Whaley Bridge

 September 25, 2024.

WHALEY BRIDGE, TODD BROOK RESERVOIR, TAXAL BEECHES, TAXAL RIDGE, WINDGATHER ROCKS, DUNGE VALLEY, CLOUGH FARM, THE SWAN AT KETTLESHULME, HARDY GREEN, TODD BROOK, WHALEY BRIDGE CANAL BASIN, THE COCK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Dry with early cloud ending in sunshine.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Steve Brearley, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Alan Hart, Simon Williams.

Alternative walkers: Jock and Keiran Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett, Mike Cassini, Julian Ross and Steve Welsh (sailing hols), Andy Blease (in Anglesey), Alastair Cairns (housework), Mark Gibby (away), Chris Owen (recuperating from hip replacement operation), Dean Taylor (hols), Cliff Worthington (in Valencia)

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Free Tom Brad's Croft car park, Whaley Bridge Canal Basin (SK23 7LX)

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2pm.

 

                                                               Your diarist surveys the vista

Having assured wanderers by text yesterday that the weather would be guaranteed to stay dry until 6pm, Tom announced there had been a revised prediction and informed us when we assembled that rain was expected at 2pm. Consequently your leader and diarist set a brisk pace in the hope of finishing before we got a soaking.

In fact, the rain did not fall until 2.20pm so I apologise for transforming what might have been a leisurely stroll through attractive scenery to a rapid route march. In my defence I can only repeat that old northern proverb: tha never knows before till after.

Although this is a popular route we have tested many times in the past, I decided to amend the start so we could monitor the progress being made in repairs to the Todd Brook Reservoir dam. This alternative approach also gave us a longer view of the valleys on either side of Taxal Ridge as we headed for Windgather Rocks. It has the added advantage, in my opinion, of making the climb less steep than the usual ascent via Taxal Nick.

From the car park we walked away from its entrance and turned right just before the bridge over the Goyt, passing The Goyt Inn on our right as we reached the main road.

We turned left and used the pelican lights to cross the main road, turn left and then right into Wharf Road.

This took us through a tunnel under the Manchester to Buxton railway, first swinging left and then turning right past a house with a stone dog in its front garden (8mins). We soon turned left along a path between a hedge and a fence until we reached the bank of the River Goyt.

Here we turned right with the river on our left, and followed a path through woods until we emerged in Whaley Bridge Memorial Park. We turned right at a wooden footpath sign following a path uphill marked Play Area (11mins). This brought us to boards hiding the “work” being done to repair the reservoir dam.

Todd Brook Reservoir, created as a feeder for the Peak Forest Canal, was opened in 1838. It is interesting to note from historical records that a year before its official opening the waters were successfully diverted around the reservoir into the canal and consideration was given to abandoning the reservoir project.

The dam was built with an earth and puddle clay core, but over the years there had been misgivings about leaks and damage caused by old mine workings.

In August, 2019, concrete panels on the reservoir spillway were dislodged after heavy rain. An estimated 1,500 residents from Whaley Bridge, Furness Vale and New Mills were evacuated from their homes because of the danger of the dam collapsing.

We watched on News At Ten as RAF Chinook helicopters dropped 400 tons of aggregate to shore up the damaged area. The owners, The Canal and River Trust, employed contractors Kier Group overseen by civil engineers Mott MacDonald to repair the dam at a cost of £15million.

In the five years since the damage a hamlet of portakabins and portaloos have been erected while scores of men in hard hats, armed with hi-viz jackets and clipboards have been seen on the bank of a reservoir used solely for sailing and angling. One can only wonder what they have been doing and how far over budget they have run to date !

At the protective boards we turned left and then right at the side of a soccer pitch. We walked through a playground and emerged through a gap on the right to a footpath where we turned left. The path led to a lane and on the left was a yellow arrow on a high wooden fence which gained entry to a housing estate (15mins)

We walked straight ahead passing cul-de-sacs on our left and right until we reached a road on our left which ran for 80 yards to a main road. On reaching the main road outside the estate we crossed it and turned right uphill. At a chevron marking a right bend in the road we turned left up a track (20mins) and swung left to enter Taxal Beeches. This gave us a view to our left of the new homes which, despite fierce local opposition, had been built in the valley below.

