Rudyard

 January 31, 2024.

RUDYARD, CHURNET VALLEY, LONGSIDE, LONGSDEN, HORSE BRIDGE, CALDON CANAL, THE HOLLYBUSH AT CHEDDLETON, DENFORD, STONELOWE HALL, DUNWOOD, BRADSHAW, LONGSDEN GRANGE

Distance: 9.5miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry and mild but cloudy.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Colin Davison, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Jim Riley with Jasper, Julian Ross and Simon Williams.

Alternative walkers: Jock and Keiran Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Micky Barrett (family returned from abroad), Peter Beal (heavy cold), Mark Enright (w*^king), Cliff Worthington (Tenerife hols)

Leader: Davison. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Free car park next to Rudyard Lake Steam Railway Ltd, Rudyard, off the A523 Macclesfield-Leek road (ST13 8PF), Staffs.

Starting time: 10.15am. Finishing time: 2.47pm.

                                                        

                                                                                map by Tom

It is many years since this walk was attempted so we brought back a rejuvenated prodigal son to return and show us the way. Back in 2016 when we last took this route, Colin was an enthusiastic drinker. Today he is a reformed character, preferring cups of tea to pints of real ale.

As this was the last day of dry January for some wanderers, he found himself in the majority of soft drinkers. Even when the three beer-lovers were joined by Jock and Keiran we were still outnumbered 6-5. We can only hope that next month some of our group will have returned to their senses.

Colin revealed that after six years of walks limited by breathlessness, his rehabilitation had begun in autumn with a life-enhancing injection.

We welcomed into our fold, Jim Riley and his dog Jasper, who were making their debuts. Unfortunately, the new boy blotted his copybook by getting lost trying to find the car park and our start was delayed by 15 minutes. We were assured by his former colleague Julian that Jim was able to find his way more speedily to crime scenes when he was serving in the Greater Manchester Police.

Debutants Jim Riley and Jasper

We started by walking away from the entrance to the car park with the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway on our left.

It is a passenger railway with a variety of miniature locomotives, both steam and internal combustion, which run for one and a half miles along the trackbed of the old North Staffordshire railway line at the side of Rudyard Lake.

The current line was created by John Eastman of Congleton who worked alone for ten years and opened it in 1985. He sold it to the current owners in 2000. They also own the assets of the former Isle of Mull railway and plan to combine these at Rudyard.

A variety of locos run at weekends and Bank Holidays from March to November (daily during school holidays)

After walking south with a water-filled ditch on our right we crossed a small bridge (7mins) and turned immediately right down a flight of steps. At their foot we turned immediately left over a wooden stile.

We crossed two more wooden stiles (14mins and 20mins) and then turned right over a footbridge (39mins) and followed a footpath to the left. When we reached a gate on our left we diverted from our route to go through it (45mins) and stopped for Pietime on convenient benches.

Starting out

Continuing we went back through the metal gate and now turned left uphill. This took us through a metal gate (54mins) to a gravel track which we followed round the side of a house, We then turned right and reached a main road called Laddergate (55mins)

Turning left we proceeded for 200 yards then crossed right into Mollards Wood Road (60mins)

This took us past an alpaca farm where there was no sign of alpacas – apart from an amusing sign on a fence.

Beware of the alpacas !

We were now following Staffordshire Way signs until we crossed Bridge 7 of the Caldon Canal and joined it by turning immediately left and left again under the bridge with the waterway on our right (70mins)

The Caldon Canal

It is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which runs for 18miles from Etruria through Stoke to Froghall. It has 17 locks and a 76-yard tunnel. It opened in 1779 after the proprietors borrowed £25,000 to fund its construction.

The company needed a reservoir to top up the canal's water so Rudyard Lake became an integral part of its operation.

Incidentally, John Kipling met his future wife Alice in 1863. When their son was born in Bombay in 1865 they named him Joseph Rudyard Kipling after the lake where they had conducted their courtship. His novels, including The Jungle Book, were exceedingly good. (I saw what you did there...Ed).

