Whaley Bridge

WHALEY BRIDGE, THROSTLEDALE, SILK HILL FARM, BUGSWORTH BASIN, BRIERLEY GREEN, COTE BANK, CHINLEY CHURN, PEEP O DAY, VORPOSTEN FARM, THE ALDERS FARM, CHINLEY, THE OLD HALL AT WHITEHOUGH, PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, THE PEAK FOREST CANAL, WHALEY BRIDGE BASIN AND THE COCK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

Distance: 11 miles.

Difficulty: Strenuous start; easy finish.

Weather: Blue skies and sunshine.

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman, Malcolm Halley, Alan Hart, Julian Ross, John Laverick and George Whaites.

B walkers: Tony Job, Pete Morrall, Ken Sparrow, Geoff Spurrell and Mike Walton.

Apologies: Micky Barrett (driving son to Oxford), Peter Beal (cruising Norwegian fjords), George Dearsley (w*^king), Jock Rooney (w*^king in South Africa).

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of The Cock, Whaley Bridge.

Starting time: 9.33am. Finishing time: 2.25pm.

A beautiful sunny day, magnificent Peak District scenery and stimulating, intelligent conversation. What more could a man want? And in the words of Meatloaf: two out of three ain’t bad.

The cold wind which had blighted some dry sunny days of late finally lost its bite, so we started the merry month of May with perfect walking conditions. Visibility was excellent as well so we were rewarded for our gruelling gradual ascent of Chinley Churn with some stunning views of the surrounding landscape.

From the car park we turned right towards Whaley Bridge town centre and then immediately right after the railway bridge to head up to the disused Cromford and High Peak railway line, where we turned left. We then turned right up Bings Lane (3mins) and right again at a narrow passage on our right marked with an easily-missed public footpath sign (4mins).

We reached a road and turned left uphill (6mins), heading left at a stone step stile marked with a wooden public footpath sign (11mins). This led us via two ladder stiles through Throstledale. After crossing a stone step stile (19mins) we entered a field, keeping a drystone wall to our left.

Exiting the field in its left corner, we turned right up a lane (23mins) passing Silk Hill Farm on our left. We went through the village of Bugsworth and crossed the roadbridge over the A6 (28mins) and passed a sundial on our left which had not been advanced to British Summer Time. Ahead was Bugsworth Canal Basin.

Buggy Basin, as it is known locally, is the head of navigation of the Peak Forest Canal. It was the largest and busiest inland port in Britain’s narrow canal system, and the only one to survive intact. As reported in last month’s diary, the 14-mile long Peak Forest Canal from Dukinfield to Bugsworth was engineered by Benjamin Outram.

Construction of the six-mile Peak Forest Tramway in 1795-6 linked the basin to the limestone and gritstone quarries which littered the area. Bugsworth thrived commercially until railway technology superseded canals.

We crossed to the far side of the basin and walked to the left of The Navigation Inn, a 200-year-old pub once owned by actress Pat Phoenix, before she became a soap legend as Coronation Street sex symbol Elsie Tanner.

After passing Buxworth Primary School on our right and Buxworth Basin Station on our left we reached cottages at Brierley Green where we turned left at a public footpath sign (37mins). Taking the right fork in the well-trodden path, we aimed for the Union Flag flying from Cote Bank.

As we neared the drystone wall ahead, your diarist pointed out a stone step stile which he had the temerity to suggest might be the best route. This suggestion was dismissed by our leader and derided by Tom, who reminded your scribe of his abysmal failings as a walk leader.

Ten minutes later, after taking advice from a woman hanging out her washing, Lawrie returned to the stone step stile and the correct route. Opposite the stone step stile was a wooden stile which led towards the flagpole in the garden of Cote Bank. We then ascended a flight of steps (56mins).

We went through a gate and turned right downhill (65mins) for 100 yards before turning left over a wooden stile at a public footpath sign (67mins). This was the start of a steady climb up Chinley Churn and its much-quarried promontory, Cracken Edge. After being diverted to the summit by a path closure following erosion, we paused for pies near the peak (87mins).

Our reward after the climb was well worth the effort.

Stunning views

Continuing, we passed a bench dedicated to Shirley Fidler (102mins) and had our attention drawn by our leader to the sight of a wheatear. These tiny songbirds, weighing less than an ounce, fly nearly 20,000 miles each year as they migrate from sub-Saharan Africa to their Arctic breeding grounds.

Moments later we saw another spectacular flier – an A380 Airbus, currently the world’s largest passenger plane which began service in 2007. This huge plane, of which 101 models are now flying, typically carries 525 passengers in first, business and economy, but is capable of carrying 853 passengers in economy only.