After crossing a stone step stile we turned immediately right uphill and reached a footpath leading to a lane. Continuing uphill we turned left at a wooden public footpath sign and then went immediately right after passing an electricity sub-station.

To the left was a footpath which brought us to the start of Taxal Ridge (30mins). We were now rewarded for our exertions by views across the valleys on both sides of the footpath.

A view from Taxal Ridge

The ridge took us to Taxal Nick (50mins) and the steep path on the left which has led us to this point on previous expeditions from St James' Church. We carried on along the ridge through a gate and reached a farm gate on our right. We went through this and another in quick succession, then turned left to follow a well-trodden path uphill to Windgather Rocks (65mins)

Our view from Windgather Rocks

After pausing to admire the view, we turned left with the valley on our right and made our way to a sheepfold, which provides shelter from any wind during Pietime (75mins). After pies and port we left the sheepfold by a gate, descended to a road and turned left towards Pym Chair.

When we reached Pym Chair car park on our left (95mins), we turned right at the crossroads towards Salterford. The road led gently downhill until we reached a footpath on our right (105mins) leading to a ladder stile which we crossed.

The well-trodden path led us to a road opposite a farmhouse (109mins). We turned right along the road briefly and then went left with the farmhouse on our left to cross a wooden stile in the corner. We crossed this and another stile before passing a derelict barn on our right (115mins)

Yellow arrows then guided us to the right of the path and we emerged at a metal kissing gate which we went through before soon turning right over a wooden stile (120mins) to go along a public right of way into the former Dunge Valley Nursery (for plants and not children),

After leaving the property via a cattle grid (132mins), we reached a junction and crossed it, taking the left fork (straight on) where the road divided. After passing the gateway to Clough Farm on our left we went left through a metal kissing gate marked with a yellow arrow (139mins)

The path took us through woodland and downhill, over a stone step stile (148mins) and we turned right to go through a six-barred metal gate. We swung right passing a farmhouse on our right and ignoring a metal kissing gate with a yellow arrow on our left.

When we arrived at the crossroads we went over a bridge and turned left (155mins). We reached the back of The Swan (156mins) and descended a flight of steps to reach the front door where Jock and Keiran awaited us. Showing iron discipline we left after one (expensive) drink to head back to our cars and reach them before the predicted rain.

Swan Inn

We crossed the road directly opposite the front door of the pub and went through the grounds of a garden centre to emerge opposite a church and turn right. At the end of Paddock Lane, we turned left into Kishfield Lane (163mins) and followed it, passing the cottages at Hardy Green on our left.

When we reached a wooden public footpath sign on our right (174mins), just before a bridge over Todd Brook, we turned right. This took us over a footbridge to a junction of footpaths. We followed the central path, which brought us to a difficult set of obstacles in the way of fallen trees before we reached a makeshift bridge across Todd Brook (189mins)

On the far side was a tarmac lane with a water channel on our left. As we made our way along the lane there was much vegetation on our right, which was once the lake known as Todd Brook Reservoir.

Returning to Whaley Bridge

We crossed a road by a footbridge and witnessed the lack of work being carried out on the dam repair site.

A hive of inactivity

From here we soon reached the main road through Whaley Bridge, which we crossed to return to our cars (211mins) at 2pm precisely. But it was only after we visited The Cock for a final drink with Jock and Keiran that the rain began to fall 20 minutes behind schedule.

Next week's walk will start at 9.50am from the spare land opposite The Wheatsheaf in Well Gate, Old Glossop SK13 7RS. We will be walking over the moors towards Hadfield where we will be stopping for a bracer in The Anchor on Hadfield Road SK13 1NR at about 12.30pm. We expect to return to The Wheatsheaf around 2.25pm but as this pub is closed a final drink in the nearby Queens Arms, Shepley Street, Old Glossop SK13 7RZ is an optional extra.

Happy wandering !

