Rudyard

Rudyard

Jaunary 17, 2016

CAR PARK AT MINIATURE RAILWAY AT RUDYARD, STAFFORDSHIRE WAY, LADDEREDGE COUNTRY PARK, CALDON CANAL, HOLLY BUSH INN, STONELOWE HALL, DUNWOOD, BRADSHAW, DEVIL'S LANE, RUDYARD

Distance: 10miles

Difficulty: Easy except for MUD

Weather: Cold windyish but mainly sunny

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe,  Laurie Fairman, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney with Tip

Apologies: Alan Hart (wimped out), George Dearsley (still living in Turkey), George Waites (domestic duties),Peter Beal (walking along Yorkshire coast), Alastair Cairns, Mark Gibby (in US), Hughie Harriman (man flu) .

Leader: Fairman Diarist: Fairman

S.O.B. Walkers: Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Ken Sparrow

Starting point: Miniature railway car park at Rudyard

Starting time: 10.02am Finishing time: 3.24pm

Rudyard Lake marks probably the most southerly starting point of all Wednesday Wanderers expeditions,which may have been a reason for the poor turnout. A journey of mixed character with some difficulties. The weather despite the BBC dire forecast turned out to be good for walking, fresh and clear.

The main problem came from the leader who, trying for a way to avoid mud at the start of the walk, tried a new route.

Our starting point was the car park of the miniature steam railway that runs alongside Rudyard Lake. It should more properly be called a reservoir, as it was built in 1797 to supply the Caldon Canal, which we were to walk along later. At 168 acres and over 2.5 miles long, it was probably at the time the largest of its kind in Britain.

It also gave its name to one of our most famous storytellers. Stoke-on-Trent architect and illustrator Lockwood Kipling got engaged to his girlfriend Alice MacDonald there in 1863 and when their son was born in Bombay two years later they named him after the spot. Who has not heard of Reservoir Kipling?

We left the car park to the south and headed along the course of the disused North Staffordshire Railway, which in its 19th century heyday used to bring thousands of trippers to the Lake, earning it the title of the 'Blackpool of the Potteries'.

We reached a concrete bridge (7 minutes)but the path was deep in mud which promised to get worse from the cattle further down the walk so we continued down the railway track for a further period until stopped by the fact that the tunnels were closed(25minutes). Not wanting to retrace our steps we turned right over a bridge and walked for some distance through the suburbs of Leek, eventually reaching the main A53 near the golf course. After a small error caused by a fold in the map we found the footpath to the Ladderedge park.

(40 mins)

It was just before this that Jock declared he had enough and left us to return home.

However despite his misgivings we were now back on track – with dry clean boots at least for a few miles.

We  walked through the bottom fields of the park and came across a bridge that marked the end of the Leek branch of the Caldon Canal and a large stone sign proclaiming 'Welcome to Leek'. We were truly in the Midlands.

The Caldon Canal, which leaves the Trent and Mersey in Etruria, Stoke, was opened in 1779 to carry limestone from Cauldon Low quarries near Froghall to the Potteries. The Leek branch opened 18 years later. It was restored to leisure use in 1974.

We turned right along the well-surfaced towpath, with the canal on our right, and followed this tranquil stretch of canal to a low tunnel, at which pie time was declare for the 3 of us.

We sat on the bollards and enjoyed the flavourful damson gin courtesy of Chris.(90mins)

We finally reached a bridge (104 min), where we turned left down a lane to reach the welcoming Hollybush Inn on the nearby main branch of the Caldon Canal at 12.05 (12.05 min).

We sat inside the attractive pub, once a flour mill, with narrowboats moored alongside.

The barmaid informed me that they opened at11 am and it looked like men’s walking day out judging from the clientel

Wainwright's bitter was on offer at a reasonable £3.40. Notice that Peter records that in Oct 2016 it was £3 a pint

We restarted at 12.55pm and turned right along the canal, under an aqueduct carrying the Leek branch, and reached a flight of three locks and a white former lock-keeper's cottage at the point where the two branches of the canal divide.

We located the well-hidden footpath next to the house and turned right on a footpath (138 min).

We crossed an open railway line and crossed two stiles across marshy gound to join a stony path uphill. We unfortunately missed the stoney footpath put plodded up the hill to the A53soon reaching a footpath fingerpost. We turned left at this point,passing through three fields and up a track to reach Stonelowe Hall, a converted 17th century farmhouse, now a Grade Two listed building with an appalling blue gate

We took a grassy footpath at the side of a pond at the left of the hall and followed a high hedge across a series of fields before going right over a stile to reachy a minor road (215 min).

We turned right and at the crest of the hill (228 min) taking a track on the right signed Summerhill Farm.Here we had a brief pause for lunch of chocolate oranges At a right-hand bend we carried straight on along a footpath (232 min) and continued over stiles through fields to emerge on the drive of a large private house whose front gate brought us out on the road called Devil's Lane (243 min)..

We turned left and at the crest of the hill turned right through a gap in the stone wall (250 min). A pleasant walk through field with stiles too numerous to detail followed with excellent views from the high ground we were now on.

Bosley Cloud and Croker Hill could be seen to the left and front of us and on the skyline to the right the distinctive outline of the Roaches and Hen Cloud.

We followed a diabolic footpath to drop steeply downhill to reach the railway track .It was a minor miracle no-one fell the sticky slidy was awful.

We turned left along the track and shortly afterwards reached the car park (324 min).

Next week your diarist is off to South Africa but Chris if he feels up to it will lead a walk from Ridgegate Reservoir where you will drink remains to be decided

My thanks to Peter Beal for the “research”

Happy wandering!

Brabyns Park

January 10, 2018.

BRABYNS PARK, MARPLE BRIDGE, LOW LEA ROAD, MELLOR MILL, ROMAN LAKES, BOTTOMS HALL, MELLOR SPORTS CLUB, KNOWLE FARM, ST THOMAS’S CHURCH, MELLOR, HOLLYWOOD, HAMBLETON FOLD, PODNOR FARM, THE ODDFELLOWS ARMS, THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS AT MELLOR, MELLOR AND THORNCLIFFE GOLF COURSE, LINNET CLOUGH SCOUT CAMP, OLD HALL FARM, THE NORFOLK ARMS AT MARPLE BRIDGE

Distance: 8+ miles.