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.

After reaching the road (123mins) we turned left for 100 yards before turning right at a public bridleway (126mins). We headed uphill and then turned right (129mins) to follow a wooden public footpath sign marked South Head.

We passed to the right of Vorposten Farm, which translates from German to The Outpost (141mins), and carried straight on until we reached a main road (159mins). After crossing the road and a wooden stile on the far side we kept going, passing The Alder Farm (169mins) and going through a tunnel beneath the Buxton-Manchester railway line (176mins).

Our group emerged at the end of Alders Lane and turned right (177mins) passing the Turnpike Chapel on our right on our way to Green Lane (181mins) where we turned left. We carried straight on following the sign for Whitehough and reached the Old Hall (189mins).

It was warm enough to sit outside with our pints of Marstons’ cask bitter in good form at a bargain £2-60 (Could we ever have imagined calling a £2-60 pint a bargain ? Ed).

Resuming, we walked downhill until we reached the route of the Peak Forest Tramway (192mins) and turned left. After stopping for lunch at a bridge over a stream on our right (202mins) we carried on and once again reached Buggy Basin. This time we passed the Navigation Inn on our right (213mins) and continued along the towpath with the Whaley Bridge branch of the canal on our left.

Using footbridge 37, we crossed to the other bank (225mins) and proceeded to Whaley Bridge Basin (234mins). By carrying straight on ahead, we passed Tom Brads Croft car park and rejoined the disused Cromford and High Peak railway route, passing Bings Road on our left and The Shepherd’s Arms on our right.

Retracing our footsteps we dropped back to the main road by the side of the railway bridge, turned left and reached our cars (240mins).

We were joined in The Cock belatedly by the B-teamers, who had missed their bus from Tunstead Milton. They had caught a bus originally at Torkington Park to Doveholes, from where they had walked through Martinside and passed Eaves Hall on their way to The Roebuck at Chapel-en-le-Frith. After pints of Tetleys and Black Sheep at £2-70, they had arrived at Tunstead Milton via Lydgate, a journey totalling just under six miles.

Next week’s walk will start from the free car park opposite The Spinners Arms in Bollington at 9.30am. We will be seeking to mount White Nancy before performing a figure-eight route around Rainow, reaching the Robin Hood in that village around 12.30pm. We anticipate returning to deboot and drive 250 yards to The Dog and Partridge, arriving about 2

Whaley Bridge

WHALEY BRIDGE, CADSTER FARM, SPIRE HOLLINS FARM, COMBS, BRADSHAW HALL, WHITEHOUGH, BUGSWORTH BASIN,  BRIDGEMONT CANAL JUNCTION

Distance: 9.5 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Weather: Overcast but dry

Walkers: George Dearsley, Lawrie Fairman, Phil Welsh, Tom Cunliffe, Julian Ross, Peter Beal, Colin Davison

Apologies: Jock Rooney (abroad), George Whaites (working), Alan Hart (Barbados)

B Walkers: Geoff Spurrell, Tony Job, John Laverick, Ken Sparrow

Non-walking drinkers: John Eckersley. Frank Dudley

Leader: Fairman Diarist: Dearsley

Starting Point: The Old Cock, Whaley Bridge

Starting Time: 9.35am. Finishing Time: 2.05pm

A perfect day for walking and an excellent turn out. Rolling Cheshire/Derbyshire countryside, intelligent banter and good ale. Were any of the Wanderers the slightest bit envious of Mr Hart in the sunshine of Barbados? Well, probably.

We left the Old Cock and took the familiar left turn a few yards up the road. For the first time your diarist noticed a sign saying Shallcross Trail. And indeed this appears to be new. 

According to the WhaleyBridge.com website the rather grandiose titled Shallcross Incline Greenway was only opened in the summer. The Greenway has been developed on the site of the old Cromford and High Peak Railway, which linked the High Peak with the Midlands. The incline was abandoned in 1892 following the closure of said railway. Since then, the incline has been disused, apart from a small section at its southern end which now forms Shallcross Crescent. The route became overgrown with self seeded trees and vegetation covering large sections and was a magnet for fly tippers.

As usual some NIMBYs said the development would exacerbate existing issues concerning crime and anti-social behaviour and would increase the fear of crime. The proposed pathway, they claimed, would also lead to a loss of privacy with local residences  being overlooked from the trail. So full marks to the local authority for going ahead and reclaiming the stretch for fresh air enthusiasts like the Wanderers.