We left the Caldon Canal at Bridge 4 and turned right downhill (85mins), soon reaching the sign for Cheddleton on our left just before a canal bridge and The Hollybush on our right (88mins). We were then doubly blessed at 11.58am for our delayed start and a barmaid who had opened the pub early.

Here we were soon joined by Jock and Keiran as the real ale fans tucked into pints of Thwaites's Baird at £4-50.

On leaving the pub we walked to the canal and turned right towards Etruria with the waterway on our left. On reaching Hazelhurst Aqueduct (90mins), which was built in 1841, we briefly left the canal on the right then crossed a bridge and descended to emerge with the canal now on our right.

After 100 yards we left the towpath, descending a well-trodden path (94mins) and crossed a disused rail track before turning left into a field.

Our return journey was now a complicated route through a series of fields with many stiles in various states of dilapidation.

To describe the twists and turns could be misleading. Suffice to say we were largely heading north with the aid of a GPS device.

At one point (112mins) we passed an impressive farmhouse called Stonelowe Hall, a listed building with English Heritage, possibly of 16^th or 17^th Century origin which was restored in 1866.

Stonelowe Hall

Our route ultimately brought us back to the track (172mins) we had taken for the first half hour of our journey. We were then able to retrace our footsteps back to the car park at the side of the miniature railway (202mins)

Homeward bound

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from the free car park at New Mills Leisure Centre, Hyde Bank Road, New Mills (SK22 4BP). We will be calling for a tincture at The Devonshire Arms, 307, Longhurst Lane, Mellor ((SK6 5PP) at about 12.20pm and aiming to finish for one in The Masons Arms, 57, High Street, New Mills (SK22 4BR) around 2.20pm.

Happy wandering !

Disley

 January 24, 2024.

DISLEY RAILWAY STATION, HAGG BANK, PEAK FOREST CANAL, WOODEND, STRINES, RIDGE END, STRAWBERRY HILL, GOYT VALLEY, ROMAN BRIDGE, MELLOR CROSS, MELLOR MOOR, CASTLE EDGE FARM, THE FOX INN AT BROOKBOTTOM, STRINES STATION, HIGGINS CLOUGH SWING BRIDGE, THE DANDY COCK AT DISLEY

Distance: 9.6 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate with long strenuous climb.

Weather: Mild, dry with some mist.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Alastair Cairns, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Julian Ross, Simon Williams, Cliff Worthington.

Alternative walkers: Jock and Keiran Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Micky Barrett (knee injury), Peter Beal (in La Palma), Mark Gibby (poorly), Chris Owen (doesn't like The Fox), Dean Taylor (chauffeuring duties)

Leader: Ross. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Free car park at Disley Railway Station (SK12 2AE)

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.50pm.

                                        

                                                                     map by Tom

After stormy weather earlier in the week had brought transport chaos to the UK, we were warned to expect light showers during the early stages of our walk. In fact, the gale force winds of Storm Jocelyn, hard on the heels of Storm Isha, had blown themselves out by the time we assembled and the rain never materialised.

So Julian, who had been handed the poisoned chalice of route-master, supervised a dry walk for one of his rare sorties as leader of the pack.

It was not without incident, despite Julian's claims to have carried out a recce five days earlier, but a few minor hiccups in the middle of the journey were soon rectified.

Outrageous parking at Disley Station

Before we got underway I was encouraged to photograph this outrageous piece of selfish parking in an area where spaces are at a premium. One doesn't wish to appear misogynistic but what on earth was she thinking ?

Our route took us past a rare sighting of cormorants, one of whom was fishing in the canal. This happened just before we began a prolonged and steady climb to Mellor Cross which proved to be another example of global steepening. This is a phenomenon that has been completely ignored by Greta Thunberg and the Just Stop Oil activists.

                    A gulp of Cormorants

Are the Wednesday Wanderers alone in noticing how our local hills are getting steeper year on year? It seems to me that those obsessed with global warming have taken theireyes off the (increasingly) bigger picture.

