Chinley Churn

Chinley Circular

10 December 2025

CHINLEY, CHINLEY CHURN, MOUNT FAMINE, SOUTH HEAD, NEW SMITHY

Distance: 7.4 miles Ascent/descent: 1751 ft

Difiiculty: Moderate. A couple of steep climbs

Weather: Changeable

Walkers: Andrew Blease, Steve Brearley, Mike Cassini, Hughie Hardman, Stuart Kitchen, Russell Spencer.

Alternative walkers:

Leader: Russell, Diarist: Russell

Starting point: Bridge over the bypass, Chinley. SK23 6EJ

Starting time: 9.50am Finishing time: 13.30pm

This Weeks Route:

I have saved this walk for public consumption. Anyone can follow the route using the OS app,

providing you have a registered account (Free) in future.

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/29693069/chinley--famine--south-head?

lat=53.35133&lon=-1.94343&zoom=13.0501&style=Standard&type=2d

It was crisp winter morning that greeted us, and full cold weather kit was required from the start, which was a blessing as we found out later. This walk was a particularly hilly one with a few steep climbs (which please Mr Cassini just after his op!).

We walked out of the village and used the direct footpaths to climb up to Chinley Churn edge. It was during this ascent that the heavens opened, for a short but heavy period, but undeterred we soldiered on. 

The views from the edge are incredible and we traversed across it until the end

where we dropped down to the road, where we crossed and proceeded to climb up Mt Famine, another particularly steep climb. 

We then made headway to South Head, stopping in a shelter for pie time. The views of the valleys looking east are stunning in the fact that there is no human influence and what we see has been the same for thousands of years.

We reached the summit of South Head (team photo) and then started the descent back down to Chinley and a pint at the

Paper Mill, which has been recently refurbished. It now has full dining area and wood fired pizza oven.

Next week’s walk will be led by someone (TBA hopefully), meeting point is High Lane Village Hall, off Windlehurst Lane. SK6 8BH. A re-run of the walk from 18/09/24. 9.40am start finish approx

1.30pm. Refreshments in the Bulls Head on High Lane afterwards.

 

December 10, 2025

 

Middle Moor (alternative walkers)

 

 

 

Distance: 6 miles

 

Difficulty: Easy

 

Weather: Mainly sunny, few drops of rain

 

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Jock Rooney with Millie

 

Leader: Beal​Diarist: Beal

 

Starting point: Hayfield village

 

Starting time: 11 am​Finishing time: 3.20 pm

 

 

Once again the heavens smiled on us as we enjoyed a moderate walk through splendid scenery over the sweeping heather expanse of Middle Moor above Hayfield.

 

The only sign of the recent wet weather in this part of the world was an unavoidable and messy bog that we had to negotiate on the banks of Kinder reservoir, now back to its normal healthy state after being left virtually dry during the summer drought.

 

We met outside the Pack Horse pub in Hayfield and left the village through the underpass in to the area known locally as the May Queen Field, being as it is the scene of the crowning during the long-established spring festival. We emerged on Swallow House Lane and turned left, then right down a lane to bring us to the recently improved footpath leading to Little Hayfield. 

 

This was once virtually impassable during wet weather but has been vastly improved on account of its being a vital pedestrian link for children from Little Hayfield reaching the primary school in the village.

 

In Little Hayfield we turned right and crossed the main Glossop to Hayfield road in to the National Trust estate of Park Hall, founded by local man done good Joseph Hague, a textile magnate who left to make his fortune in London and, it is rumoured, making the bulk of his money from selling offcuts to slave traders to be used as loin cloths for their unfortunate forced labourers.

 

We walked along the track in the estate to reach a gate leading to the expanse of Middle Moor, turning left to reach the start of a little-used narrow path following a stream uphill past a line of shooting butts.

 

This emerged at a rocky ford on a wider track, where we turned right to reach a bridge over a bog shortly before reaching the distinctive white shooting box, still occasionally used as a base for those who enjoy blasting feathered creatures from the skies.

 

We swung left here to reach William Clough, at the bottom of which the start of a path took us down the west side of the reservoir, completed in 1910, to come to the dam and the start of a very steep rocky path downhill.

