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.