Brabyn's Park

 November 6, 2024.

BRABYN'S PARK, MARPLE BRIDGE, LONGHURST LANE, TOWNCLIFFE LANE, MILL BROW, HOLLYWOOD END, GUN ROAD, SHILOH ROAD, POLE LANE, CASTLE EDGE FARM, SHAW FARM, FOX INN AT BROOK BOTTOM, STRINES STATION, ROMAN LAKES, MELLOR MILL, LOW LEA ROAD, THE NORFOLK ARMS AT MARPLE BRIDGE

Distance: 9.5 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry but mainly cloudy.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Andy Blease, Steve Brearley, Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Colin Davison, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Jonathan Hart, Julian Ross, Clive Rothel, Keith Welsh, Simon Williams, Cliff Worthington.

Apologies: Mark Enright (attending EU conference), Chris Owen (recovering from hip replacement op), Jock Rooney (in Cyprus)

Leader: Beal. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Brabyn's Park upper car park, Marple Bridge.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.26pm

When this walk was last tried in July, 2022, diarist Peter Beal described the turn-out of 12 walkers as good. On this occasion, we had 14 which was an outstanding number for November. Sadly Peter as leader was only able to guide three of us back to Marple Bridge.

The first casualty was Colin who fell behind after little more than a mile. When his absence was noticed and he was contacted by Tom he claimed to know the way and said he would see us later. However, he failed to materialise.

The other nine disappeared when Peter announced a lunch stop at Strines railway station. Those without any food formed a breakaway group, which carried on without the four lunch munchers. They were never seen again either.

Peter, who had stepped in as leader at Tom's last-minute request, would have fretted over such absences in the past. But with steely resolve, he has pledged to ignore such strays in the future. This seems eminently sensible because it enables capricious wanderers to disappear without any onus of responsibility falling on the shoulders of the leader.

For the above reasons this diary records the movements of all bar Colin for the first 7 miles, and of Peter, Steve, Jonathan and your diarist during the last 2.5 miles of our journey.

The weather throughout was unseasonably warm despite the lack of sunshine. It had its amusing moments when Daisy doggedly (no pun intended) defended her honour against a randy terrier twice her size. We were also happy to report a dramatic improvement in the quality of the Robinson's Unicorn cask bitter at The Fox Inn which was on top form.

On the ornithological front, we spotted a pair of jays, a cormorant and a pair of herons as we enjoyed the scenery in the Goyt Valley on a route which is named The Mellor Boundary Walk.

The River Goyt on the right of Town Lane

We left the higher level of the free car park in Brabyn's Park, turned left at the main road and immediately right at traffic lights to enter Town Street, Marple Bridge. This led us to Longhurst Lane and on the brow of the hill where a postbox is set into the wall, we turned left and then right into the roughly-surfaced Towncliffe Lane.

At the top of the lane are cottages where we bore left along a track signed Mill Brow. We went through a cobbled courtyard next to cottages before taking a narrow path on the left. This went through a gate with the wooded valley of Mill Brook below us on the left.

Heading for Mill Brow

A second gate brought us to an open field and we descended to reach a stile. Crossing this we reached a track coming downhill from our right. We turned left and left again at another surfaced track to cross a bridge over Mill Brook and go up a surfaced lane.

This emerged on a minor road with the Hare and Hounds pub on our left (36mins)

It was around this time we realised Colin was no longer with us or in sight. Tom called him and reported Colin knew the way and would see us later.

When we reached a road with a “no through road” sign branching off on the left we swung right to cross a bridge and took an unsigned track on the left past cottages at Hollywood End.

We went through a gate into fields where a green footpath sign indicated the way to Cown Edge via Ludworth Moor. The path went through a garden in front of two picturesque cottages. Soon after we ignored a track in front of us and turned left to drop down and cross a stream by a small wooden bridge.

It was at this stage that Daisy had to fight off the unwanted attentions of a frisky terrier who wanted to be more than just friends. Despite several rebuffs of the barking variety by Daisy, this sex pest continued to make advances until our outraged toy poodle upped her game by biting him.

