Dean Row
January 8, 2025.
DEAN ROW, HANDFORTH, BOLLIN VALLEY WAY, MOTTRAM ST ANDREW GOLF COURSE, NORTH CHESHIRE WAY, THE BULLS HEAD AT MOTTRAM ST ANDREW, LEGH OLD HALL, LOWER GADHOLE FARM, THE ADMIRAL RODNEY AT PRESTBURY, PRESTBURY SEWAGE TREATMENT WORKS, THE UNICORN AT DEAN ROW
Planned Distance: 8 miles.
Actual : 11.3 miles
Difficulty: Normally a WHB but weather conditions and a couple of mis-steps made it murderous for your diarist and leader
Weather: Cold but sun and blue skies.
Walkers: Julian Ross, Hughie Hardiman, Mike Barrett, Steve Brearley, Clive Rothell, Dean Taylor, Keith Welsh, Cliff Worthington, Tom Cunliffe, Daisy Cunliffe
Apologies: Unknown
Non Walking Drinkers: Alan Hart, Mike Cassini.
Leader: Cunliffe Diarist: Cunliffe
Starting point: Car park of The Unicorn at Dean Row, Handforth.
Starting time: 9.55am. Finishing time: 3.15?pm.
It is worth noting that our friend and fellow wanderer, Harty, informed us this week that after a series of tests at the hospital he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He is to undergo treatment at Christies within the next few weeks. I’m sure we all wish Alan the very best of luck; we are all rooting for you pal. Get well soon and re-join your buddies on the Peak District trails.
Our first wander of the New Year originally billed as a White Handbag Walk had to be reclassified as effin-hard due to the compacted snow, ice, Daisy’s needy high maintenance and couple of mis-steps. Instead of an anticipated 8 miles it was 11.3 miles. The weather was sunny with blue skies but cold.
The diary from this point on has been largely plagiarised from a piece penned by Mr Hart dated 7th Dec 2014.
From The Unicorn car park we turned right and right again at the roundabout into Lees Lane. We turned right once again at a public footpath sign, followed a track into a farmyard, swung right and crossed a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow. This was to be the first of a series of wooden stiles and kissing gates too numerous to mention.
We followed a sign for The Bollin Valley Way and turned right at a renovated farmhouse, following a yellow arrow. We went up a flight of steps to reach a road where we turned right, crossed a bridge over The Bollin and descended a flight of steps on the left. With the Bollin now on our left we followed a path which led us between two buildings and brought us on to the course of Mottram Hall Golf and County Club.
By following the path on the left of the course, we swung left and passed a soccer training pitch on our right. We turned right at a metal kissing gate to exit the course and then crossed an unmarked wooden stile to rejoin it. After passing a sign marked NCW (North Cheshire Way) we went into trees but soon turned left to leave the copse and turned right to take a path which was the continuation of the North Cheshire Way.
We passed Healey Hill on our left and crossed a main road into Priest Lane. On our left was The Bulls Head at Mottram St Andrew, which should hang it in shame for the want of an apostrophe. After 40 yards along Priest Lane we turned left at a wooden public footpath sign at the side of Rose Cottage. We turned left again at a similar sign and then crossed a series of wooden stiles and a footbridge, passing a pink thatched cottage on our right before stopping for Pietime on a flight of steps.
Continuing we turned left at a green footpath sign to reach a road and dog-legged left and right to reach some expensive homes including Legh Old Hall on our left. This was built towards the end of the 16th Century , rebuilt in the 17th Century and altered in the 20th Century. It is constructed of coursed buff sandstone rubble with a Kerrdigeslate roof. It is a Grade 2 listed building on the National Heritage list.
It was at this point your leader had his first mis-step, turning left 20 metres premature….. hey ho. after approx 3/4 mile the mistake was realised and so we back tracked to the wrong turn and continued at the correct turn…….After passing the hall we turned left, went through a metal kissing gate and headed diagonally right downhill. On reaching Lower Gadhole Farm where we turned right to follow a yellow arrow.
We followed yellow arrows to reach a wooden footbridge and headed up steps to a wooden kissing gate. At this point we made our second mis-step iewe turned right ending up in a WW1 quagmire. Again, we realised our mistake, we retraced our steps back through the crap crossing a stile and headed left through a field bringing us back on track….. we went through a wooden gate on our left and turned right along a lane. This brought us to a concrete bridge over the Bollin, which we crossed and turned right.
The path on the left bank of the river merged into a road with a football pitch on the right. We carried on into Prestbury, passing The Village Club on our left and immediately turning left to enter the rear of The Admiral Rodney on the right.
The pub is named after Sir George BrydgesRodney, first baron and a knight of the Order of the Bath (1718-92). Born of humble origins, Rodney went to sea at 14 and rose through the ranks to become an admiral. He also represented five different constituencies in the House of Commons during a career in which he captured four enemy admirals – two Spanish, one French and one Dutch – during a two yearspell at sea.
He was a controversial character, described by his enemies as vain, selfish and unscrupulous. At one stage he fled to France to avoid his creditors and had to be rescued from jail by a benefactor to enjoy his finest hour, defeating the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782 and saving Jamaica from falling into their hands.
Arriving at the pub around 80 mins late we were just in time to say cheerio to Mr Hart waving goodbye as he had a lunch date in Knutsford with his daughter, Vanessa. Bon appetite
With thirsts quenched we retraced our footsteps back to the concrete bridge across the Bollin, carrying straight on there and keeping the river on our left. The footpath took us past Prestbury Treatment Works, which is easily the biggest sewage farm your diarist has seen. The people of Prestbury must be full of it.
We reached the start of the treatment works on our right. Continuing we went through a metal kissing gate and turned left over a wooden footbridge across the Bollin and turned right to follow a path with the river on our right. This brought us back to the Mottram Hall Golf Club course where we were once again able to retrace our steps all the way back to our cars.
For next week’s walk and bearing in mind the unpredictable nature of the weather and the fact that my crystal ball is in the repair shop for a new Flux Capacitor to be fitted, (on back-order), we should once again be cautious about going too high. So, we will be led by Mike Cassini starting at 9:45 from New Mills Leisure Centre, - Torrs Riverside Park, Peak Forest Canal, Disley, Dandy Cock, Got Valley Way. Our ETA at the Dandy Cock is 12:15pm, ETA for rebooting 2:15pm, a walk of less than 10 miles. For those still in need of further refreshment there is the option of popping along to The Masons in New Mills where you can still buy a pint of bitter for less than £3.50 but take cash cozthey don’t accept cards.
Happy Wandering
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