From the car park, we headed for the A6, crossing it and turning left just in front of The Dandy Cock. After walking under the railway bridge we soon turned left again into Hagg Bank Lane (6mins). At a parking space on our right (8mins) we turned right downhill to reach the Peak Forest Canal (10mins) and crossed it by the Higgins Clough Swing Bridge.

On the far side, we turned left with the canal on our left and proceeded passing Woodend Farm on our right just before we noticed a gulp of cormorants. Three of them were in a nearby tree whilst a fourth member of the group was fishing.

Continuing past Turf Lea Lift Bridge (31mins) we finally left the canal on our right at Bridge 21 (41mins) to cross a main road and head down towards Lum House and the Goyt Valley. We turned right over a hump-backed crossing known as Roman Bridge (48mins) and on the far side turned right with the Goyt on our right.

The path took us through a railway tunnel (54mins) and when we reached a T-junction we turned left uphill (64mins) for a steep unrelenting climb which took more than half an hour.

We passed Greenhough Cottage on our right (68mins), swung left then right and reached a four-way junction (76mins). To communal groans, we were instructed to carry on uphill. On reaching a wall overlooking a golf course, your exhausted diarist stopped for an anticipated Pietime (84mins). But our leader, now showing an unexpected sadistic streak, urged his men forward for another tough climb to Mellor Cross (96mins) at Cobden Edge.

At a T-junction by turning right one could then turn left up a well-trodden path to stand beneath this well-known landmark,

Mellor Cross was originally created in 1970. It was made by a local carpenter and erected one afternoon by a group of men from nearby churches who carried the timber uphill. It stood 26 feet high. In December, 2015, the top of the cross was brought down during a storm. It was restored three years later with galvanised steel being added to the wood. A local appeal raised £25,000 for the cost of the project.

Mellor Cross at Cobden Edge

Postponed Pietime was taken in a sheltered dip in the hillside.

Pietime in the shadow of Mellor Cross

Continuing along a path at the rear of the cross we headed uphill and reached a T-junction (106mins) and turned right. At another T-junction we turned right again (115mins). At a green public footpath sign (117mins) we turned right yet again towards Castle Edge Farm.

After a few steps, we went left over a stone gap stile. We followed the path and swung right. This brought us to wooden stiles both left and right (118mins)

Initially, we turned right through the farmyard for a brief diversion before realising the error of our ways and retracing our steps. We should have turned left and now did so (127mins)

After crossing another wooden stile we proceeded forward then turned left to follow a well-trodden path which brought us to a drystone wall (132mins). We turned right and crossed a stone step stile (135mins) and went through an open gate (136mins) to head left downhill. The path took us through a farmyard (141mins) and left over a wooden stile (144mins)

Turning right we crossed a wooden footbridge, then soon went left over another wooden footbridge (146mins), taking the higher path right on the far side. We crossed a stone step stile with a yellow arrow and headed down a long flight of steps. On reaching the tarmac to the left of a house (148mins) we turned right and reached The Fox Inn at Brook Bottom on our right (149mins)

Simultaneously Jock and Keiran arrived with Milly as we almost filled the lounge, drinking pints of Fox and Unicorn cask bitters at £4-40 a pint along with an embarrassing selection of soft drinks.

On leaving the Fox we turned right by the side of a red phone box and headed down a rocky path. This took us through a tunnel, past Strines Station and Strines Hall on our left and a lake with a dovecote on our right.

The dovecote in the lake at Strines

Beyond the lake on our right we paused for lunch on convenient stones beneath Bruce's Clock (163mins)

Thomas Bruce was a foreman mechanic at Strines Print Works. He made the turret clock in 1809 and it was the timepiece by which generations of workers ruled their days. It was sited on the original works buildings next to Strines Hall. The clock was moved to the third works circa 1930 over the main entrance. When the site was demolished a Lottery Grant gave it a new lease of life near the lake.

