Dean Row

 

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. 

It was at this point that Daisy began to complain about the weather and the under-foot conditions. Being a responsible dog owner, she was inserted in to my rucksack and thus enjoyed a warm, carefree and comfortable ride for the duration of the wander

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

Christmas Wander and Lunch

 Hayfield Wander & Christmas Lunch – 18/12/24

Distance: 7.5 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Wet, Windy with Dry Spells

Cliff Worthington, Steve Brearley, Alan Hart, Andy White with Berta and Alastair Cairns.

Apologies: George Dearsley (high temperature), Mark Enright (marking papers) Chris Owen (recovering from playing golf)

Non walking drinkers: Tom Cunliffe, Simon Williams, Mark Enright, Chris Owen, Jock,

Leader: White: Diarist: Cairns

Starting point: The Sportsman – Kinder Road Hayfield

Starting time: 10:15. Finishing time: 1315.

This week's Wander presented significant logistical challenges from the start. The wanderers pre-Christmas Lunch walk was scheduled to commence at 09:40 from The Sportsman public house on Kinder Road, Hayfield.

Present at The Sportsman at the designated time were Alan Hart, Andy White, Steve Brearley, Cliff Worthington, and myself. Clearly the numerous cancellations and inquiries via WhatsApp created considerable confusion for Dean, resulting in his initial postponement of the start time to 10:00 and a subsequent inability to lead the group on the walk.

At 10:15, the group proceeded to Hayfield Village to locate our leader, however, despite visiting his residence, Dean and Tommy Taylor remained unavailable. Following a group discussion, it was decided that Alan Hart would proceed independently, following the Sett Valley trail to Birch Vale for coffee before re-joining the group at the Kinder Lodge.

The remaining wanderers proceeded to Twenty Trees via Kinder Road. From there, we continued to the shooting lodge, turned right along the edge of Kinder Reservoir, and proceeded to William Clough. Crossing the stream, we followed the marked path back towards Hayfield and The Sportsman Public House on Kinder Road where Cliff kindly provided Steven and myself transportation to the Kinder Lodge while Andy walked Berta home for a clean-up before joining us at the pub.

Upon arrival at the Kinder Lodge, we joined Chris Owen, Dean Taylor, Mark Enright, and Alan for refreshments where pints of Isobar IPA were enjoyed by all before proceeding to The Sportsman where we met up with Simon Williams, Tom Cunliffe and Jock . Dean was unable to join us for lunch due to him captaining his local snooker team later that evening. Dean's snookering activities did allow him to swerve the "kangaroo court" that was in session at the Sportsman, however he should know his crimes did not go unnoticed and he will be advised of court's findings in the New Year.

There is no walk planned for next Wednesday as it falls on Christmas Day, but there was talk of a New Year's day walk from Poynton Sports Club, further details will be provided in due course.

There will be no walk next Wednesday which falls on Christmas Day.

If there is to be a walk on New Year's Day would Jock Rooney kindly email me the details so I can circulate them to our group ?

May I take this opportunity to wish a merry Xmas and a happy New Year to all my readers. (Alan)

Manchester

Manchester City Centre Wander – 11/12/24

Distance: 8 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Weather: Dry

Walkers: Neil Millington, Andy Blease, Chris Owens, Mike Cassini, Keith Welsh, Mike Barrett, Clive Rothel, Steve Brearley, Alastair Cairns.

Apologies: Alan Hart (hospital appointment), Julian Ross (house guests) George Dearsley (Turkey),

Mark Enright (marking papers) Dean Taylor (speed awareness course)

Non walking drinker: Cliff Worthington

Leader: Cairns Diarist: Cairns

Starting point: Manchester Piccadilly Station

Starting time: 10:00. Finishing time: 18:30.

The planned murder mystery walk was unfortunately postponed due to Mr. Ross's prior commitments.