We duly trod the virgin incline until we reached a T-junction, where we turned left. At the top of the road we went straight over passing a sign saying Shallcross Nursery. We crossed a stile and turned right.

As Combs reservoir was in the distance to our left and as the track became a little muddy I thought I would give the Wanderers the Hollywood treatment.

The direction of this walk we had followed before but on a track higher up to our right. We passed a tastefully converted barn which had a sign offering accommodation for hire at Tunstead House Farm.

We turned right and right again and were soon afforded a wonderful view of Combs Edge. It was also possible on our walk to pick out Mam Tor and Rushup.

Combs Edge

Our route eventually took us to the rear of an impressive house called Spire Hollins. The official path, however, dictates that walkers have to scale a wall that looks like something out of the Krypton Factor. To make the task more difficult it looked as if one step had been removed and a dog stood guard on the parapet. The animal turned out to be benign and the wall was duly negotiated. Although in icy conditions it might have presented more of a challenge.

Spire Hollins dates back to the 17^th century is valued by the website Zoopla at £834,417. It has been lovingly and diligently restored and with its many stone mullion windows not by your average Bank Holiday DIY-er.

Colin tackles the North Face of the Eiger

Spire Hollins

Within a few hundred yards we were at The Beehive pub where Pie Time was declared at 10.50am.

Two lithe fell runners appeared, one who was known to Mr Davison and the other having competed in times past against Mr Beal.

We set off again at 11.05am, passing the Beehive on our left and heading down the road to a T-Junction. Here we went straight over past Bradshaw Hall, once the residence of judge John Bradshaw, president at the trial of Charles I.

During his teenage years Bradshaw attended Macclesfield Grammar School (now The King's School in Macclesfield). After studying law in London he rose to high office. But Bradshaw was a controversial choice as Lord President, and opinions of his efficiency as a judge varied. Thomas Fuller dismissed him as a man “of execrable memory, of whom nothing good is remembered.”

The King himself, as well as much of the court, professed to having never heard of him. King Charles refused to recognise the authority of the court and would not plead. After declaring Charles I guilty as a “Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer, and a public enemy,” Bradshaw did not even allow the monarch any final words. Not even “I’m a Celebrity get me out of here!”

The Royalists, however, were to have their revenge following his death. After Charles II was restored to his throne in 1660, Bradshaw’s body was exhumed and displayed in chains all day on the gallows at Tyburn. Later he was beheaded, his body thrown into a common pit and his head displayed on a pike at Westminster Hall. They should bring that one back for the judge who freed Abu Qatada. Bradshaw, by the way, was played by Stratford Johns in the film Cromwell.

Mr Davison now professed that we were ahead of schedule and insisted on inserting his signature diversion into the walk. We crossed a field diagonally, came onto a metalled road and passed some expensive new stone walling being erected – rather incongruously -outside a red brick detached house.

We went left over a stile following a sign to “Eccles”. We reached a road and within 20 yards turned right along another road which we later learned to be Back Eccles Lane.

We crossed an impressive bridge over the dual carriageway that links Buxton and Whaley Bridge at 12.05pm and three minutes later arrived at the Old Hall Inn, Whitehough.

Hartington Bitter was £2.85 as was Marston’s Pedro. Marston’s Bitter was £2.70.

At 12.18pm the B Walkers arrived. They had been to Bowden Hall, Wash and Bridgeholme Green.

Just as we were about to depart who should enter the pub (with a rather overweight brown coloured dog) but former MP Edwina Currie.

The two former journalists in the group decided not to ask her about her decision in the 1980s to appoint Jimmy Savile to run a taskforce in charge of Broadmoor, where he was given temporary powers to oversee the running of the hospital following a series of industrial disputes - despite having no professional qualifications. A friend of Savile’s from his hometown in Leeds was then given the most senior job at Broadmoor.

It might have spoiled her lunch.

We set off again at 1.02pm taking the road towards Chinley.

We turned left following a sign marked Tramway Trail. We crossed a bridge on our right and at 1.18pm stopped for our own lunch.

We resumed our walk at 1.25pm, re-crossing the bridge and turning right.

We picked up the waterway at the side of the Peak Forest canal and followed it past Tesco’s into the outskirts of Whaley Bridge, reaching the Old Cock at 2.05 pm.

The B Walkers were not far behind and we were soon joined by Messrs Eckersley and Dudley.

Next week’s walk will start from the lay-by at Ridgegate Reservoir about half a mile from the Leather’s Smithy pub at 9.30am, with a stop at around 12.15pm at the Hanging Gate and ending at the Leather’s Smithy.