Resuming we reached and crossed Strines Road (168mins) continuing uphill past the 18^th Century cottage of Peeres Swindells on our right. As we approached the aqueduct taking the Peak Forest Canal over the track (175mins) we followed a footpath on the right which brought us to the waterway. We turned left with the canal on our right and made our way back to Higgins Clough Swing Bridge (180mins)

Here we turned right to cross the bridge and retrace our earlier footsteps, passing Hagg Bank allotments on our left as we reached the A6 by the right of The Dandy Cock (198mins). Here four of us enjoyed pints of Robbies' Unicorn cask bitter – and a pot of tea – before returning to our cars at Disley Station to de-boot.

Next week's walk will start at 10am at the free car park next to the miniature railway by the side of Rudyard Lake off the western side of the A523 between Macclesfield and Leek (ST13 8PF). We will be aiming for the Hollybush Inn, Denford Road, Leek (ST13 7JT) for a livener before returning to our cars at 3pm.

Happy wandering !

Hayfield

 January 17, 2024.

 

HAYFIELD, SNAKE PATH, MIDDLE MOOR, CARR MEADOW, HOLLINGSWORTH CLOUGH,  CHUNAL, NEAR PLAINSTEADS, MATLEY MOOR FARM, BULLSHAW FARM, THE LITTLE MILL INN AT ROWARTH, THORNSETT FIELDS FARM,  ASPENSHAW HALL, HIGHWALLS FARM, SETT VALLEY TRAIL, THE SPORTSMAN AT HAYFIELD

 

Distance: 10.5 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Crisp and dry with blue skies and wintry sunshine throughout.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Alastair Cairns,Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Dean Taylor with Tommy, Simon Williams, Cliff Worthington.

Apology: Micky Barrett (knee injury), Jock and Keiran Rooney (collecting car)

Alternative walkers: Colin Davison, Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Julian Ross and Keith Welsh.

Leader: Cunliffe. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Outside The Sportsman, Kinder Road, Hayfield.

Starting time: 9.50am. Finishing time: 2.51pm.

 

Despite the seasonal cold weather unbroken sunshine in cloudless blue skies created ideal winter walking conditions. A blanket of snow covered the hills around Kinder creating scenery which was a miniature version of the Swiss Alps

As the day progressed the sun shrank the snowline and by the end of the walk only the highest hills remained white.

What might have been a record number of wanderers turning out in January was reduced by five members who, for various reasons, formed an alternative group led by Colin from Higher Poynton.

From outside The Sportsman pub nine men and two dogs walked back downhill towards Hayfield before turning right at a green public footpath sign (5mins) and passing the plaque commemorating the Mass Trespass.

 

The trespass was a coordinated protest involving three groups of walkers approaching Kinder Scout from different directions at the same time. It is thought about 400 took part. Some of them were arrested after a scuffle with gamekeepers and jailed, which evoked a wave of nationwide sympathy.

This led to the National Parks legislation, the establishment of long-distance footpaths and The Countryside Code relating to ramblers' behaviour.

It has been interpreted as the embodiment of working class struggle for the right to roam against the rights of the wealthy to have exclusive use of moorlands for grouse-shooting.

 

The rough path uphill took us past the landmark called Twenty Trees (there are actually 19) on our left (14mins) and the start of The Snake Path (29mins).

 

 

            Twenty trees (the ghost of your diarist can be seen in the foreground) 

 

Carrying on along The Snake Path we crossed Middle Moor and aimed for the white shooting cabin, which was distinctive even against a snow-white background. Just before the cabin, where grouse shooting paraphernalia is stored during the season, we turned left to follow a footpath towards Carr Meadow (38mins) 

The path led us across a footbridge over boggy ground.

 

             Looking back south-west across Middle Moor 

 

 

 

When we reached Hollingworth Clough and the bridge commemorating footpath pioneer Thomas Boulger (70mins) we paused for Pietime. Continuing we crossed the A624 (80mins) and followed a sign for Charlesworth along a minor road.  Just before we reached a farmhouse at Near Plainsteads on our right  (86mins) we turned left along a track. Where the main track swung right we forked left (91mins) at a yellow arrow,

We followed this footpath through a series of fields, crossing stiles until we reached a lane and a sign for Matley Moor Farm (101mins). We turned right following the sign, went through a gate into the farmyard and swung left along a lane.