High Lane

September 18th

HIGH LANE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, GREEN FARM, LYME PARK, LYME HALL, LYME CAGE, THE WHITE HORSE AT DISLEY, RED LANE, LYME PARK, THE LADYBROOK TRAIL, MACCLESFIELD CANAL AND THE BULL'S HEAD AT HIGH LANE

Distance: 9 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry with blue skies and sunshine.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Steve Brearley, Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Stuart Hogg, Dean Taylor with Tommy, Simon Williams.

Non-walking drinker: Peter Beal (pulled calf muscle)

Apologies: Mickey Barrett, Mike Cassini, Julian Ross and Keith Welsh (on a sailing trip), Mark Enright and Jim Riley (w*^king), Mark Gibby (hols for three weeks),

Chris Owen (recovering from hip replacement op), Cliff Worthington (heavy cold)

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: High Lane Village Hall, off Windlehurst Road, High Lane SK6 8BH.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.12pm.

The decision to postpone this journey from last week, when weather forecasts of dire conditions proved justified, was vindicated again with glorious conditions as we approach autumn.

A clear blue sky and sunshine were the order of the day as we took a new route which comprised many familiar paths which had been stitched together to create a different walk.

It was an opportunity to welcome a new recruit to our ranks as well as the return of a prodigal, who has been missing for too many months. In addition, we passed and greeted an old comrade whose home is now a narrowboat on the Macclesfield Canal.

The new boy is Stuart Hogg, another product of our Burnage Rugby Club connection.

As luck would have it three of his former playing colleagues were missing as they took part in a sailing holiday.

The prodigal was Hughie Hardiman, who had been absent for many weeks because he had been collecting a child from school. The boy is the son of a Ukrainian woman whom Hughie and his wife Mary have been hosting since they fled the Russian invasion of their country.

The old friend is John Jones, alias JJ, who has bought a narrow boat called Eden. He lives there now after returning from a property in Cumbria. It is always a pleasure to encounter old comrades and make new pals.

JJ greeting his Wednesday Wanderers' comrades

From the car park, we walked away from the entrance passing High Lane Village Hall on our right and then a playground before reaching the towpath of the Macclesfield Canal (3mins). Here we turned right and walked through a tunnel under the A6 with the canal on our left.

As we walked beyond the decorated pillbox at Bridge 13 we passed a narrow boat called Eden which was recognised by Tom. He used his dulcet tones to lure JJ to a porthole where greetings and insults were exchanged before we journeyed onwards.

After passing Lord Vernon's Wharf (35mins) we reached footbridge 16 where we crossed to the far side (44mins). We headed uphill and went through a metal kissing gate on our right (45mins). The footpath then delivered us to a lane with a farm to our left. We turned right uphill (51mins), swung right in front of a house and then turned sharply left through the yard at Green Farm. With the farmhouse on our left, we crossed a wooden stile on our right and then immediately went over a ladder stile (58mins) on the left to enter Lyme Park.

The park is managed by the National Trust and consists of a mansion house surrounded by gardens and a deer park. The house, which lies in the Peak District National Park, is the largest in Cheshire.

The estate was granted provisionally to Sir Thomas Danyers in 1346 by the Black Prince after Sir Thomas had retrieved his royal standard during The Battle of Crecy. It passed to Piers Legh in 1388 by his marriage to Margaret Danyers and remained in the Legh family until 1946 when it was given to The National Trust to avoid death duties.

The oldest parts of the current hall date from the 16^th Century with improvements made by different generations of the Legh family.

Simon marches towards Lyme Hall

We climbed uphill from the ladder stile following a path which led us over a cattle grid, passing a public car park and Lyme Hall on our right. We proceeded past a pond on our left to reach trestle picnic tables where we paused for Pietime (75mins)

We then retraced our footsteps and headed left towards the front of Lyme Hall before following a footpath uphill which brought us to Lyme Cage, a former hunting lodge with panoramic views covering hundreds of square miles.

Stuart, Hughie, Tom, Alastair, Dean, Andy, Simon and Steve

After posing for a team photo in front of Lyme Cage (90mins) we began our descent towards the entrance hut (105mins) where we turned right and exited Lyme Park (106mins) to head up and down Red Lane. Where the road forked (115mins) we turned right and after 50 yards turned left into the graveyard and grounds of St Mary's, the parish church of Disley.