Difficulty: Easy but muddy.

Weather: Dry buy cloudy and misty.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman, Alan Hart, Jock Rooney with Tip.

B walkers: Phil Burslem, George Fraser, Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Geoff Spurrell and Barry Williams.

Apologies: Colin Davison (having ECG), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby (packing for US trip), Hughie Harriman (Gran Canaria hols), Steve Kemp (Hong Kong and Thailand hols), Chris Owen (recovering from blood clot), George Whaites.

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Brabyns Park car park, Marple Bridge.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.09pm.

Unhappily the most memorable feature of this walk was the mud we encountered near a farm at Hambleton Fold. Not since The Battle of Passchendaele more than 100 years ago have brave Brits had to endure such ankle-deep slime.

But just like our forefathers on the fields of Flanders we kept our heads and our stiff upper lips to conquer the elements and smile in the face of adversity.

Some mud was to be expected after recent rain and snow, but the odious ooze we encountered had clearly been exacerbated by the efforts of the farmer, either by accident or design. Our visibility from the heights of Mellor Church was also impeded by the misty conditions. Nevertheless our Fuhrer, ably assisted on occasions by Peter, led us successfully to our targets.

From the car park we walked down to Brabyns Brow, turned left for a few yards then went right to cross the main road and enter Town Street. We proceeded past the Royal Scot and local shops to reach Low Lea Road, where we turned right (7mins). This had a cobbled section as we climbed steadily, then going downhill and passing Goyt House on our right (16mins). The track descended further and became Bottoms Mill Road (17mins)

This was the site of the massive Mellor Mill, also known as Bottom’s Mill, built by Samuel Oldknow between 1790-92. It was six storeys high, 400 feet long and employed 500 people. Of these 100 were orphans, obtained as cheap labour, who were housed at Old Hall, or Bottom’s Hall, on the site of a 12^th Century building. The mill, which was the biggest in the world, was destroyed by fire in 1892. In 2009 local archaeologists obtained Lottery funding to excavate the remains, but the money appears to have dried up and the work ceased.

We turned left into Lakes Road (19mins) and followed a sign for Prescott Old Hall Road (22mins). After passing the former orphanage at Bottoms Hall on our right we turned immediately left uphill (23mins). At the end of Old Hall Lane (30mins) we went straight on. This brought us to a road where we headed uphill and turned left into Knowle Road (34mins)

This took us past Mellor Sports Club on our right and Mellor Primary School on the left, passing Slackwood House on our right (40mins) before turning right at Knowle Farm through a gap stile (47mins). From here you can normally see Mellor Church at the top of the hill, but on this occasion it was swathed in mist. We went over a wooden stile across a field and climbed a set of stone steps to reach St Thomas’s Church (53mins).  

A church has been on this site since the 15^th Century although the present edifice was rebuilt in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries. The pulpit inside is carved from the trunk of an oak tree which was felled in the 13^th Century. Artefacts found nearby indicate there was a Roman influence here and further evidence of an Iron Age settlement. In a field nearby is a replica of a roundhouse from that era. Completely demolished is Mellor Grammar School, which had been a seat of learning here from 1639-1881.

We exited the graveyard and went left over a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (59mins), passing the replica roundhouse on our left, leaving the field by a wooden hurdle marked with a yellow arrow which we followed left (61mins). Turning right into a field at a sign for Hollywood (62mins) we crossed a wooden stile with a yellow arrow which indicated we were on the Cown Edge Way (70mins)

We emerged from the footpath at a road opposite Bridge House (79mins) and stopped on a bridge next to Hollywood End Farm for pies, port and sloe gin kindly provided by Alastair. Resuming, we walked between Bridge House and Hollywood End Farm and passed through a metal gate (81mins). At a wooden gate we followed a sign for Cown Edge via Ludworth Moor (88mins)

Passing Hollywood Cottage on our left, we went through a gap stile after ignoring a yellow arrow pointing left. After going through a metal gate we turned right uphill (90mins), reached a road and turned left uphill (93mins). We went straight on, avoiding a public bridleway, and then the path turned into deceptive, cloying mud.

To escape it we turned right, with a drystone wall on our left, but could find no exit from this field so we performed a quadrille to return to the mud where we had started (118mins). We then tried a left turn but soon passed a sign indicating that Mellor could be reached by going back and turning left. We did so and went through a gap stile (124mins) and a path leading past a derelict farm building on our left.

We crossed a stone step stile (126mins), then another and went straight across a field (129mins). By crossing another stile on our right (131mins) we reached Podnor Farm (134mins) and turned left down the track. This brought us to the rear of The Oddfellows Arms at Mellor. We skirted left around it and passed the open front door (137mins), walking downhill to the end of Moor End Road and reaching The Devonshire Arms on our right (143mins).

This popular Robinsons’ pub has been extensively extended and refurbished. Despite our muddy appearance we were welcomed warmly by the landlord and the Robbies’ Unicorn cask bitter was in excellent form at a cost of £3-40 a pint. We were soon joined by our B team colleagues, whom we left behind to start the final leg of our journey.

We went up Gibb Lane opposite the pub and turned right at Whetmorhurst Lane (147mins), passing Primrose Cottage and Rose Cottage on our right (152mins) to enter Mellor and Thorncliffe Golf Course (154mins). We headed for the main car park, passed Linnet Clough Scout Camp  and followed a public bridleway towards Marple Bridge (159mins)

After passing Old Hall Farm on our left (170mins) we spotted goosander ducks in the lake on our right. We are indebted to our twitcher expert Lawrie for informing us that these are the only variety of duck which eat fish.

 We swung left instead of retracing our earlier footsteps along Bottoms Hall Road (176mins) and stopped for a brief lunch at a bridge over the River Goyt. Continuing, we went up Lakes Road and emerged back in suburbia. At the end of Fayward Drive (188mins) we turned right into Arkwright Road.