However, adhering to the wanderer’s motto “firm of purpose flexible in approach”, we proceeded with an alternative tour of Cottonopolis, exploring its lesser-known canals, green spaces, university buildings, and six pubs, two of which were formerly managed by the late, great landlord known as “Mad George” .

George also ran the Moonraker Club in Hanging Ditch and was the landlord of The Circus Tavern on Portland Street, The Sir Ralph Abercromby in Bootle Street, and The Town Hall Tavern in TiB Lane, where pictures of the famous and infamous who frequented his establishment adorn the walls.

After gathering at the "Victory over Blindness" memorial near Piccadilly Station, we followed a route down Lena Street, Dale Street, and the canal towpath near lock 85. During a previous walk, Julian highlighted a security camera and loudspeaker system used to deter homosexual activity. We observed the removal of this equipment, maybe a positive indication of evolving attitudes within Greater Manchester Police.

Continuing our journey, we proceeded along Minshull Street, Portland Street, New York Street, and Faulkner Street, where we stopped to admire the Paifang Arch which was unveiled in 1987 by Manchester City Council to thank the Chinese population for their huge contribution to the city. The arch was built in China before being dismantled and shipped over in three containers. The Chinese Imperial arch in Liverpool is the biggest in Europe, however, in this case size does not matter!

Manchester had their Chinese arch thirteen years before Liverpool unveiled theirs. Manchester has the  second largest Chinatown in the UK behind London and the third largest in Europe.

Leaving the Paifang Arch, we continued to Nicholas Street, Portland Street, and Sackville Street, where we were greeted by a pub called the Thompson’s Arms, the rainbow coloured exterior letting us know we had entered Manchester’s Gay Village. Turning left into Richmond Street, we viewed a mural featuring notable Manchester figures, including Emmeline Pankhurst, Quentin Crisp, Anna Phylactic, Foo-Foo Lammar, and Alan Turing.

Buttocks clenched the wanderers proceeded down Canal Street to Sackville Gardens, where we observed the Alan Turing statue. Turing was an English mathematician and computer scientist widely acclaimed as being a founder of modern day computer science. Working at Bletchley Park Turing greatly helped end WW2 in the allies’ favour by the use of his Enigma decryption machine. 

Engraved in a bench on which the statue sits is the text ‘IEKYF RQMSI ADXUO KVKZC GUBJ’. This is the enigma machine encoding of the phrase “Founder of Computer Science”. It is fitting that Alan Turing sits here because on his left is the University of Manchester, his alma mater, while he looks out toward Canal Street and the Gay Village.

From Sackville Gardens we crossed Aytoun Street before turning down Cobourg Street to Granby Row and the Vimto Monument. In 1908 The UK Government passed a law restricting the number of bars and pubs and while most of the country were is dispair a Mancunian named John Noel Nichols spotted a gap in the market for a soft drink. Nichols wanted to invent a cordial that was so good that people wouldn’t want to drink alcohol again, very strange. Vimto is so popular it is reported to sell six bottles a second and is on sale in 50 countries worldwide.

Heading back to the Rochdale Canal we followed the towpath passing the former Hacienda nightclub before reaching Catalan Square. Walking past Barca, a bar and restaurant formerly owned by Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, we explored the area known as Castlefield, named after the Roman fort, that once stood here. Railway viaducts now chop up the Roman site, but the Victorian engineers and architects acknowledged the existence of the Roman heritage by embellishing their viaducts with castles.

Leaving Castlefield our route took us past the Manchester Science and Industry Museum, crossing Deansgate, St. Peter's Square, and the Midland Hotel, where the first Rolls-Royce collaboration occurred. Following our departure from the Midland Hotel, we proceeded to the John Rylands Library, located on Deansgate.

Frequently described as Manchester's Taj Mahal, the John Rylands Library is a Neo-Gothic structure possessingthe architectural character and ambiance of a church. Its captivating features, including sculptures, stained glass,and arches, establish it as a uniquely charming building, unparalleled in Manchester.