St Mary The Virgin, Disley, was founded by Sir Piers Legh, of Lyme and Haydock. Born in 1455 he had lived through the turbulent years of The Wars of the Roses and had been dubbed a knight baronet by his king for distinguished service.

In 1511 Sir Piers gave up this office and entered a monastery where he was ordained as a priest. He then retired to the house and park at Lyme where he started to build a chapel. Work began in 1510 and was completed in 1524. The church was consecrated in 1558 and then rebuilt in the 1820s and 1830s.

There are many monuments to the Legh family in the churchyard together with the grave of Joseph Watson (1648-1752) who was park keeper at Lyme for 64 years. Watson once drove 24 stags from Lyme to Windsor as a gift to Queen Anne and to win a 500 guineas wager for his master.

The White Horse

With the church on our right, we walked to a gate where we exited via a winding cobbled path which brought us out near Disley's main traffic lights. We turned right away from the lights and soon reached The White Horse, a Robbies' pub, on our right (122mins). We were given a warm welcome by landlady Diane Broomfield, whose husband Geoff is the landlord and an excellent chef. They took on the tenancy five months ago.

Suitably refreshed we turned left out of the pub and immediately left up Ring o' Bells Lane. At the end of this road the building, now a Friends Meeting House for Quakers, still bears the sign of the pub which gave the road its name.

We turned right here, crossing a footbridge and then right again to return to Red Lane and turn left to walk back into Lyme Park (137mins). After passing the wooden entrance hut we reached a fork in front of a former estate cottage. We headed right, passing a sign for Plattwood Farm and stopped at a fallen tree where we could sit to have lunch (139mins)

Afterwards, we continued along the well-trodden path to a ladder stile which we climbed to exit Lyme Park (140mins). On the far side, we turned left and crossed a wooden footbridge over a stream which starts as Bollin Brook, changes its name to Norbury Brook and ends its life as Ladybrook before emptying itself into the River Mersey.

We now had the brook on our right as we headed along a footpath which took us through a tunnel under the Manchester to Buxton railway line. After turning left we crossed a wooden stile to reach a right of way over the same line (153mins). On the far side, we descended a flight of steps, turned right for ten yards and then left over a ladder stile to enter a field (155mins)

This took us into a field where we passed two derelict summer houses – one with a tall tree growing out of it – as we followed the path along The Ladybrook Trail.

Tom strides purposefully alongside Andy on The Ladybrook Trail

The path led us to a wooden stile and footbridge which we crossed (164mins) and followed a path which emerged on the bank of The Macclesfield Canal (168mins). We turned left with the waterway on our right and reached the pillbox at Bridge 13.

This relic from World War 2 was erected, presumably, in case Hitler and his stormtroopers had decided to invade England by narrow boat. It must have been comforting for our citizens to know the likes of Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson, Corporal Jones and Private Pike were ready and waiting for any such armada.

A passing narrowboat

We used the bridge to cross to the far side of the canal and turned right (173mins), now retracing our earlier footsteps for the final leg of our journey. Just before the tunnel under the A6 some of our group turned left (193mins) to enter the Bull's Head at High Lane for a final drink. We joined Peter who had been incapacitated by a pulled muscle. Happily it did not affect his drinking arm.

 Bull's Head

Returning to the canal we walked through the tunnel and turned left to pass the playground and hall on our way back to our cars (198mins)

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am at the free Tom Brad's Croft car park next to the Canal Basin at Whaley Bridge (SK23 7LX). We will be heading on a 9-10 mile hike up to Taxal Edge and Windgather Rock before passing through Dunge Vally to reach The Swan Inn, Macclesfield Road, Kettleshulme (SK23 7QU) around 12.15pm. We aim to return via Todd Brook Reservoir to Whaley Bridge at about 2.15pm from where we can drive to The Cock on Buxton Road, Whaley Bridge (SK23 7JE) for further refreshment if required.

Happy wandering !

Hayfield

 September 4, 2024.

HAYFIELD, BOOTH SHEEP DIP, KINDER RESERVOIR, WILLIAM CLOUGH, ASHOP HEAD, KINDER SCOUT, KINDER DOWNFALL, RED BROOK, KINDER LOW, TUNSTEAD HOUSE, BOWDEN BRIDGE, THE SPORTSMAN AT HAYFIELD

Distance: 10 miles.