At the bottom of Arkwright Road we turned right, crossing over the railway bridge at Brabyn Brow and turning left opposite The Midland to return to our cars (200mins). After de-booting we walked to the Norfolk Arms, where a selection of cask ales was available from £3-10 a pint. We were again joined by our B team comrades.

Next week’s walk will start at 10am from the car park at the miniature railway station to the south of Rudyard Lake, on the Leek road out of Macclesfield. It is anticipated that our walk will take us to The Holly Bush,  (at Denford) by the side of the Caldon Canal, for a livener around 12.15pm. The walk should finish about 2.30pm and we will then choose a pub for a final pint.

Happy wandering !

Hayfield

January 3, 2018.

HAYFIELD, SETT VALLEY TRAIL, BIRCH VALE, MOOR LODGE, OLLERSETT MOOR, BIG STONE, CHINLEY CHURN, CLAPPERSGATE, OTTERBANK HALL, MONK’S MEADOWS, THE LAMB AT CHINLEY HEAD, HIGHER HEYS FARM, STUBBS FARM AND THE SPORTSMAN NEAR BOWDEN BRIDGE

Distance: Nine miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Weather: Mild, cloudy and mostly dry with strong winds.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman and Alan Hart.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (Italian hols), Alastair Cairns (worried about road conditions), Colin Davison (having scan), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby (recovering from man-flu), Hugh Harriman (Gran Canaria hols), Steve Kemp (domestic duties), Chris Owen (blood clot on leg), Julian Ross (w^*king) and George Whaites (domestic duties)

Leader: Beal. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Road outside The Sportsman, Kinder Road, Hayfield.

Starting time: 9.35am. Finishing time: 2.25pm.

Dire forecasts of foul weather earlier in the week were diluted to predict a dry morning and gale force winds from Storm Eleanor. The threat of turbulence failed to put off four intrepid wanderers – especially when that threat came from a storm with a girly name.

Earlier in the week there had been a series of cry-offs because of medical conditions and holidays so we will take a charitable view of those who chose not to attend. They missed a new route down from Big Stone to The Lamb devised by our enterprising leader Peter.

Although the winds were howling across Ollersett Moor, they were largely at our backs and the route protected us from their full effect. Only when we reached Big Stone did we feel the power they engendered and struggle to avoid being blown over the edge of Chinley Churn.

...when the blast of war blows in our ears then imitate the action of the tiger: stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood ...(Henry V, Act 3)

...gentlemen abed in England shall think themselves accursed they were not here...(Act 4)

From outside The Sportsman we crossed the road and descended a flight of steps to reach a bridge over the River Sett. We crossed it and turned right, soon reaching Hayfield town centre via Church Street and turning left at The George car park to go through the underpass and reach the far side of the main road (12mins). We turned right and entered the bus station at the start of the Sett Valley Trail (15mins)

The trail, which is 4km long, is provided for hikers, cyclists and horse-riders along the former track of the branch line which linked New Mills Central railway station with Hayfield. Although New Mills Central still exists Hayfield Station, which opened in 1868, closed in 1970.

It was bought from British Rail by Derbyshire County Council in 1973. The station was demolished and replaced with an information centre, picnic area, car park and toilets. There are plans to create a section in the centre celebrating the Kinder Mass Trespass of 1932 by 400 ramblers which led seven decades later to the Right To Roam laws.

We turned left to leave the trail (31mins) at a public footpath sign indicating Chinley and headed uphill to emerge moments later at a main road opposite The Grouse at Birch Vale. We crossed the road, passing the pub on our left as we turned right towards New Mills. After 200 yards we turned left up a side road (34mins), which my learned friend Mr Beal informed us was actually called Oven Hill Road despite being labelled Over Hill Road on the area’s maps.

This was the start of a steady ascent, but we were on the leeward side of a hill which protected us from the howling winds. We turned left when we reached a public bridleway (60mins). The route continued uphill through a series of four wooden gates ((64, 69, 75 and 83mins) followed by a wooden stile (93mins) which brought us to Big Stone (95mins)

Now without protection, it was here we felt the fully fury of the winds generated by Storm Eleanor. It virtually blew Lawrie over a stile. Tom fell twice and your diarist once as we started the descent by turning right along Chinley Churn. After crossing a ladder stile (99mins) we turned left to follow the path downhill which swung further left through a wooden gate (101mins)

We reached a spot in the rocks sheltered from the wind, with a convenient bench, where we paused belatedly for pies and port (104mins). We retraced our footsteps through the wooden gate (107mins) to continue our descent along Chinley Churn, choosing the higher, safer route where the paths forked. We crossed a stone step stile (126mins) and a wooden stile (131mins) before heading through a wooden gate and down a flight of steps on our left to reach a road (133mins)

Turning left we passed Clappersgate Farm on our right (137mins), then Otterbank Hall and Newstead, which we passed and turned right at a wooden public footpath sign (146mins). The path took us through three wooden gates (152, 153 and 155mins) before we turned right and went through two metal gates and reached a farm track (156mins)

We turned left uphill and reached the main road (159mins), turning left again and reaching The Lamb Inn on our right (161mins). There was a warm welcome from the landlady, a warm fire and excellent pints of Wainwrights’ cask bitter for £3-50.

On leaving the pub we turned right, passing Lamb Quarry Ecological and Conservation Site on our right (165mins) before turning right uphill along a track just before Hayfield View Camping Barn  (174mins). We dog-legged right and left to follow a public bridleway sign (178mins). This took us through two five-barred wooden gates (181 and 182mins)

Some 20 yards before we reached a free-standing rock known as The White Lady, we turned left (196mins). After passing through a wooden gate (199mins) we took the right fork to head downhill. After a brief lunch break (209mins) we turned right at a wooden public footpath sign (211mins) and went through two wooden gates to reach a wooden footbridge over the Sett (213mins). We headed left uphill to reach a road (215mins) where we turned left and reached our cars outside The Sportsman (216mins)

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30am from Brabyns Car Park at Marple Bridge, aiming to reach The Devonshire Arms at Mellor around 12.15am. We expect to be back at our cars to de-boot around 2.20pm before heading for further refreshment at The Norfolk Arms, Marple Bridge. It is Mark’s birthday and he hopes to have recovered sufficiently to celebrate the occasion in the usual style.