John Rylands, born in 1801, was a prominent cotton merchant in Manchester, achieving the distinction of becoming the city's first multi-millionaire. Upon his death, he bequeathed the largest estate ever inherited by a non-aristocrat to his wife, and it was she who commissioned the construction of the library as a memorial to her husband, it opened in 1900, two years after his passing.

Our route then took us from the Rylands Library toward the Northern Quarter via St Ann Street, by Chapel Walks and Market Street for lunch at the world famous Kabana curry shop. On our arrival at Castle Walks, we made a pit stop stop at Sam's Chop House, where our new wandering companion (and fellow Silverdale resident) Neil Millington, a retired dentist from Middlesbrough, generously purchased pints of J.W. Lees bitter for all of the assembled wanderers. Upon reaching the Kabana, we enjoyed an excellent selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries, all of which received positive feedback.

Post-lunch, we refreshed ourselves at the Millstone before continuing to the Sir Ralph Abercromby (where we were joined by Cliff Worthington), the City Arms, the Broad Oak, and the Circus Tavern,

before returning to Piccadilly Station for our respective train departures and I think it fair to say a jolly good day was had by all.

Next weeks “Christmas Lunch” walk will start from the Sportsman on Kinder Road in Hayfield, at 9.40am.

High Lane

  

December 4, 2024.

 

HIGH LANE VILLAGE HALL, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, MIDDLECALE FARM, PLATTWOOD FARM, ELMERHURST WOOD, LYME PARK, GREEN FARM, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, MIDDLEWOOD WAY, THE BOAR'S HEAD AT HIGHER POYNTON, JACKSONS BRICKWORKS NATURE RESERVE AT MIDDLEWOOD, MACCLESFIELD CANAL, THE BULL'S HEAD AT HIGH LANE

 

Distance: 8.7 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, mild, mainly cloudy with occasionally sunshine.

 

Walkers: Peter Beal, Andy Blease, Clive Rothel, Steve Brearley, Alastair Cairns, Mike Cassini, Mark Enright, Hughie Hardiman, Alan Hart, Chris Owen, Julian Ross, Keith Welsh, Andy White with Berta, Simon Williams and Cliff Worthington.

Alternative walkers: Jock Rooney with Milly.

Leader: Hart. Diarist: Hart.

Apologies: Tom Cunliffe (domestic duties), Mark Gibby (in Wales)

Starting point: High Lane Village Hall car park, off Windlehurst Road, High Lane, Disley SK6 8AB.

Starting time: 9.40am. Finishing time: 2.35pm.

 

Although rain of biblical proportions was forecast for later in the day the prospect of a dry morning and early afternoon encouraged a bumper turnout for this comfortable walk. The absence of any challenging hills may also have persuaded two of our wounded comrades to step up their recovery programme.

Chris and Mike appear to be well on their way to full fitness again after their respective operations and we were delighted to see them turn out in our main group. Hopefully there will be no further setbacks for these stalwarts.

 

From the car park we walked away from its entrance, passing the village hall and a children's playground on our right before going through a gap in the hedge to reach the bank of the Macclesfield Canal. We turned right with the waterway on our left and walked along the towpath through a tunnel beneath the A6.

At Bridge 13 (20mins) where a Second World War pillbox has been disguised with a collection of ornamental knick-knacks, we turned left to cross the canal and headed up the lane, passing Middlecale Farm on our right. We turned left at a T-junction (23mins) aiming for Lyme Cage in the distance and then turned left again at Plattwood Farm (35mins)

The tarmac lane swung first right and then left, then right again as we went through a gate into Lyme Park (52mins). After 50 yards we went right over a wooden ladder stile and entered Elmerhurst Wood (54mins). 