This brought us to junction of pathways (113mins) where we turned right. When we reached a metal gate (122mins) our numbers were reduced to eight. Dean, who is heroically attempting a dry January, wished to avoid the temptation of The Little Mill Inn. So he and Tommy set off back to Hayfield.

The remainers swung sharply right downhill as the track wound down to a lane where we turned left. This brought us to The Little Mill Inn at Rowarth on our left (135mins)

 

       Left to right Chris, Mike, Cliff, Tom, Alastair, Simon and Andy

 

While Andy, Mike and your diarist drank pints of Little Mill cask bitter and  Holts' Two Hoots at £4-20, our chums were seen sipping cups of coffee and soft drinks. This could mark the end of civilisation as we know it.

Suitably refreshed in different ways we turned right out of the pub to retrace our footsteps for 200 yards and turn right through a leaning metal gate (137mins). At this point Chris also decided to leave the group and make his own way back to Hayfield.

Crossing a field we reached a stone step stile marked with a yellow arrow (146mins) and then crossed a similar stile (152mins)

 

 

The path now took us down a flight of steps to reach a lane (155mins) where we turned left to reach Aspenshaw Hall on our left (156mins). Here we stopped for lunch.

 

           Aspenshaw Hall

 

Aspenshaw Hall was originally the seat of the Buckley family but in 1710 heiress Elizabeth Buckley married George Bower. He inherited the hall and its 195 acres in 1722.

The Bower family names appear on a Trust Deed of the first Hayfield Grammar School erected in 1719 in Jumble Lane. In 1700 they had built a fulling mill, a paper mill and a tanning yard in the gorge at The Torrs, earning great wealth to buy nearby land. 

However descendants ran into financial difficulties and in 1836 the hall was sold at public auction. From 1861-63 it was modernised and renovated by Henry Lees. It has since had several occupants. 

 

Resuming with the hall on our left we soon reached a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow on our right (157mins). The path took us through a copse and continued to emerge at Highwalls Farm (175mins). We turned right downhill then immediately left to follow a public footpath sign to the right of Spring Vale.

We now turned right along a cobbled path (177mins), crossed a road and headed down another cobbled path. We then turned left at a cobbled path (179mins), going first down and then up to bring us out on the Sett Valley Trail.

 

The Sett Valley Trail is a 2.5 mile long former railway line linking the town of New Mills with the village of Hayfield. The line opened in 1868 and closed in 1970. It was bought in 1973 by Derbyshire County Council and reopened as a leisure facility for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.

 

We turned left and followed the trail back to Hayfield. En route we passed a field containing four white alpacas and another containing three black ones.

 

               Everyone say   aaahhhhh

 

Just before we reached the end of the trail in Hayfield we took a left fork (204mins) which took us to the left of the bus station. We used the pelican crossing to reach the far side of the A624 Glossop-Chapel road (206mins)  and turned left to pass St Matthew's Church on our left. We then turned right up Bank Street (207mins) to reach Kinder Road.

 

                 A plaque commemorating actor Arthur Lowe

 

 

On our way we passed a plaque to local actor Arthur Lowe, who lived in this terrace overlooking the grounds of Hayfield Cricket Club, where he was president.

After finding fame among millions of Coronation Street fans playing Leonard Swindley, he became a national treasure in the role of pompous bank manager Captain Mainwaring in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.

Thousands turned up for a charity match in which Hayfield CC entertained the show's cast. By special permission Private Charles Godfrey (played by Arnold Ridley) was allowed to field at cover point in an armchair.

 

A climb took us back to our cars (217mins) and The Sportsman.

 

Next week's walk will start at 9.30am from the car park of Disley railway station off the A6 (SK12 2AE). We will be aiming to reach The Fox Inn at Brookbottom (SK22 3AY) shortly after 12 noon for a tincture and finishing back in The Dandy Cock on the A6 at Disley (SK12 2AA) around 2.15pm.

 

Happy wandering !