Happy wandering !

Whaley Bridge

December 27, 2017.

WHALEY BRIDGE, CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY LINE (DISUSED), SHALLCROSS INCLINE GREENWAY, MANCHESTER-BUXTON RAILWAY LINE , TUNSTEAD MILTON, SPARK FARM, CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH GOLF COURSE, BRADSHAW HALL, COWHEY FARM, ECCLES PIKE, SALT PIE FARM, OLD HALL INN AT WHITEHOUGH, PEAK FOREST TRAMWAY, STEPHANIE WORKS, BUGSWORTH BASIN, PEAK FOREST CANAL, WHALEY BRIDGE BASIN AND THE COCK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

Distance: 8 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry with sun, blue skies and cloud, but chilly.

Walkers: Peter Beal, Tom Cunliffe, Lawrie Fairman and Alan Hart.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett (Italian hols), Alastair Cairns, Colin Davison (visiting relatives), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby, Hughie Harriman, Steve Kemp, Chris Owen, Julian Ross and George Whaites (domestic duties).

Leader: Fairman. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Road outside The Cock at Whaley Bridge.

Starting time: 9.39am. Finishing time: 1.55pm.

Dry weather, a low winter’s sun and blue skies only tempted four Wanderers out for this pleasant walk along the gently undulating hills and valleys between Whaley Bridge and Chinley at the edge of Derbyshire’s Peak District. The opportunity to walk off some of their Christmas pudding was clearly not on the menu for some of our regulars as they recovered from the excesses of the season and the entertaining of relatives.

Those of us who escaped the festive aftermath enjoyed the mild weather and a comical interlude involving Tom. Within an hour of berating your diarist for delicately tip-toeing through the mud, and pouring scorn on the suggestion that great care was needed, Tom slipped and fell. The resulting brown stain on the seat of his light fawn trousers suggested an accident of a totally different type.

It served to illustrate the proverbs “Pride cometh before a fall” and “He who laughs last laughs longest.”  Tom is now well on the road to recovery from his Achilles heel problem and it a joy to once again hear his brilliant ripostes and witty retorts after several months on the injury list.

Your diarist was also making his first outing for six weeks after sustaining a back injury during his holiday in Barbados. It is thought to have been caused by carrying a heavy suitcase up and down a flight of stairs in a luxury villa. It is known in the travel trade as an industrial injury.

Passing The Cock on our left, we turned left 20 yards beyond the pub, crossing a stream and heading uphill to the former track of the Cromford and High Peak railway line. When we reached it we turned right and followed it to the point where it became The Shallcross Incline Greenway (8mins).

The Cromford and High Peak Railway was built between 1830 and 1832 to carry minerals and goods between Cromford Canal Wharf and The Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge 33 miles away. It was originally designed as a tramway by William Jessop, his son Josias and their former partner Benjamin Outram, respected engineers and businessmen.

The first section of the line closed in 1963 following The Beeching Report and the last section came to the end of the line in 1967. Four years later The Peak Park Planning Board and Derbyshire County Council bought part of the track to create High Peak Trails for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

At the end of this incline we turned left into Shallcross Road. At its end we crossed Elnor Lane and followed a public footpath sign over a wooden stile which led into a field (20mins). Heading gently uphill we crossed a stone step stile, a wooden stile, went through a wooden gate and over a wooden fence before walking through a wooden gate into a farmyard (44mins)

We swung round the farm buildings and crossed a ladder stile on our right (47mins) which led us to a compound for Houdini goats. As the name of the famous escapologist suggests, they had all disappeared. By going through a protected gate we climbed over a stone step stile and turned right to head downhill towards a tunnel under the Manchester-Buxton railway line. As we did so we could see Combs Reservoir on our right.

We went through the tunnel and headed diagonally left towards a fence, where we turned right to climb downhill, over wooden slats and down stone steps and reached a stream which we crossed twice by two wooden footbridges (62mins). After crossing a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow we reached the Whaley Bridge Chapel road at Tunstead Milton.

Our group crossed this and turned right for 100 yards before turning left at a green public footpath sign (63mins). We then crossed a series of wooden stiles which took us past a row of stables on our right and through successive fields. At one point Tom gave a remarkable impersonation of Little Bo Peep as he walked blissfully unaware that a flock of sheep was following him. When we reached a handy picnic table at the edge of a field, we stopped for pies and a drop of port (71mins)

Resuming we went through a gate and passed Spark Farm on our left to go over a wooden stile with a yellow arrow (73mins). The next wooden stile took us into the grounds of Chapel Golf Club. We kept to the left of the course and exited via a wooden gate at a wooden public footpath sign on our left (79mins).

After going through a wooden gate we had reached some farm buildings to the left of Bradshaw Hall (88mins). We turned left to skirt these building before turning right and passing them on our right. The entrance to Bradshaw Hall was on our right some 50 yards from our path.

Bradshaw Hall, built circa 1620 and extensively restored in the 1960s, is a Grade ll listed building. It was the family home of John Bradshaw, President of the High Courts of Justice, whose signature appears first on the death warrant of King Charles l.  At his trial in 1649, the king refused to recognise the authority of the court or enter a plea.

Judge Bradshaw, who was born in Wybersley Hall, High Lane, educated at Stockport Free School and King’s School, Macclesfield, was a former mayor of Congleton. He found the king guilty of being a tyrant, traitor, murderer and enemy of the people, and sentenced him to death by beheading with an axe.

Judge Bradshaw, a staunch Republican, subsequently fell out with Oliver Cromwell, but returned to favour when The Lord Protector died and was replaced by his son Richard Cromwell. Judge Bradshaw died in 1659, aged 57, and was buried with honours at Westminster Abbey.