 

 Exiting Lyme Park to enter Elmerhurst Wood

 

 

 

    We followed a track through the wood

 

 

A well-trodden path took us across a pair of footbridges to a stone step stile over a wall to return to Lyme Park with the distinctive Lyme Cage above us 200 steep yards away (69mins). Turning right along a footpath we reached Lyme Park cafe on our right and continued to reach a building set with tables and chairs for Pietime (79mins)

 

 

 

 

Resuming we passed the lake on our right and the car park on our left with Lyme Hall itself emerging on the left.

 

                      Lyme Hall

 

With the hall on our left we turned right across a cattle-grid and swung right again at decorative rocks. A few yards later we turned left along a dark gravel path (88mins). After 250 yards we turned right (91mins) and started to descend a path of well-trodden grass to a wooden ladder stile.

After crossing this we went right over a wooden stile and followed the footpath signs through Green Farm.

At a T-junction (97mins) we turned right towards Green Farm House. Opposite the house we turned left downhill (98mins). Just before a farm we turned left at a footpath marked with a yellow arrow (101mins) and followed this path through a metal kissing gate until it emerged through another gate into a field.

Turning left downhill we reached the Macclesfield Canal and crossed it by a footbridge (106mins) 

 

Proposals for building a canal connecting Macclesfield with the national network were first documented in 1765 but it was not until 1824 that the scheme came to fruition. Under the leadership of engineer Thomas Telford it was completed in 1831. It was 26 miles long running from Marple and the Peak Forest Canal in the north to Congleton and the Trent and Mersey Canal in the south.

In 1846 the canal was bought by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. It continued commercially until 1954 and might have closed. But vigorous campaigning by the North Cheshire Cruising Club kept this and other canals open as a leisure facility.

 

 

 

 

On the far side of the footbridge we turned right with the canal on our right but immediately headed left away from the towpath along a path which headed downhill. A footpath to the right is temporarily closed (for two years!) because of a damaged footbridge. We walked for 50 yards past this to another footpath where we turned right and exited the woodland by a stile.

Turning right along a road we reached The Coppice car park on our left and here joined The Middlewood Way. We followed this until we reached picnic tables and benches set on the railway line which was once Higher Poynton station. We climbed left before the bridge and emerged opposite The Boar's Head (122mins) 

Here we enjoyed pints of Wainwrights and Timothy Taylor Lanlord cask bitter, pots of tea and other girlie drinks. We were joined by Jock and Milly who had been walking along the canal towpath.

Suitably refreshed we left the pub, crossed the roadbridge diagonally opposite and turned left down steps to reach the Middlewood Way. We then headed north towards Marple under two bridges then turning off diagonally right beyond the third bridge to enter Jacksons Brickworks Nature Reserve (149mins). After exiting we turned left through two gates to head through fields towards the Macclesfield Canal.

 

                      Homeward bound

 

We reached the canal back at Bridge 13 opposite the decorated pill box we had passed earlier. Turning left with the canal on our right we retraced our earlier footsteps to the rear of The Bull's Head on the A6 at High Lane. While sober citizens headed back to their cars, Peter and your diarist had one for the road.

We then went back to the canal, turned left under the tunnel and immediately left through a gap in the hedge to the playground. Here we turned right and then left to reach our cars.

 

 

Next week's walk will start at Piccadilly railway station, Manchester, with wanderers meeting at 10am at the Victory Over Blindness statue just outside the main entrance. It will involve a tribute to a famous Manchester landlord and character known universally as “Mad George” in which we will visit the city centre pubs where he was licensee.

These were The Douglas, The Moonraker Club, The Abercrombie, The Town Hall Tavern and The Circus. Of these The Douglas has been demolished and replaced by the FA soccer museum. We have discovered this is only free to Manchester ratepayers so many of us may feel the £16 entry fee (£14 online) is too steep. (20% discount for groups of 10 or more). Please make your feelings known.

Visits to the other pubs will be interrupted by a call on the legendary curry house, The Kabana, 52, Back Turner Street, Manchester M4 1FR for lunch.

 

Happy wandering !