Bollington

 April 3, 2024

BOLLINGTON, WHITE NANCY, KERRIDGE RIDGE, RAINOW, BULL HILL LANE, WALKER BARN, THE ROBIN HOOD AT RAINOW, SUGAR LANE, FLAG COTTAGE, THE VIRGINS' PATH, INGERSLEY VALE WATERFALL, THE VALE AT BOLLINGTON

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Strenuous start becoming easier.

Weather: Dry start, wet middle, dry end.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Gibby, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Jim Riley with Flossie, Julian Ross.

Alternative walkers: Jock and Keiran Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Andy Blease (Anglesey hols), Alastair Cairns (things to do), Dean Taylor, Keith Welsh (Cornwall hols), Simon Williams (daughter Mia home from uni for her 21^st birthday), Cliff Worthington (decorating)

Leaders: Hart and Cunliffe. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Free car park on Adlington Road overlooking Bollington Recreation Ground.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 1.40pm.

This was a chaotic outing from start to finish. It began with a 7.15am phone call from Tom in which he suggested postponing the walk because of the “horrendous” weather. My view was that the forecast was not too bad and I thought we should go ahead as planned. Five minutes later Tom sent a WhatsApp message to the group stating that the prediction was for “light light rain so shouldn't be too much of an issue.”

Then came the problem with roadworks. Those who hadn't taken the precaution of driving from the Adlington direction found they were unable to reach the car park overlooking Bollington Recreation Ground.

In spite of this hurdle, we set off on time only to be delayed immediately by one of our group needing to pay an urgent visit to the public toilets. There was a certain symmetry to the start when another wanderer had a similar problem at the end of the walk. His desperate visit to a pub caused some of his chums to think the final venue had been changed from The Vale to The Spinners causing further confusion.

In between these mishaps, we found that both the orgasmic pie shop where we had planned to buy provisions, and the pub which had been especially selected as our first port of call, were both closed.

Happily, despite these slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, we managed to navigate the course successfully. We also enjoyed a double birthday celebration as Chris and Hughie bought rounds of drinks. The former is 69 and the latter a mere 60. We wish them many happy returns.

From the car park, we headed to the main road through Bollington and turned left, intending to buy our favourite pies from Smiths' bakery. To our horror, a sign on the door informed us they were closed from March 26 to April 9 for Easter holidays. What about the hot cross bun trade ?

We then endured a long, tough climb to White Nancy, the landmark on Kerridge Hill, which is visible for miles in many directions.

White Nancy was built around 1815 and it is thought to have been in celebration of Wellington's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. It was built by John Gaskell who lived below the hill in Ingersley House, now Ingersley Hall. The 18 feet high onion-shaped building, which originally had a window with seats and a table inside, has an elevation of 920 feet. The origin of its name is uncertain, although John Gaskell had a sister called Nancy. It is also believed that the grey horse which pulled the stonework uphill was called Nancy.

Wanderers approaching White Nancy from Bollington below

After the aforementioned delays we reached the landmark (60mins), caught our breath and girded our loins for a walk along the ridge with the Hurdsfield Industrial Estate on our right and the pretty village of Rainow below on our left.

By taking the right fork after passing through a kissing gate we were on the higher path which brought us to the Trig Point (80mins) and paused again to gather and admire the view.

Looking down on Rainow from the Trig Point

We then followed the path through a series of gates which took us down to the point where Lidgetts Lane meets the A5002 through Rainow (92mins). Here we stopped on steps for Pietime. At this point, pieless Tom decided to press on and took Chris with him.

At the end of Pietime the remaining six turned right along the road for some 80 yards. Opposite Brae Cottage (93mins) on our right we turned left up stone steps at an easily-missed public footpath sign. The path took us to the right of a field until we reached Bull Hill Lane and turned right uphill (97mins)

At the T-junction at the top of the hill we turned left for 50 yards where Tom waited alone opposite a wooden public footpath sign (105mins). He announced that Chris had followed the sign and had turned left after crossing a stile to make his way to Walkers Barn. He suggested we should avoid the deep mud (how did he know ?) and take the main road instead.

The A537 took us past the sign for Walker Barn on our right and then a converted house which had once been The Setter Dog pub. After passing the house we turned left at a green public footpath sign (120mins)

We followed a yellow arrow on our left to leave the farm track and reached a wooden stile which we crossed and turned left (123mins). The path took Chris, Hughie and I through a farmyard (124mins) before we turned left over a wooden stile (128mins).

By keeping to the right of a field we crossed a ladder stile on our right (131mins) and turned left following a well-trodden path downhill which led to a road (136mins)

After crossing the road via two stiles we headed down to a farmhouse, passing it on our right before crossing a wooden stile on our right (138mins) and a wooden footbridge (141mins). We then ascended through a field to a stone step stile where we turned left along a lane (145mins)

This brought us back to the A5002 where we turned right into Rainow (150mins). By carrying straight on at Stocks Lane we passed the medieval wooden stocks on our right (152mins) and reached the car park of The Robin Hood (154mins)
Chris, who had been leading the way, returned with manly tears in his eyes as he informed us the pub was shut. Tom had previously assured us that The Robin Hood website showed the pub's opening hours were from noon till 11pm on Wednesdays.

When your diarist spotted the apparent landlord entering the premises I tackled him about the pub being shut when it was supposed to be open at noon. He said that would happen when they started summer hours in May. In the interests of research I checked the pub website 24 hours later. It read: “We're making a slight change to our winter opening hours. This will be until Easter weekend in March. Wednesdays open 4-11pm. Food served 5.30-8.30pm.”

The date of our visit was April 3 so Tom's assurance should have been correct.

As we returned down Stocks Lane we met Tom's quintet at the junction with Chapel Lane and relayed the dispiriting news. Then we headed down the lane before turning right into Sugar Lane (160mins). At Flag Cottage (162mins) we followed a public footpath sign round the back of a row of cottages to emerge on The Virgins' Path.

Also known as The Bridal Path this was so-called after a local farmer laid a series of flags across his fields so that the maidens of Rainow who, without a church of their own had to walk two miles to Bollington, did not sully their white dresses. Prior to the path being laid the mud on gowns led to smutty sniggering in the Bollington Church about the brides' virtue.

Sadly some of those flags have disappeared and we had to wade through thick mud to reach Ingersley Vale waterfall (185mins) as the drizzle returned for our homeward journey.

The waterfall opposite Waukmill Cottage, Ingersley Vale

After passing the waterfall and a former mill pond on our left we turned right and passed a derelict church on our left to reach a mini roundabout with The Turners Arms on our right. Here we turned left (195mins) and walked along the main road through Bollington.

When Bollington Recreation Ground appeared on our right we went back through it to return to our cars (204mins). But there was still one banana skin to negotiate when word spread that Chris's birthday round would be bought in The Spinners Arms and not The Vale. Happily, this proved not to be the case so, in the words of the Bard of Avon, all's well that ends well.

Next week's walk will start at 10am from the car park of The Wizard pub restaurant, Macclesfield Rd, Alderley Edge SK10 4UB. Park in the lay-bys before you reach The Wizard and assemble on foot in its car park. Here Keiran Rooney will provide us with torches and helmets for an underground adventure exploring the caves and mine-workings beneath the prosperous town. It is expected to last 3 hours before we surface to drive to The Drum and Monkey, off Heyes Lane, Alderley Edge SK9 7LD for refreshment.

Happy wandering !