When the monarchy was restored in 1660 and Charles ll was crowned king, he ordered that the bodies of Bradshaw, Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton, should be exhumed on the 12^th anniversary of Charles l’s execution. They were displayed in chains all day on a gallows at Tyburn on January 30, 1661. At sunset they were beheaded, their bodies thrown into a common pit and their heads displayed on pikes at Westminster Hall.

In the movie Cromwell, starring Richard Harris in the title role, John Bradshaw was played by Stratford Johns, best remembered for his portrayal of Det Chief Inspector Barlow in the TV series Softly Softly.

After passing the hall we headed left uphill over a series of stiles until we emerged on a road opposite Cowhey Farm (102mins). We turned left uphill and right at a wooden public footpath sign (103mins), passing a National Trust sign marked Eccles Pike. Instead of climbing this hill to our left, we turned sharp right towards an exit gate. It was at this point that Tom had his comeuppance (or in his case falldownance)

We then crossed a series of stiles as we descended through fields and reached a farm on our right (113mins) and swung left to follow the track down to a road (115mins). We turned left, passing Salt Pie Farm on our right (121mins) and crossing the road bridge over the A6 before entering Whitehough and reaching The Old Hall (126mins) for pints of excellent Wainwrights’ cask bitter at £3-20.

After refreshment we left the pub and turned right downhill past Sheridan House to reach The Peak Forest Tramway, where we turned left (129mins). After passing a pond containing two black swans and a plastics company at Stephanie’s Works, we reached the Navigation Inn at Bugsworth Basin, where your diarist paused at a bench for lunch (145mins)

Continuing, we walked along the right bank of the Peak Forest Canal, crossing to the left bank via a footbridge at Bridge 37 (159mins). This brought us to Whaley Bridge Basin marina (168mins). We carried straight on at the end of the marina, walking to the right of Tom Brad’s Croft car park and crossing a bridge over The Goyt.

This took us along the disused Cromford and High Peak Railway line until we turned right past an electrical goods suppliers, reached the main road and turned left under the bridge to reach our cars outside The Cock (180mins)

Next Wednesday’s walk will start at 9.35am from The Sportsman on Kinder Road, Hayfield. We expect to call at The Lamb around 12.15pm and finish back at The Sportsman at about 2.20pm.

The annual New Year’s Day walk will start at 10am on Monday, January 1, from the car park of Poynton Sports Club to a destination to be decided on the day in view of the weather and ground conditions and the conditions of the walkers concerned. It is customary to share festive food and drink.

Happy wandering !

Poynton

Poynton

Dec 20, 2017

POYNTON POOL, PRINCES INCLINE, DAVENPORT GOLF COURSE, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, TRADING POST, GREEN HOUSE FARM, LYME PARK, WINDGATHER, HARESTEADS FARM, BOAR'S HEAD AT HIGHER POYNTON, POYNTON POOL

Distance: 8 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Dry and cloudy at first, persistent light drizzle later. Mild.

Walkers: Micky Barrett, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Laurie Fairman, Mark Gibby, Hughie Harriman, John Jones, Julian Ross, George Whaites

S.O.B. walkers: George Fraser, Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Gareth Roberts, Ken Sparrow, Geoff Spurrell, Barry Williams

Non-walking drinker: Alan Hart

Apologies: George Dearsley (Turkey), Chris Owen (poorly sick)

Leader: Fairman                              Diarist: Beal

Starting point: Poynton Pool car park

Starting time: 9.53am         Finishing time: 2.01pm

For a second successive week the allure of free mulled wine, breakfast barmcakes (this time sausage) and mince pies ensured a fulsome turnout of walkers.

Our host Alan, sadly prevented from joining the walk by a combination of back and foot trouble, nevertheless was more than generous in his hospitality at his home before we wandered off in the direction of the nearby Poynton Pool car park to boot up.

An otherwise gentle walk had some drama introduced by a bloody injury to Laurie's hand, caused by a barbed wire fence, but our leader maintained a firm upper lip and continued with his duties.

We left the car park with Poynton Pool on our left and followed a good path which brought us to South Park Drive (10 minutes). We crossed this and turned left down the main road, a short distance later turning left in to Woodside Lane.

We followed this residential road with the grounds of Poynton Sports and Social Club on our right. We took a signed track on the right at a fork and continued up this, crossing a road and going through a gate which brought us in to fields (21 min).

This was the start of the Princes Incline - part of the Poynton Collieries railway system built to service the many small mines in the area. It was originally rope-worked, but converted to locomotives in 1889. The system carried coal from the pits to either Stockport or the nearby Macclesfield Canal, for onward transport to Macclesfield or Bollington.

We continued up the track, now with a ditch on our left, before slanting left and descending down a flight of wooden steps in to woods (29 min). Steps at the other side of a wooded dip brought us to a metal kissing gate, leading in to a field at the edge of Davenport golf course. After two further similar gates, and a false start in to another bit of the golf course, we turned left along a track which soon forked right 37 min) to take us along a path through woods.

We crossed a minor road (50 min) and carried on along an unmade lane which brought us to Hilton Road. We crossed this and entered Prince Road at a sign pointing to the Middlewood Way, which we soon crossed on a substantial bridge.

The Way, now an 11-mile route for walkers, horse-riders and cyclists, is the route of the former Marple to Macclesfield railway line, which closed in 1970. We carried on up a track with the entrance to Middlewood House Community Hall on our left, and past two bungalows, after which the track became a path (62 min).

It was here our leader, with his walking poles tucked under his arm, slipped on a greasy tree root, and trying to steady himself took a firm grip on a barbed wire fence, sustaining a nasty gash to his hand.

After much scrabbling about for tissues and plasters, the flow of blood was stemmed. Some of the Wanderers observed it might be helpful if we actually carried such a thing as a first-aid kit for such an eventuality. Your temporary diarist unhelpfully offered that he did possess such a thing - but it was in his other rucksack.

Veteran Wanderer Alan was to comment later that in all his years of Wednesday walking it was the first time he had known such an injury, or indeed of any of the Wanderers coming to harm.