 

This brought us to the banks of the Kinder River, which we followed towards Hayfield, passing the Bowden Bridge national park car park and soon reaching the welcoming Sportsman Inn, where Jock and your diarist enjoyed pints of Thwaites Gold beer. This used to be called Wainright’s until the brewery sold the name to Marstons for a deal said to be worth several million pounds.

 

There followed a gentle stroll back the half mile or so to Hayfield village and the cars.

 

Happy Wandering!

From the archives

After an unsuccessful attempt to pass his leader’s badge certificate a month ago, Colin Davison had another brave try. Rather like the pilot who must get back into his plane as soon as possible after a crash, our curly-haired comrade took the courageous decision to lead our party. It is my sad duty to announce that he crashed again.

Given his (comparatively) tender age, he should not be discouraged. But after two retreats in the first hour, it may be some time before we hear him singing “The Grand Old Duke of York” again.

We left Chinley Churn by a gate (112mins) and headed gradually downhill to the impressive house called Peep o Day. The building was once used as a place of worship. It may be interesting to note that the Peep o Day Boys was a secret Protestant organisation active in Ireland in the 1780s and 1790s, which is believed to be the precursor of The Orange Order. They gained their name through their habit of calling on opponents at the first crack of dawn.

Rowarth

 

December 3, 2025

 

Rowarth (Alternative walkers)

 

HAYFIELD ROAD BIRCH VALE, PENNINE BRIDLEWAY, SITCH LANE, GIGGLE-GAGGLE PATH, MATLEY MOOR, HARTHILL FARM, LITTLE MILL INN AT ROWARTH, LANESIDE ROAD, THORNSETT FIELDS FARM, SITCH LANE, STATION ROAD

 

 

Distance: 6.5 miles​Total ascent/descent: 880ft

 

Difficulty:  Fairly easy

 

Weather: Dry and bright

 

Walkers: Peter Beal, Colin Davison, Jock Rooney with Millie

 

Leader: Beal​Diarist: Beal

 

Starting point: Hayfield Road, Birch Vale

 

Starting time: 11.15am​Finishing time: 3.20pm

 

 

The three of us (plus Millie the dog) who were not sure of facing the rigours of a pub crawl through Manchester decided on a moderately easy walk of around six-and-a-half miles through the lower slopes of the High Peak.

 

We started in Birch Vale and leaving Station Road soon joined a climb up a track forming part of the Pennine Bridleway, a 174- mile long-distance trail linking Wirksworth in Derbyshire to Ravenstonedale in Cumbria.

 

At a group of cottages we joined Sitch Lane, turning right and around half-a-mile later bearing left at more cottages to take a narrow path that soon brought us to the Giggle-gaggle path, named in industrial revolution days after the groups of girls and women who would travel to work to the mills in Hayfield and Little Hayfield.

 

This brought us in no time to a junction with a lane leading down to Little Hayfield, which we ignored to take the left fork uphill to a cottage where we crossed a stile to bring us to a climb up a narrow path through bracken to a stile leading to the open expanse of Matley Moor.

 

We crossed the moor and at a gate and junction of paths known as Five Lane Ends we took the more prominent track leading to Matley Moor Farm, leaving this almost immediately to take a turning to the left to a house barred by a large metal gate. Just before it though was a stile on the right taking us to a rough path through fields to come to Harthill Farm. From here a track downhill took us on an easy walk to emerge at the welcoming Little Mill Inn.

 

The pub, tucked away down a dead-end side road, was doing a busy trade with diners obviously marking the run-up to Christmas. Jock and I tried the modestly priced (under a fiver) Little Mill Reserve bitter, brewed for them by the Coach House brewery in Warrington.

 

Leaving the pub, we turned right up Laneside Road for a short way before taking a turn through fields to the right along a boggy path. This brought us to Thornsett Fields Farm, the approach to which, as for years past, was through a proper quagmire.

 

At the other side of the farmyard we crossed a field where a stile took us in to woods along which ran the old miners’ path, once marked by a number of old cast-iron gas lights. Years ago these sadly vanished in what could only have been a night-time raid by scrap dealers.

 

We emerged from the woods and turned left to come to the imposing Aspenshaw Hall, one the home of a prominent local family the Buckleys but now converted to apartments. A stile here took us to the right through three fields to emerge on Sitch Lane where we turned left before soon taking a track downhill to bring us back to Station Road in Birch Vale.

 back at the Inn approx 1.30pm

 

Happy Wandering! 