Difficulty: Strenuous.

Weather: Cloudy but dry.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Julian Ross.

Alternative walker: Jock Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Peter Beal (Greek islands), Steve Brearley (hols), Alastair Cairns (in Scotland), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Enright (attending meeting), Chris Owen and Dean Taylor (walked the same route recently), Jim Riley, Keith Welsh, Simon Williams (taking dogs to vet), Cliff Worthington (Greece hols)

Leaders: Hart and Ross. Diarist: Hart.

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

Starting time: 9.50am. Finishing time: 2pm.

 

                      Route map                                                        Tranquil Hayfield Village

This walk involved a relentless strenuous climb which may account for the low turnout. Those who did attend were rewarded with magnificent views as we approached the Kinder escarpment and on reaching the summit the sights of the valley below.

Apart from a few spots of rain, we enjoyed a dry day. Although there was little in the way of sunshine conditions were perfect for hiking.

We also managed a brisk pace despite the absence of our usual front-runners and reached our only pub at the end of the journey ahead of schedule.

It is a testing route for any hiker, especially as one of our group approaches his 79^th birthday, but we all rose to the challenge. After a single stop for Pietime and breath around 11 o'clock we reached the peak in less than two hours.

Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and National Nature Reserve in the Dark Peak. At 2,087 feet above sea level it is the highest point in The Peak District National Park.

In good weather, you can see the mountains of Snowdonia. It is part of the Pennine Way from nearby Edale to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland.

Scout is a word for overhanging rock derived from the Norse “skute.” In 1932 Kinder Scout was the target for the mass trespass which ultimately led to free access to thousands of acres of land in the UK for hikers.

Approaching Kinder Scout from bank of Kinder Reservoir

With The Sportsman pub on our left, we headed up Kinder Road passing Booth Sheep Dip on our right, where a plaque described how sheep were washed here on their way to market in bygone days. A gate at the left side of the entrance to Kinder Reservoir brought us to a cobbled path which we climbed until the reservoir appeared on our right.

Throughout our journey, we saw a helicopter carrying rocks to the summit where they were dropped for use in creating dams to prevent erosion.

As we wound our way ever upwards, we reached a footbridge on our right and a sign on our left for William Clough. We took this path as it led us uphill, criss-crossing a stream. After stopping for Pietime (70mins) we continued to Ashop Head (90mins) and turned right for the final climb to Kinder Scout (110mins). Many hikers crossed from either direction as we walked along the escarpment with views across the valley below on our right.

The flagged path up from Ashop Head

Julian leads Andy and Mark along the plateau

Kinder Reservoir from Kinder Scout

Looking down on Kinder Reservoir (left) and Mermaid's Pool

We had crossed Kinder Downfall, a 100-feet waterfall where the falling water is sometimes blown back up the rocks in strong westerly winds (130mins), and Red Brook, a shallow stream which has a red tinge because of nearby minerals (150mins)

Kinder Downfall in winter,

After reaching Kinder Low we turned right at the start of a path leading downhill (170mins)

The path became problematical because of the creation of dams with rocks brought by the helicopter to stop erosion. Instead, we followed sheep tracks heading downhill in the general direction of Hayfield. Eventually (185mins) we dissected a path coming downhill across us. We followed this right to another T junction and a well-trodden path where we headed left (190mins)

Homeward bound

This now took us back towards Hayfield through first moorland and then grazing land through gates and wooden stiles. We reached Tunstead House (215mins) on our right and swung left downhill before turning right at a road which emerged at Bowden Bridge (224mins).

We crossed this and turned left down Kinder Road to reach The Sportsman on our right (230mins). We were soon joined by Jock and Milly for our first pints of the day.

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from High Lane Village Hall car park off Windlehurst Road, High Lane (turn off A6 at The Horseshoe) SK6 8AB. We will be heading through Lyme Park to reach The White Horse, Buxton Old Road, Disley SK12 2BB for a livener around 12.15pm before finishing around 2.20pm with an optional finishing drink at The Bull's Head, Buxton Road, High Lane SK6 8BH.

Happy wandering !