Disley

 May 10, 2023.

DISLEY, BOLLINHURST RESERVOIR, MILLENIUM WOOD, BOULDER HALL FARM, BLACK ROCKS, GREENSHALL LANE, PEAK FOREST CANAL, GOYT VALLEY, MOUSELEY BOTTOM WOOD, TORRS RIVERSIDE PARK, MASONS ARMS AT NEW MILLS, PEAK FOREST CANAL, DANDY COCK AT DISLEY

Distance: 10 miles.

Difficulty: Easy to moderate.

Weather: Mainly cloudy with sunny spells and showers.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Enright, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Julian Ross, Keith Welsh, Dave Willetts, Simon Williams, Cliff Worthington.

Alternative walkers: Jock Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (boat trip), Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns (in Buttermere), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Jonathan Hart (w^*king), Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman (on holiday), John Jones (house inspection in Silverdale), Dean Taylor (attending birthday party)

Leaders (official): Cassini and Hart; (unofficial): Cunliffe.

Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park at Disley railway station.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.20pm

This week's walk should have been led by Dean from Taddington but his unavailability led to a change of plans. Mike offered to make his debut as a Wednesday Wanderers' leader in conjunction with your diarist who would be responsible for the first leg of the route. Mike was to cut his teeth on plotting the return journey.

The carefully constructed scheme was scuppered however when Tom seized leadership of the walk minutes before Mike was due to take over.

Cries of “control freak” fell literally on deaf ears as Tom diverted from our planned route and marched ahead along a trail that Mike had planned to use for the walk back to Disley. Some walkers wanted to follow the designated leaders but were faced with breaking into two groups your diarist said we should follow Tom.

As we are anxious to encourage new leaders may I suggest that in the future volunteers should be allowed to lead without interference unless they are heading the wrong way. Followers should just follow. How hard can that be?

The walk itself through attractive scenery went well although there was a constant threat of rain from dark clouds above. Mercifully we were spared all but a few drops until we reached the pub in New Mills. Heavier rain fell as we left The Masons Arms but it subsided after half an hour and we completed the journey in the sunshine.

From the car park we walked past The Ram's Head and turned right uphill, turning right again just before The White Horse into Ring o' Bells Lane. This takes its name after the pub which used to be at the top of the lane, but which is now a Quakers' meeting house. The ancient pub sign remains on the wall.

Sign on the wall of the former pub

We crossed a footbridge over the stream after turning right in front of the sign and then proceeded past the graves on each side of the footpath with St Mary The Virgin's, parish church of Disley, on our right. Cutting diagonally left through a field beyond the cemetery we emerged on a lane and soon turned right through a metal kissing gate to head diagonally left again through a field aiming for Lyme Cage in the distance.

This brought us to a lane that we headed along with the cage ahead to our right. At a green public footpath sign just before we reached a farmhouse we turned left (15mins). Bollinhurst Reservoir soon appeared on our right.

The reservoir with Lyme Park beyond

The path next to the wall alongside the reservoir on our right brought us to a wooden stile leading into a copse (25mins). We followed the path beyond the stile to a five-barred wooden gate. On the far side of the gate, we crossed the lane to head for Drake Carr. With the cottage of that name on our right, we turned left to enter Millenium Wood.

We emerged from the wood onto a main road (35mins) and turned right uphill. After passing Boulder Hall Farm on our left we crossed the road and went over a wooden stile by a holly bush alongside a public footpath sign for Black Rock (38mins)

Crossing another wooden stile we followed the well-trodden path towards a finger post and continued ahead until the path swung gradually left and we picked up a well-trodden path to the summit (50mins). We reached the ridge at Black Rocks and paused to collect our collective breath.

Simon looks down from Black Rocks

We now began our descent (55mins), turning left and crossing a ladder stile which led us to a field with a wood on our right. We kept left and then went through a metal kissing gate leading to a public footpath through a cottage garden (70mins)

After crossing a main road we walked through a gate opposite to follow the footpath through another garden before reaching a narrow path on our left and followed it downhill. This led to a lane where we turned right (75mins)

As we headed downhill and the path ahead became rocky we took a path alongside it to the left which enabled us to avoid the water flowing down the rocky path. We emerged at the end of Greenshall Lane (82mins) and crossed the A6 to enter Lower Greenshall Lane. After going under a railway bridge we crossed Bridge 27 over the Peak Forest Canal and turned immediately left to stop for Pietime (87mins)

Continuing with the canal on our left we headed towards Marple where we passed Jock and Milly heading towards New Mills in the opposite direction. Just after Bridge 25 we turned right through a gap stile and descended a steep path through woodland. After climbing down and up a flight of steps we reached a T junction and turned right (104mins)

After crossing a wooden stile we entered more woodland, turning left over a wooden stile and passing a pond on our right to enter a factory car park. We turned right up a lane and immediately left (107mins) to follow a path right which ultimately dropped to the right bank of the River Goyt.

The path then led uphill to a road where we turned left (111mins) and crossed a road bridge over the Goyt. We were now approaching Hague Bar and the point beyond where Mike was scheduled to take on the baton of leadership for the rest of the journey.

However, Tom who was walking ahead turned right at a sign for Mouseley Bottom Wood (116mins). When he was called back and told he was going the wrong way he said he preferred woodland paths to tarmac. Mike pointed out that the way Tom was heading was the route Mike had planned to return along.

But Tom would brook no argument and simply marched back towards the wood shouting “Come on men” as if he were our general. While the majority hesitated I argued that it would be better to stick together and follow Tom despite his unacceptable behaviour.

(No doubt those who disagree with my assessment will be in touch)

The path took us through the wood and into the Torrs Riverside Park (123mins). When we reached a rough lane we turned right (132mins) and walked along The Millenium Bridge (136mins)

The weir from Millenium Bridge

We then exited Torrs Riverside Park to reach Hyde Bank Road which we followed until swinging sharply left uphill to The Masons Arms (151mins). Here we enjoyed pints of Storm Brewing's IPA guest ale at £2-50 a pint. We were soon joined by Jock and Milly who had inserted a loop into their alternative route.

As we left the pub and turned right it had started raining quite heavily and waterproofs were donned as Mike now led us through the centre of New Mills instead of retracing our footsteps along the path he had previously planned.

We turned left at a junction (155mins), turned right at Rock Mill Lane (158mins) and immediately left down a cobbled street. We crossed the main road into Victoria Street (168mins) and turned right to reach The Peak Forest Canal (169mins). Lunch was taken there under the shelter of a bridge.

Peak Forest Canal

Resuming we walked with the canal on our left, passing Swizzels' sweet factory on our right as we headed towards Marple. We left the canal just beyond Bridge 26 (189mins), where we swung sharp right to cross it. We turned right into Hollinwood Road which ended with a sharp incline as we reached the A6 and The Dandy Cock on our left (197mins). Turning right we reached Disley's main traffic lights, crossed the road and turned right to the station car park (202mins)

Jock and I were the only wanderers to take a final glass at The Dandy Cock.

Next week's walk will start at 9.55am outside the Taddington and Priestcliffe C of E Primary School, School Lane, Taddington SK17 9TW. Dean will lead us through Sheldon, Monyash and Flagg to The Church Inn at Chelmorton for a bracer around 12.45pm, before returning to The Queens Arms, Taddington, at about 3pm. Pietime will take place at the site of The Magpie Mine.

Happy Wandering !