Group walk report 22nd December

By Kathryn Carty

A small group of East Cheshire Ramblers spent several hours on a fine and clear Sunday on an eight mile walk along tracks and fields starting from Lindow Common. The group met at the car park and amongst the party was a long standing member whose walking activity had lapsed long ago and she was keen to get started again and this being a flat walk was an ideal one to tackle.

Walking brings so many benefits in addition to just general fitness. It lifts the spirits to get outside amongst nature, and what better than to spend it with friendly companions? It is also an opportunity to make new friends. We always welcome new walkers.

The walk followed some known and some lesser known paths. It is always an achievement (and challenge) for the walk leader to take people where they haven’t walked before.

We headed first towards the Carrs over the barge boards through the woods which are filled with the haze of bluebells in the spring. We skirted the rugby club into the Carrs and we followed the River Bollin towards the play area which proved to be an ideal spot for a coffee break with picnic tables and loos. The route then took us past St Bartholomew’s across the Handforth Road and under the bypass in the direction of Alderley Edge. There was no chance of escaping the mud on the fields past the allotments. We walked briefly on the Hough and then crossed farmland below the Edge and could see the spire of St Philip’s in the distance. A tunnel under the railway enabled us to head for Hardern Park. We had to cross London Road and the Alderley Bypass onto a footpath which took us away from the constant sound of traffic. Lunch was a quick picnic in a somewhat odd spot near a culvert just before the entrance to Alderley Golf Course but it was an unusually dry spot. The golf course was devoid of golfers and we could only guess that the course was closed presumably waterlogged. At least it meant we hadn’t to worry about stray golf balls as we crossed the course to exit onto Brook Lane. From there we walked onto Knutsford Road towards Row of Trees past Lavinia where we could have picked up a bargain Christmas tree for a fiver. Sadly we had all already splashed out far more on one.

Once across Knutsford Road we could get onto bridleways to take us to Lindow Moss. The Moss is a fabulous place to walk, a real oasis just a stone’s throw from the centre of Wilmslow. Before then we passed Dan’s DIY at Stormy Point, an excellent shop and one of my absolute favourites. Across the road from Dan’s was Rotherwood Road and we were now near our destination. We walked back to the car park over Lindow Common, another oasis and an SSSI no less where the Rangers are working at restoring the natural heath land. Years ago, pressed by my young son, we went on a Ranger’s activity, cutting down saplings as part of the heath land restoration project. It was jolly exhausting but satisfying and I still remember Paul, the Ranger, showing us unusual plants and mosses, so another place worth an explore.
We all enjoyed our day out and felt it surpassed any Christmas shopping.

Group walk report January 2nd

Crossing the dam at Bosley Reservoir at the start of the walk.

By Sue Munslow

For the second East Cheshire Ramblers walk of the year, the starting point was the roadside pull in beside the dam at Bosley Reservoir. The walk started with favourable conditions with the sunlight over the water and on the surrounding hills. The path was followed along the top of the dam before descending to the village of Bosley. The secluded church in the village is Grade II listed and the greater portion of the church dates from 1777 and is built of red brick. Prior to this the church was a timber framed structure. The tower is much older and was built around 1500.
A further descent across field brought us to the Macclesfield Canal at the bottom end of the Bosley Locks. The flight of twelve locks raises the canal 36 metres and water is fed to the canal is supplied from a series of feeders from Bosley Reservoir and Sutton (Turk’s Head) Reservoir.
Leaving the canal we circled around to Stonyfold and taking a initially muddy path passing the Hollins. We briefly walked along a short stretch of the A54 before taking a path steadily higher via Fairyhough to the top of Croker Hill. The 238 foot high communication tower was built in the 1950’s but has a more sinister past as it was built to provide the UK and NATO with survivable communications during nuclear war.
Our walked continued over Wincle Minn following a very minor and little used road, and along this part of the walk we were rewarded with fine views across to Bosley Cloud and the Cheshire Plain and in the opposite direction to Shutlingsloe and the Roaches.
Much of this area is very well way-marked thanks to the efforts by a small army of volunteers who inspect and maintain the footpaths and erecting way-markers where necessary.