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sutton

 Sutton

10^th January 2024

SUTTON HALL, PARVEY LANE, LEE FARM, SUTTON RESERVOIR, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, BOSLEY LOCKS, NORTH RODE MANOR, YEW TREE FARM, RODE GREEN, GAWSWORTH PARISH CHURCH, THE HARRINGTON ARMS AT GAWSWORTH, GAWSWORTH HALL, DANES MOSS NATURE RESERVE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL AND SUTTON HALL

Distance: 11 miles.

Difficulty: Easy Peasy (WHW)

Weather: Dry, mainly cloudy with some sunshine.

Walkers: Alastair Cairns, Daisy, Cairns, Tom Cunliffe, Daisy Cunliffe, Chris Owen, Julian Ross, Mike Barrett, Cliff Worthington, Simon Williams, Andy Blease, Dean Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Colin Davison

Apologies:  George Dearsley (in Turkey), Alan Hart (the sniffles), Mike Cassini (hosp Appt), Pete Beal (Hols in La Palma), Mark Enright (W@4*ing),

Leader: Owen. Diarist: Cunliffe with swathes of the text plagiarised from Alan Hart’s diary of 14^th Nov 2018

Starting point: Car park at Sutton Hall, Sutton, Macclesfield.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.15pm.

Mr Davison flanked by his manservants and attack dogs for added security

No rain so, by definition, great walking weather.

Ten walkers, thirteen including our four-legged friends, convened at Sutton Hall including a second appearance in two weeks by Colin who’d been encouraged by the promise of a White Handbag Walk

During our walk we skirted through several centuries of history from The Charge of The Light Brigade; the construction of a 27-mile canal that took five years to build within 10% of its original budget; and an aristocratic duel for the land we crossed which ended with both combatants lying dead in Hyde Park. Read on for more detail. 

Our walk began from the car park of Sutton Hall, once the ancestral home of Lord Lucan, who was involved in a glorious tragedy during the Crimean War when he passed on an ambiguous order sent by Lord Raglan which led to 600 cavalrymen riding into The Valley of Death.

In fact a letter discovered a few years ago sheds new light on the disaster with a more junior officer Capt Nolan (played by David Hemmings in the famous 1968 film)  now apparently being mainly blamed for the calamity.

(He wasn't the only Lord Lucan to be involved in a calamitous tragedy - Ed). See below.

There is a link   here 

Returning to the main road we turned left until we reached a green public footpath sign on our left and crossed a wooden stile to enter a field. Another wooden stile led us out of the field and along Parvey Lane. At the drive leading to Lee Farm, we turned left until we reached a bridge across a stream. Immediately after the bridge we turned right, keeping the stream on our right, and walked to the left of Sutton Reservoir.

At the end of the reservoir, we swung sharp left (31mins) and soon crossed the A523 Macclesfield-Leek road before going over a footbridge to the far side of the Macclesfield Canal at Bridge 48A. We followed the towpath with the canal on our left until we reached the start of Bosley Locks (75mins)

The 12 locks raise the waterway by 118 feet in one mile, at the end of which an aqueduct 45 feet high carries the canal over the River Dane. The Macclesfield Canal was designed by civil engineer Thomas Telford, whose plans to build it for £295,000 were approved by Parliament in 1826. The 27-mile-long canal linking Marple with Kidsgrove opened in 1831 and had cost £320,000.

We turned right along a road that brought us to the entrance to North Rode Manor, stopping for pies and port alongside a lake (91mins). Resuming we went through a wooden five-barred gate and turned right at Yew Tree Farm, through Keepers Cottage, and through two metal gates. A wooden stile brought us to a road where we turned right, passing Rode Green Cottage on our left (113mins)

After crossing a road and heading through the metal kissing gate opposite we entered a field by a green public footpath sign, heading through a similar gate and a wooden stile to reach a path with an electrified fence on our right. We crossed a wooden stile and headed towards the distinctive tower of Gawsworth Parish Church in the distance.