The distraction may have affected our stand-in leader because there followed a series of miss-steps, before Peter decided to abridge the walk by cutting out a loop northwards. Instead we headed due east, stopping for Pietime at Lower Bradshaw Farm (82mins)

On reaching Gun Road we continued to the junction with Shiloh Road, passing four apartments which were once a pub called The Moorfield Arms, where WWs Frank Dudley and Barry Williams celebrated 150 years of life. Dud, as he was known by his many friends, contributed 90 of them and lived a further nine years.

Turning right onto Shiloh Road, we continued to a road junction known locally as Five Lane Ends where we followed the track immediately ahead marked on maps as Pole Lane. This took us past a covered reservoir on the left and reached a junction of tracks. We went straight on, along a surfaced road and almost immediately turned right towards Castle Edge Farm.

We took a stile on the left through a small gate. The path went through a series of small fields and over four stiles, after the last of which, at the foot of a copse of trees, we swung left downhill towards Shaw Farm.

At the farm buildings, we crossed a stile into the yard and at the other side went over a stile and took a small gate along a track. On reaching a stile on our left we crossed it into a wood and descended steeply to cross a wooden plank bridge.

After climbing the bank opposite we went through a gap in the wall to descend on a stepped path, skirting a house and going down a drive which brought us to the familiar whitewashed sight below us of The Fox Inn in the hamlet of Brook Bottom (149mins)

Twelve thirsty men

It is a sad sign of recent times that those of us drinking beer were in the minority. Our order included five cups of tea. Happily, those of us who did choose to support the British brewing industry were rewarded with pints in excellent condition. Previous recent visits had found the quality of the cask ale wanting.

Suitably and differently refreshed, we left the pub and turned right at a rocky path adjoining the beer garden. This led steadily downhill until we reached Strines Station on our left, where Peter announced we would be stopping for lunch (162mins) at 1.20pm.

Those who were already ahead and those who had brought no snacks chose to continue while four of us used the platform facilities to sit down for a comfortable brief picnic.

Strines Station and the area around it is believed by some to be the inspiration for the much-loved novel The Railway Children, by Edith Nesbit. The book, published in 1906, has been made into two major films, four television series, a film sequel and a play.

Edith is known to have visited her sister Saretta, who lived high above Strines at a house called Paradise. Next door is a house called Three Chimneys, which is named in the narrative as the family home. Both survive to this day.

In the book, the children have adventures on the canal with its coal wharf, the flight of 16 locks and the aqueduct, which are all still there.

Returning a few yards from the station we continued to the end of the cobbles and took a track on the right signed Goyt Way. This climbed steadily to cross the Manchester to Sheffield railway line over a bridge.

At a junction of tracks, we bore left after some buildings. At another junction, we kept right following a well-hidden Goyt Way sign on a fencepost. The path took us again under the railway line and we soon reached Roman Lakes on our right.

These two lakes have no Roman connection, nor does Roman Bridge, but were so named by Victorian marketing entrepreneurs anxious to turn the area into a tourist attraction. This followed the destruction by fire in 1892 of the giant Bottoms Mill built by Samuel Oldknow in the late 18^th century. In its day the six-storey building had been one of the biggest mills in the world.

We continued along the good track, soon reaching the remains of the mill. We turned right through the remnants of the mill along Bottoms Mill Road which merged into Low Lea Road.

Homeward bound

This brought us back to Town Street where we turned left and continued down to the traffic lights. On the right was The Norfolk Arms where we enjoyed a choice of cask ales.

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from the car park of The Little Mill Inn, Hollinsmoor Road, Rowarth (SK22 1EB). We will be aiming for a livener at The Kinder Lodge, New Mills Road, Hayfield (SK22 2JG) around 12.15pm before finishing at The Little Mill around 2.30pm. Those who leave their cars in the pub car park will be expected to buy a drink before they leave.

Happy wandering !