At Bosley Locks.
Crossing the overspill channel on the Macclesfield Canal near Bosley Locks.
Crossing the aqueduct over the River Dane below Bosley Locks.

Group long walk January 4th

A footpath over a low ridge west of Rushton Spencer.

Thirteen walkers set out on this long walk from the car park at Biddulph Grange led by Sylvia Hill. Our walk initially took us through the Grange housing estate before joining the Biddulph Valley Way which runs along the former track bed of the Biddulph Valley Branch line. The railway line opened in completely in 1860 and connected Stoke on Trent and Congleton and despite being a success for the transportation of minerals, passenger numbers dwindled and many of the stations closed during the 1920’s. The line finally closed in 1962 and today, virtually the entire former route is now a footpath and cycleway.
Leaving the Biddulph Valley Way we now followed the Gritstone Trail across squelchy and in places waterlogged fields before making the steep ascent to the summit of Bosley Cloud. This was our morning break stop and we found somewhere out of the cool breeze to admire the views which stretched south to beyond The Wrekin and west over toWales.
Staying with the Gritstone Trail, we descended via a series of field paths to reach another path which runs along the former Churnet Valley Railway Line. This former railway line originally ran from North Rode in Cheshire to Uttoxeter was opened in 1849 but closed in several stages between 1964 and 1988. Part of the route now forms the Churnet Valley Railway.
In Rushton Spencer, which once boasted a railway station we passed The Knot Inn before taking a field path up to the isolated St Lawrence Church. Standing on a small hill the church has been referred to as ‘The Chapel in the wilderness’. The building is Grade II listed and the present building dates from the 17th century. The tower is of interest and has a timber bell turret above. This was our lunch stop today.
A series of field paths were now followed over the northern shoulder of Biddulph Moor and we were pleased to see that after ten or so relatively dry days, ground conditions were beginning to improve. A small diversion was taken to visit the rocky knoll at Troughstone Hill to admire the view before descending to enter the grounds of Biddulph Grange Country Park and taking a route via Spring Wood and a section of the Obelisk Walk before returning to the cars. A few of the group finished the day with afternoon tea at a local supermarket.

Heading towards our lunch stop at St Lawrence Church, Rushton Spencer.
Winter sunshine with a view towards Croker Hill from Rushton Spencer.
Our lunch time view overlooking Rushton Spencer.
Pausing on Troughstone Hill towards the end of our walk.

Group walk 24th December

By Steve Hull

On Christmas Eve Ian Mabon lead a group of East Cheshire Ramblers and two visitors from the Barnsley area on a walk across the edge of the Kinder plateau. As we waited in the cars at the start in Manor Park in Glossop the weather looked most unpromising despite a reasonable forecast. However, it soon improved and we started out up the Shelf Brook valley leading to the Doctor’s Gate path. The path is shown on maps as a Roman road, but is not like most people’s idea of a Roman road and it is difficult to imagine the legions marching along it. The path is now thought to be of late mediaeval construction.
The route starts out up a quite gentle gradient before crossing the stream on a modern bridge and then ascending steeply on boggy ground. This soon leads to a path on a shelf high above the valley which eventually meets the Pennine Way. At this point we met one of the few people we saw on the tops all day. He turned out to be a local mountain rescue volunteer who had come to see if we needed rescuing. We soon assured him that we knew where we were going.
After crossing the Snake Road, the next part of the route was on a paved section of the Pennine Way and although tedious going in the mist it was easy to follow and allowed us to make up for earlier lost time. We stopped for lunch on the unlikely summit of Mill Hill which offered a few stones and some peat hags to sit on. It is doubtful there was ever a mill on the summit. We left the Pennine Way on a good track and visibility soon improved. We soon turned off this track to head towards the trig point on Harry Hut on a clear but boggy path. There is no sign of a hut nowadays, but there could have been a shooting hut at one time.
After the summit the route was mainly downhill back to Glossop at first across moorland and then alongside streams and through fields almost to our starting point.

