July 24, 2024.
HARRINGTON ARMS, BOSLEY, THE CLOUD, SITE OF FATAL EXPLOSION, TIMBERSBROOK, COACH AND HORSES, SUBURBS OF CONGLETON, RAILWAY PUB IN CENTRE OF CONGLETON, DIFFERENT SUBURBS OF CONGLETON, A 54 BACK TO BOSLEY
Distance: 14 miles.
Difficulty: Strenuous.
Weather: Mainly dry but cloudy.
Walkers: Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy*, Mark Enright, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Simon Williams, Cliff Worthington.
Apologies: Peter Beal (foot injury), Alastair Cairns (playing golf), Mark Gibby (family visits), Dean Taylor (attending funeral)
Leader: Owen. Diarist: Hart.
Starting point: Lay-by opposite Harrington Arms at Bosley on the A523 Macclesfield to Leek road.
Starting time: 9.46am. Finishing times: Various.
To consider this walk in context it would be well to remember a site we passed 20 minutes into our journey. In July, 2015, a wood treatment works employing 50 people in Timbersbrook exploded.
Four employees were killed; four were badly injured; all the surviving workers lost their jobs. Firemen had been called to a blaze at the factory three years earlier.
The fatal explosion and subsequent fire which destroyed the four-storey factory was heard for miles around and rocked houses, Wood Treatment Ltd admitted a health and safety charge and were fined £75,000. The manager was handed a nine-month suspended prison sentence and fined £12,000. A charge of manslaughter by gross negligence against the company was dropped, The manager was acquitted of a similar charge.
The prosecution said the firm had cut costs at the expense of safety. The judge described the manager as woefully inadequate.
This was a terrible tragedy and a catastrophe for the families of those who died.
What happened on our walk was that a route which was predicted to be 12 miles became two miles longer after Chris first lost his way and then his followers.
*In fact Tom, who decided unilaterally to leave us when we arrived at The Coach and Horses at Timbersbrook shortly after noon to find it closed, revealed later that his alternative route was 11.6 miles. (NB: This pub opens at 4pm on weekdays)
Nobody died, nobody was injured and none of us had any jobs to lose !
So there was no reason for Chris to fall on his sword and to announce that he will no longer lead any walks. We all make mistakes and the important thing is to learn from them and try to improve our performance. And never, never surrender.
There is, therefore, little point in giving the directions taken on this walk which involved Chris disappearing from view ahead of us, Tom deserting us and your diarist catching a bus. We move on.
Addendum from Tom Cunliffe: Alan, your diary stated that I unilaterally decided to leave the group. That’s false. In fact, I was busy trying to work out a route back to the cars, in the meantime I was deserted by the group. When I’d finalised my route I set off but the group had disappeared, I was left alone.
Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from New Mills Leisure Centre, Hyde Bank Road, New Mills SK22 4BP and head through Lyme Park to reach The Dandy Cock, Market Street, Disley SK12 2AA for a bracer around 12.20pm. We aim to finish at about 2.30pm with an optional drink at The Masons Arms, High Street, New Mills SK22 4BR.
Happy wandering !
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