This was apparently in contrast to the other, more organised rambling groups that he joins sometimes, when seemingly walkers are regularly being escorted away with exhaustion or falling and breaking and spraining things. We took this as a tribute to the Wanderers' fortitude and professionalism.

We continued uphill with Laurie bleeding not too profusely and soon reached the Macclesfield Canal (65 min). We turned right along the towpath to reach the canal supplies shop-cum-cafe known as Bailey's Trading Post, where in the absence of pie-time a tea stop was declared (76 min).

In rather balmy weather we sat outside and enjoyed tea and Bovril, generously purchased by Julian. His claim however that this would exempt him from birthday drinks for 2018 was met with widespread derision.

We left at 11.25, and as we were only 200 yards from our planned refreshment stop, a diversion was clearly needed. We continued along the canal in the direction of Bollington and at Bridge 16 crossed the waterway in to a field (89 min).

We followed a hedge on our right, under power lines, and soon came a a stile on our right. We crossed this and bore left up a footpath which brought us to a lane, which we followed uphill. This brought us to Green House Farm, which we skirted along a footpath on its right.

This brought us out on moorland on the fringe of Lyme Park. We carried on along a grassy track before slanting left down to a good track running alongside a high drystone wall (97 min).

We turned left downhill soon reaching the Park gate at a house called Windgather. From here a track and lane took us straight on, descending and then climbing from Haresteads Farm, to soon reach the canal again near the Trading Post. A short walk down the road brought us to the Boar's Head (150 min), where we found the eight B walkers already ensconced, having walked the two miles from Poynton.

Black Sheep (£3.30) and Ringwood Razorback Bitter (£3.45) was on offer and much enjoyed.

Our straightforward return route took us left out of the pub door and sharp left in to Anson Road, which we followed for its length down to a T-junction. Here we crossed over to take a track which brought us to rejoin our outward route at the kissing gates in the golf course. From here we followed the Princes Incline and retraced our steps alongside Poynton Pool to the car park (195 min).

We debooted and some of the party adjourned to The Fiveways for Holt's Bitter (£3.15).

Pictures by John Jones

Next week's walk will start outside The Cock in Whaley Bridge at 9.35am. We intend to call at the Old Hall Inn in Whitehough around 12.15pm, before returning to The Cock around 2.15pm.

Details of the traditional New Year's Day walk will be announced in the report of this.

Happy wandering!

High Lane

High Lane

December 13, 2017

CARR BROW, DISLEY GOLF COURSE, STANLEY HALL WOOD, RIDGE END, PEAK FOREST CANAL, ROMAN BRIDGE, COWN EDGE WAY, MELLOR AND TOWNSCLIFFE GOLF COURSE, LINNET CLOUGH, FOX INN AT BROOKBOTTOM, STRINES STATION ,  RIDGE END, DOG AND PARTRIDGE AT HIGH LANE

Distance: 7 miles                Ascent/descent: 1,100 ft

Difiiculty: Easy but boggy underfoot

Weather: Dry at first, then squally rain

Walkers: Micky Barrett, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Steve Courtney, Tom Cunliffe, Colin Davison, Laurie Fairman, Steve Kemp, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney, George Whaites

S.O.B Walkers: Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Barry Williams

Non-walking drinkers: Alan Hart, Geoff Spurrell

Apologies: Mark Gibby (Lanzarote), George Dearsley (Turkey), Alan Hart (back trouble), Julian Ross and Hughie Harriman (unspecified)

Leader: Davison                              Diarist: Beal

Starting point: Colin's house at 11, Carr Brow, High Lane

Starting time: 10.15am      Finishing time: 1.59pm

The Wanderer's annual Christmas lunch outing was dampened by some squally, unpleasant rain in the middle stages, but we were delighted to welcome back Tom after his prolonged absence with an Achiiles injury.

He almost immediately berated some member of our party for wearing snoods, prompting him to be labelled the Wanderers' own version of so-called style guru Trinny Woodall. This was an image he demolished later in the walk by producing a girly, Mary Poppins-type umbrella which was promptly reduced to wreckage by the Derbyshire weather.

Our host Colin was more than welcoming at his home, providing excellent bacon sarnies and a never-ending supply of mulled wine. We were particularly pleased to see him as he had recently emerged from a hospital stay following a heart episode. Investigations are ongoing.

After a very congenial hour or so were prompted by Tom to stir ourselves and left Colin's fuelled by a reported four litres of mulled wine (in total, not each). We turned left up Carr Brow and near the crown of the hill turned left on a footpath taking us in to Disley golf course, seemingly closed for play because of the recent snowfall and rapid thaw ( 11 minutes).

We turned left across the course and entered a footpath descending through woods. We crossed a stile in to a field and with an embankment in front of us, and bore right with the chimney of an air-shaft to the Disley rail tunnel above us.

With some ramshackle farm buildings ahead of us we bore left up a track to a gate (18 min). We reached a farm where the track became a metalled lane and passed a row of terraced cottages on our left.

At a footpath sign indicating Mellor and Cobden Edge we turned right (22 min). This brought us to Slack Hall Farm where a very muddy track took us down hill to a lift bridge over the Peak Forest canal.

We turned left along the canal and very soon took a footpath on the right at a sign pointing to Mellor, Werneth Low and Gee Cross, along the Cown Edge Way (37 min). We followed a track downhill, crossing two stiles and through a gate and passed house to emerge on the Marple to New Mills road (44 min).

We travelled a short distance along the road to the left before descending on a track to the right towards the River Goyt. We swung left along the river to soon reach Roman Bridge, a packhorse bridge across the river that, in common with the nearby Roman Lakes, has no connection with the Romans at all, but was an attempt by Victorians ro romanticise the area and promote tourism.

We crossed the bridge and immediately turned left at a sign pointing us along the Goyt Way towards the Roman Lakes. Almost straight away we turned right on steps uphill signed Mellor and Cown Edge (49 min). This muddy path brought us to a locked gate where we turned right up wooden steps and then left over a green-painted metal bridge over the Manchester to Sheffield railway line.

