High Lane

 January 4, 2024.

HIGH LANE VILLAGE HALL, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, MIDDLECALE FARM, PLATTWOOD FARM, ELMERHURST WOOD, LYME PARK, GREEN FARM, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, NELSON PIT MUSEUM, THE BOAR'S HEAD AT HIGHER POYNTON, JACKSONS BRICKWORKS NATURE RESERVE AT MIDDLEWOOD, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, THE BULL'S HEAD AT HIGH LANE

Distance: 8.7 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, Mild and Sunny.

Walkers: Micky Barrett, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Colin Davison, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Julian Ross, Dean Taylor and Cliff Worthington.

Alternative walkers: Jock and Keiran Rooney with Milly.

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Apologies: Peter Beal (with his Thursday walking group), Andy Blease (unable to walk on Thursday), Alastair Cairns (domestic duties), Mark Enright (w*^king), Iain MacFarland, Keith Welsh (unable to walk on Thursday)

Starting point: High Lane Village Hall car park, off Windlehurst Road (SK6 8AB), High Lane, Disley.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.35pm.

As far as I am aware this was an historic walk by the Wednesday Wanderers because it took place on a Thursday. Your diarist risked charges of heresy when he circulated a proposal that because of weather forecasts, we should postpone our walk postponed the previous Wednesday by one more day.

Although Peter, Andy and Keith were unable to make the switch, we had a total of 11 walkers. I suspect there would have been far fewer if we had opted to walk in the rain a day earlier.

The occasion was also notable for the return of Colin, who joined us for a walk for the first time in five years. During the intervening period he has turned tee-total – which demonstrates the dangers of being away from our group for too long.

Happily, the Thursday forecast of dry, mild weather and sunshine was fulfilled as we followed a new route using a medley of old ones.

From the car park, we walked away from the car park entrance, passing the village hall and a children's playground on our right before going through a gap in the hedge to reach the bank of the Macclesfield Canal. We turned right with the waterway on our left and walked along the towpath beneath the A6.

At Bridge 13 (20mins) where a Second World War pillbox has been disguised with a collection of ornamental knick-knacks, we turned left to cross the canal and headed up the lane, passing Middlecale Farm on our right. We turned left at a T-junction (23mins) aiming for Lyme Cage in the distance and then turned left again at Plattwood Farm (35mins)

The tarmac lane swung first right and then left, then right again as we went through a gate into Lyme Park (52mins). After 50 yards we went right over a wooden ladder stile and entered Elmerhurst Wood (54mins).

Elmerhurst Wood

A well-trodden path took us across a pair of footbridges to a stone step stile over a wall to return to Lyme Park with the distinctive Lyme Cage above us 200 steep yards away (69mins). Turning right along a footpath we reached Lyme Park cafe on our right and stopped at a picnic table for Pietime (79mins)

Resuming we passed the lake on our right and the car park on our left before going right across a cattle-grid and swinging right at decorative rocks. A few yards later we turned left along a dark gravel path (88mins). After 250 yards we turned right (91mins) and started to descend a path of well-trodden grass to a wooden ladder stile.

After crossing this we went right over a wooden stile and followed the footpath signs through Green Farm.

At a T-junction (97mins) we turned right towards Green Farm House. Opposite the house we turned left downhill (98mins). Just before a farm we turned left at a footpath marked with a yellow arrow (101mins) and followed this path through a metal kissing gate until it emerged through another gate into a field.

Turning left downhill we reached the Macclesfield Canal and crossed it by a footbridge (106mins) before turning right towards Marple with the waterway now on our right. This brought us to Lord Vernon's Wharf, Higher Poynton (121mins). The time was 11.55am so I opted for a minor diversion by carrying on to the Nelson Pit car park and turning left downhill to the Nelson Pit Museum (122mins)

Sadly some wanderers have great difficulty in faithfully following their leader so only four of us took advantage of the free entry to a room full of interesting information and ancient photographs.

Lord Vernon's Wharf

The earliest record of coal in Poynton was 1589 and by 1700 there was much mining activity with Poynton becoming Cheshire's biggest coal producer. In 1789 26,000 tons were excavated. By 1859 they were digging out 243,000 tons.

In 1856 it was estimated there was a reserve of 15 million tons of coal under Poynton which could supply 245,000 tons annually for 61 years.

On August 30, 1935, the last pit closed and 250 colliers were made redundant.

After a whistle-stop visit we joined our five fellow wanderers who were waiting like Andy Capp cartoon characters outside The Boar's Head (126mins). As the heavily-tattooed barmaid opened the front door at noon she was nearly trampled in the stampede. We were soon joined by Jock and Keiran with Milly as we sampled pints of Wainwrights, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Black Sheep cask bitter at a card-melting £4-75 a pint.

From the front door of the pub we now headed diagonally right through a gate to reach the former platform of Higher Poynton railway station. Where the tracks once lay the line has been converted into the Middlewood Way for the use of walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. We stopped for lunch (127mins) at the picnic tables provided.

We then headed north towards Marple under three bridges then turning off diagonally right beyond the fourth bridge to enter Jacksons Brickworks Nature Reserve (149mins). After exiting we turned left through two gates before swinging right to reach the Macclesfield Canal (164mins) at Bridge 13.

Turning left with the canal on our right we walked to the path leading to the rear of The Bull's Head on the A6 at High Lane (175mins). Here we enjoyed pints of cask bitters for a bargain £3-10 a pint.

From the pub we walked across or under the A6 to re-join the canal towpath before turning left through the gap in the hedge to return to the Village Hall car park (181mins)

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from the car park of Sutton Hall, Bullocks Lane, Sutton, Macclesfield (SK11 0HE). We will be aiming for a bracer in The Harrington Arms, Church Lane, Gawsworth (SK11 9RJ) around 12.15pm, returning to Sutton Hall for a final drink at about 2.30pm.

Happy wandering !