Another wooden stile was crossed and we walked to the left of a pond. This brought us to a metal kissing gate which we went through. With the church on our right, we turned left down Church Lane to reach the Harrington Arms on our right (144mins)

This is one of two pubs called the Harrington Arms owned by the Robinsons’ Brewery of Stockport. They are two miles apart, the other being in Bosley, and the landlord of the Gawsworth hostelry confirmed this was a constant source of confusion for unfamiliar drinkers over the decades who had waited in vain for their chums in the wrong Harrington Arms.

Continuing our journey we went back up Church Lane passing the 15^th Century St James Church on our right and swinging left away from the entrance to Gawsworth Hall.

Gawsworth Old Hall, a Grade 1 listed country house, was built between 1480 and 1600 replacing an earlier Norman structure. It was originally owned by the Fitton family, later by the Gerards and Stanhopes. Since 1930 it has been owned by the Richards’ family.

Notable residents included Mary Fitton, a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth 1, who was rumoured to be the “dark lady” mentioned in Shakespeare’s sonnets. Another was Samuel “Maggoty” Johnson, a playwright described as the last jester in England, whose grave lies nearby in Maggoty Wood.

In 1712 a dispute about ownership of the Gawsworth estate led to a duel in Hyde Park, London, in which Baron Charles Mohun, 37, from the Gerard branch of the family, fought the Duke of Hamilton,  54, from the Fitton side. Both swordsmen died. Baron Mohun had won two previous duels and twice been charged with murder, for which he was twice acquitted. So for him, it was third time unlucky.

Just beyond the hall entrance was a large statue of Sir Robert Peel, the founder of Britain’s police force, who gave them their nickname “Bobbies.” We paused her for a picture (see above).

Sir Robert (1788-1850) was born in Bury, Lancs, the son of a wealthy textile manufacturer. He earned a double first in classics and maths at Oxford University before becoming an MP at the tender age of 21. He was elected in the “rotten borough” of Cashel in Tipperary, Ireland, where there were only 24 electors who traditionally voted for the highest bidder.

Peel went on to become Prime Minster twice and created the forerunners of our modern police force, who were nicknamed “bobbies” or “peelers.” He died from his injuries four days after falling off his horse.

Sir Robert's statue was bought from Peel Park, Salford, by Raymond Richards, an antiquarian, who owned Gawsworth Hall.

We went through a metal kissing gate and reached a road where we turned left. Where this road swung left we carried straight ahead along a footpath.

 We turned right at a sign for Danes Moss Nature Reserve where we learned that 72 different species of birds had been spotted. We were also informed that no healthy bog was complete without a super plant called sphagnum which can hold 20 times its own weight in water.

After pausing briefly for lunch (176mins) we continued and crossed the main railway line between Manchester and London via a footbridge. The path led onto Bridge 41 of the Macclesfield Canal, where we followed the towpath until we exited at Bridge 44. From here we crossed the road to enter the car park of Sutton Hall to de-boot.

As mentioned earlier, this was the ancestral home of the Bingham family who were the Earls of Lucan. The 3rd Earl, Field Marshal George Charles Bingham (1800-1888) was at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 when he sent an order via Captain Louis Nolan to his brother-in-law Lord Cardigan, who commanded the Light Brigade. As a result of a misunderstanding Cardigan ordered his cavalry to charge the Russian guns and many of them were mown down in what poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described as “The Valley of Death.”

In more recent times Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan (1934-?) , disappeared in 1974 after the family nanny had been murdered. It was believed Lord Lucan had mistaken Sandra Rivett for his wife Veronica, with whom he was involved in acrimonious divorce proceedings, and had battered her to death in the dark. In 2016 he was pronounced dead by a judge and his son, George Charles Bingham, became the 8th Earl of Lucan.

Three of our number had a final refreshment in Sutton Hall where we were joined by Vanessa (Chris’s more significant other) and enjoyed pints of Lord Lucan cask bitter

Next week’s walk will start at 9.40am from outside the Sportsman Pub Hayfield going to Little Mill at Rowarth for 12.15 returning to the Sporty for 2:15pm.

Happy Wandering !