 

 

 

 

2025 Christmas Wander

 

3rd December 2025

Meeting place, Tree tops cafe Sale Water Park then Bridgewater Canal.

Dane Road Metro Station. Metro to Deansgate Metro Station. The

Britons Protection, Pevril of the Peak, Circus Tavern, City Arms, The

Seven Oaks, Sams Chop House, This and That, The Millstone, The Rat

and Pigeon, Train Home where some had a night cap in the Mounting

Stone and others found their own place for a final libation.

Distance. 2.5 miles round the water park to Dane Road.

Difficulty. Extreme by 7pm.

Weather. Sunny becoming bleary later.

Walkers. Julian Ross, Michael Barret, Alastair Cairns, Steve Brierly, Keith

Welsh, Clifford Worthington, Simon Williams, Russ Spencer, Andrew

Blease, Bob Howarth

Non-Walking Non-Drinker. Mark Enwright

Leader Ross then Spencer.

Starting point Tree Tops Cafe, Sale Water Park

Starting Time 10.45. Finishing Time. Varied.

This year's Wednesday Wanderers Christmas Ramble coincided with the

second murder walk in Greater Manchester that takes place every five years led by the once dashing GMP Detective J Ross. 

This year's walk focused on the murder of Philip Brierley. He was killed by his wife who worked as a dominatrix on the internet, specialising in crush fetish. 

Brierley was a sexual pervert in the premier league of perverts. He made the Marquis de Sade seem like a children's author and would have written similar accounts of

sexual deprivation had he been able to read or write above the age of a 10

year old.

The happy couple, Philip and Tracy

After many years of being together, Tracy tried to leave Brierley on several

occasions and to settle into the arms of her younger lover. However, Brierley

always managed to bring her home and this continued until Tracy could see

no other way out but to kill her common law husband. This she did with the

help of others including their 15 year old daughter. Together, they shot him dead, cutting his body into pieces and depositing the parts into the canal.

For several weeks the conspirators thought that they had done the perfect

crime but like so many amateurs before them, they did not take into account the long arm of the law.

This investigation was the subject of a 45 minute documentary in the first

series of Murder in Suburbia episode 2. The Stiletto Goddess. It featured

Tracy Seward in the dominant role. It is available on YouTube (search for “Tracy Seward Stiletto Goddess”.

A link is below.

https://youtu.be/27x_gpHmSGE?si=fgnSQqTOegwo8NWE

Star of the show…..

Our fellow walker Steve Brierly stated that he was not a relative but as the

evening drew in he became more focused on researching his family tree to establish if there was a familial link. 

We wish him well and wonder if he

would consider this a positive or negative connection.

We also welcomed Mr Bob Howarth who is not a regular walker but came

as a guest of Mr Barrett . Bob resides on the Avenue where the murderers

lived and had a desire to know his neighbours better.

He seemed slightly disappointed that he did not know the Brieleys better

during their time in the street.

Our walk took us round Sale Water Park to the river Mersey where we

stopped briefly to discuss the first site where Brierley's body parts were deposited.

We then walked parallel to the Bridgewater canal before passing under it and joining it at the Watch House Cruising Club.

We turned right and walked towards Sale, where again we stopped to

discuss the second dumping site and the reasons why this was chosen.

We left the canal at Dane Road Sale and caught the tram to Manchester.

Our tickets were checked on two occasions before we were permitted to

exit the tram system and make our way onto the metropolis. 

However we need not have worried as the passenger next to Mr Blease had omitted to purchase a ticket and merely gave the ticket inspector a £5 prize for finding him and promptly left the tram. How the other half live.

We then embarked on a tour of hostileries led by Russ, who let members put special requests into his itinerary. This resulted in some fog

descending on the memory recall of the diarist.

 1.This weeks walk will be a Chinley, Churn, Mount famine circular.

Meeting on the bridge over the bypass by The  This weeks walk will be a Chinley, Churn, Mount famine circular.

Meeting on the bridge over the bypass by The Paper Mill Inn, SK23 6EJ. 9.40am start. With refreshment back at the Inn approx 1.30pm6EJ. 9.40am start. With refreshment back at the Inn approx 1.30pm

30pm

Happy Wandering