A half-hearted attempt to declare pie-time here was short-lived and the party soon moved on uphill to reach the Mellor and Townscliffe golf course. We continued with a line of trees on our right before turning left over the fairway to reach the end of a lane at the Linnet Clough Scout Camp and Activity Centre (62 min).

We turned right up the lane and passed the golf clubhouse on our left. At the top we carried straight on uphill across a stretch of the golf course and at a track again carried on uphill. We emerged at a junction near the 10th tee (81 min).

Here Laurie and five of our number opted to carry on up a track to the left to reach Cobden Cross, a prominent landmark erected by the local Christian community, but now mysteriously missing its central vertical spar.

Your diarist and four others decided to make a beeline through muudy fields in worsening weather towards the pub. This route took us across a series of stiles to reach a grassy ramped path which descended to deliver us to a track just above the Fox Inn, below us on the left.

We reached the open pub door on the dot of noon (105 min), to be joined minutes later by Laurie and his companions. The Robbie's Unicorn at £3-30 a pint was pronounced acceptable.

A leisurely 52 minutes later we braved the rain again and left the pub to turn immediately right down a track with a stream ravine below us on the right. The track brought us to Strines station (124 min), reputedly one of the locations for the book The Railway Children. In the current cultural climate it would be most inappropriate to make any reference to Jenny Agutter waving her red knickers in the air in the subsequent film.

We continued along the road, past a large pond with a dovecote on our right. This was the reservoir for the village's calico printing mill and at the end of the pond a clock orginally built by Thomas Bruce from the mill has been painstakingly restored.

We crossed the Marple road again (129 min) and headed uphill along a track that took us through a tunnel under the Peak Forest canal (137 min). This brought us back to our original outward route, which we followed back through the golf course and on to Carr Brow.

The main party stopped briefly at Colin's to deboot (165 min) while your diarist and George continued down the A6 to the Dog and Partridge (173 min), to pints of Wainwright and the Christmas carvery.

The three B walkers who joined us later - Tony, Terry and Barry - told us they had completed the remarkable feat of visiting a total of four pubs on a walk around Marple Bridge and Marple of little more than three miles, plus buses. A fine achievement.

B Walkers' diary

Apologies: George Frazer (Nativity play), Ken Sparrow (weather forecast), Phil Burslem (family business, Geoff Spurrel (protecting body against probable fall).

Distance walked: 3 or 4 km.  Buses used: 3 plus 1 taxi.

4 pints to sustain us.

We took the 9.44 bus to Marple Bridge, and walked through Brabyns Park to Etherow Country Park. En route, we learned that the George Hotel in undergoing conversion into luxury flats, and that the bowling green will not survive. We had a pleasan, albeit slippery walk round the dam, running through our repertoire of duck names as we hazarded guesses. On returning to Compstall Post Office, a 384 bus turned up, so we jumped on for a ride up to the centre of Marple, knowing that the Ring o’ Bells would not be open until noon, but recalling a previous Christmas walk when we took coffee at the Methodist Hall. On the way we passed the Samuel Oldknow (closed), but found the Bull’s Head 50 yards opposite ope, warm, and welcoming. After a pint of Robbies, we ambled past the Methodist Hall (open to all), up to the Ring o’ B ells, and found it open, cold and nearly empty. Our second pint of Robbies was not very good, and the rain was starting, so we followed the canal back to the centre, just in time to see a 394 arriving.  As it was judged to be too early (1.10) to get a ride to High Lane for lunch, we paused for more Robbies at the Navigation which we found warm and friendly. Our bus timetable promised another 394 at 2.10, but it didn’t materialise. Must get a new timetable! A Lynx taxi eventually turned up, and we got to the D & P for lunch about 3.00. Wainwright made a nice change from Robbies, and the food was up to scratch too. Alan provided transport back to Hazel Grove, much appreciated.

Next week's continuing festivities will see us convene at 9 am at Alan's house at 68, London Road North, Poynton, where mulled wine, sausage barmcakes and Christmas cake are promised  before a walk around the environs of Poynton, calling at the Boar's Head at Higher Poynton around 12.15pm. Drinks afterwards will be at The Fiveways.

::  Alan asks us to park at the Poynton Pool car park near the end of Anglesey Drive, a short walk from his house, to avoid congestion.

Sutton Hall

SUTTON HALL, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, MACCLESFIELD GOLF COURSE, LANGLEY, TEGG’S NOSE COUNTRY PARK, FIONA’S SEAT, LOWER RIDGEGATE RESERVOIR, CHURCH HOUSE, SUTTON, SUTTON HALL FARM, SUTTON HALL, MACCLEFIELD CANAL, SUTTON RESERVOIR, LEE FARM AND SUTTON HALL

Distance: Ten miles.

Difficulty: Mainly easy with strenuous climb.

Weather: Cloudy but dry with moderate temperature.

Walkers: Lawrie Fairman, Hughie Harriman, Alan Hart, Steve Kemp, Chris Owen and Julian Ross.

Apologies: Mickey Barrett and Alastair Cairns ( hols), Colin Davison, George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Gibby (Lanzarote hols), George Whaites (Xmas duties)

Leader: Owen. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Car park of Sutton Hall, Sutton, Macclesfield.

Starting time: 9.37am. Finishing time: 3.02pm.

In a suggested break from tradition, this was a figure-eight walk compiled by Chris which started and finished at Sutton Hall, calling en route for a drink at.... Sutton Hall. The historic former home of the  aristocratic Lucan family was a splendid watering hole.

However I have to report that some whingers were heard complaining “Why has Chris picked Tegg’s Nose again ?” The answer of course is because the summit provides stunning panoramic views across the valleys to Cheshire’s other hilltops – The Cloud at Bosley, Croker Hill and Shutlingsloe. Both the climb and the views are breathtaking.

We were lulled into a false sense of security by a comfortable flat walk beforehand. Leaving the pub car park we turned right over the canal bridge and right again to join the left bank of the Macclesfield Canal.

