbridge over a stream. We turned right opposite this sign along a narrow fenced path between houses to cross a wooden stile and enter a field (176mins)
Aiming for a lightning tree directly ahead we found a hidden stile beyond it and crossed it to follow a well-trodden path across a field. At the far side was a wooden footbridge which led us into another field. By keeping to the right of this field and crossing two more stiles we reached Coppice Road (186mins)
By crossing this we reached a path which took us to Coppice Allotments. Here we swung right and then headed left through a gate. After 100 yards there was a path to our right which involved crossing a series of three stiles within 80 yards – George Whaites' worst nightmare (193mins)
At the last stile we turned left through a field and went through a metal kissing gate into the next field, heading downhill and passing stables on our right before emerging at the start of Anson Road (203mins) at its junction with Middlewood Road. We crossed the latter and walked up towards Davenport Golf Club, following the path with sections of the course on either side of us (210mins)
When we reached a path to our left through a gap stile (220mins) we turned left and carried on past a bench on our left to reach Towers Road (231mins). Opposite was Princes Incline which we followed downhill until it emerged at the cul-de-sac
leading to the main road (241mins). A left turn soon brought us back to Poynton Sports Club (243mins)
Meanwhile the alternative walkers hiked for 8.5 miles from Charlesworth to Combes Edge and Brookbottom.
Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from the lay-by near the Harrington Arms at Bosley on the A523 road between Macclesfield and Leek. Arrangements for refreshments en route will be made when we know the latest edicts.
Happy wandering !
Pictures by Alan Hart
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