The canal, 27 miles long from the Peak Forest Canal at Marple, passing through 12 locks at Bosley, and finishing at its junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove, was first mooted in 1765. It was not until 1824 that investment was sought and the redoubtable Thomas Telford engaged as engineer.

Work started in 1826 and ended five years later at a cost of £300,000. If only Telford was alive today to show engineers how to build by-passes and roundabouts !

We began with the canal on our right but at Bridge 43 we climbed the cobblestones to cross a to the right bank. After passing The Beehive on the far side of the canal we walked under Bridge 41 (20mins) before going under Bridge 40 and swinging right up steps to cross it and head downhill.

Our group turned left into Black Road with a soccer pitch on our right (23mins) and left again up the cobbles of Richmond Hill (24mins). At the end we swung right and turned left at a green public footpath sign (27mins). This brought us to a track and a dog-leg to reach a green public footpath sign up at flight of stone steps (29mins)

We followed a public footpath sign through Macclesfield Golf Club’s course and passed through a kissing gate (38mins). Twenty yards before we reached a metal gate ahead we turned right downhill (47mins). We crossed a wooden footbridge over the Bollin (53mins), walked through a metal kissing gate (56mins) and crossed a wooden stile to reach a road (57mins).

After turning left we bore left again at Langley Methodist Church (61mins) and turned left into Holehouse Lane (64mins).  As we climbed uphill we passed a pond on our right and reached a wall protecting Bottom Reservoir (69mins). Workmen were fortifying the wall, aided by a drone overhead.

We turned left and entered Tegg’s Nose Country Park (70mins). A steep climb brought us to a wooden kissing gate (80mins). By the time we reached a bench on our left (82mins) we were more than ready for the respite of Pietime (84mins) so we stopped for snacks and port.

Resuming our climb, we went through a wooden kissing gate (93mins) and the more stalwart members of the group continued to the summit of Tegg’s Nose. Despite the high cloud, there was good visibility for the panoramic view. (95mins). The macho men joined their colleagues next to a memorial bench known as Fiona’s Seat.

It is engraved “I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings -  Fiona McWilliam 1965-99”. This is one of four plaques dedicated to Fiona, from Macclesfield, of which two are at Tegg’s Nose where she enjoyed walking with her cocker spaniel Amy.

Fiona, an air traffic controller at Manchester Airport, was learning to fly and was one of the passengers in a civilian light aircraft which crashed into a mountainside at Moel Sych, North Wales, on February 12, 1999. The trainee pilot, Fiona and another passenger were all killed. There is a memorial to Fiona at the site of the crash saying “Remember Me.” Another plaque is on a bench at the memorial garden at Manchester Airport from her friends and colleagues.

The inscription at Tegg’s Nose is the opening lines from a poem by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee Jr, of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who died in a plane crash in England in 1941.

With Fiona’s Seat on our left we walked forward for 100 yards and turned right off the main path (101mins). This was the start of our descent, where we made a sharp right turn at a bench (103mins) by the side of a bookcase entitled “Library in the Landscape.” Here Hughie remarked that a defibrillator might be more useful than James Fennimore Cooper’s “Last of the Mohicans” or Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”.

We went through a wooden gate (103mins) and down a flight of steps to cross the Bollin by stepping stones (118mins). We turned left at a wooden public footpath sign marked Gritstone Trail (129mins) and swung left with Lower Ridgegate Reservoir on our left (132mins). We reached a road at the end of the reservoir and turned right 180 degrees to walk down a road (134mins)

Our party passed Clarke Lane Farm on our left and St Dunstan’s Inn on our right (141mins). A right turn took us along a road called The Orchard (143mins). This brought us to the Church House pub at Sutton on our left (154mins). A few yards further along we turned left uphill into Trinity Lane (155mins) and a housing estate. By turning right into Fitzwilliam Avenue, left into Peter House Road, right at a T-junction into Gorville Avenue, left into Selwyn Drive and right at a T-junction, we were able to leave the estate and turn left towards Sutton Hall Farm (162mins).

After 50 yards we went right through a wooden gate and entered the grounds of Sutton Hall and then the hall itself, which has become a country pub restaurant.

This was the ancestral home of Lord Lucan, who was famously, or infamously, involved in The Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.

We entered (164mins) and were treated to pints of Lord Lucan at £3-70 by Lawrie, who was celebrating the news that he will become a great grandfather in June. Congratulations to him and his family.

Suitably refreshed we left the car park and returned to the Macclesfield Canal, this time turning right with the canal on our left. We went under bridges 44 (169mins), 45 (179mins) and 46 (185mins) before discovering picnic tables on our right just before Swing Bridge 47. Here we paused for lunch (189mins)

Continuing, we passed the swing bridge and left the canal at wooden bridge 48a (200mins), turning right up wooden steps and crossing the canal. We also crossed a main road and headed through a metal kissing gate towards Sutton Reservoir (203mins). Chris was now sweating like a Scouser in a Job Centre as he realised his walk was over-running. He informed us that Sutton Reservoir was still widely known locally as Turk’s Head Reservoir for reasons lost in the mists of time.

We went through two wooden gates (208 and 215mins) and turned right for 50 yards before turning left at a wooden public footpath sign (216mins). We went through a metal gate marked with a yellow arrow (219mins) and reached a lane by the side of a bridge. We turned left (222mins) and reached a road by the side of Lee Farm. We turned right (225mins) and reached a main road (229mins)

After crossing a wooden stile opposite following a wooden public footpath sign, we crossed a wooden stile to reach a road and turned right (234mins). We turned right again at the entrance to Sutton Hall (239mins) and reached our cars to de-boot (241mins) before sampling a final pint of Lord Lucan.

Next week’s walk will start with a meeting at Colin’s house at 11, Carr Bank, High Lane, at 9am for bacon sandwiches and mulled wine. After this bountiful breakfast Colin we lead us on a route of his choosing before returning at about 2.30pm to The Dog and Partridge on the A6 at High Lane for a traditional Xmas carvery lunch.

Happy wandering !