Ascending towards Doctor’s Gate.

At Wormstones and Heading towards Glossop as seen in the distance.

Keith’s Sherry Walk 2020

The group gathered at Peacock Cottage.

By Lorraine Tolley

On New Year’s Day East Cheshire Ramblers continued the tradition of, the now 19 year old, ‘Keith’s Sherry Walk’, so called because the walk was started by Keith Hartley in the year 2000 and he handed over the mantle to Melanie Davy and Lorraine Tolley in 2010.
The weather this New Year’s Day was glorious and 37 happy Ramblers enjoyed a 6 mile walk around Lyme Park. We started at Nelson Pit then entered Lyme Park by Haresteads Farm. We headed south through Hase Bank Wood and climbed up to Paddock Cottage. From there we followed Cluse Hey to Knightslow Wood and then continued eastward to Lantern Wood, over to the Cage then dropped down to Crow Wood and along to the timber yard. We actually retraced our steps via Haresteads Farm and back to Nelson Pit.
This year for a change we toasted the New Year at Paddock Cottage and Melanie pointed out that an avenue had been cut through the trees so from Paddock Cottage you can clearly see the Cage. Paddock Cottage is a Grade ll listed building which has recently been renovated. The Cage is also a Grade ll listed building and was erected in the mid 16th century as a hunting tower then rebuilt in 1733-75 as a three storey gritstone tower. Occasionally the Cage is open to the general public. The third major building in the park is The Lantern, another Grade ll listed building erected in 1729. It is now in Lantern Wood but originally it would have been open moorland.
For once we encountered very little mud but on the downside there many stiles. However there was lots of good humour and everyone agreed that it had been a very enjoyable experience. It’s now back to the drawing board to plan an equally enjoyable walk for next New Year’s Day.

Toasting in the New Year at Peacock Cottage.

Taking a rest in in Lyme Park.

WEATHER REVIEW FOR 2019

We are all affected by what the weather is doing when we go on a walk and often we make a decision to walk or not to walk by seeing what the weather is doing before we venture out. What a year it’s been for walking and I think that we can all agree that it’s been very wet underfoot, especially since August and several of our walks have had to be cancelled due to flooding.
As many of you will know that I run my own weather station in Macclesfield I just thought that I would share with you some of the trends from the past year and here is a basic summery month by month.
January;- A very dull month with rainfall slightly below average. After a settled start, the weather gradually turned more changeable with a little snow or sleet on a number of days.
February;- A fairly sunny month with spells of settled weather after the first week. High pressure was dominant towards the end of the month with some spring like days.
March;- Very wet and unsettled up to the 18th then virtually dry for the latter part of the month. Temperatures showed a slight upward trend from the 18th onwards.
April;- The bulk of the month was settled with high pressure areas until around the 21st. Most of the month’s rainfall fell between the 24th and 28th with 1.23” of rain falling on the 27th. It turned quite warm prior to the short wet spell.
May;- A generally settled month with only a few brief breakdowns in the weather. After some cool weather to start the month, day time maximum temperature were nudging 20C on several days. Rainfall was well below average.
June;- Unsettled and cold for much of this month but temperatures did recover for the latter part of the month. Towards the middle part of the month there was a notable wet spell with 1.01” of rain on the11th. There were several depressions at the start of the month.
July;- Although fine and pleasantly warm for the first half of the month the weather turned very humid and unsettled for the second half of the month with some high daily rainfall totals. 2.58” of rain was recorded on the 28th and 1.52” of rain on the 31st making it a record breaking wet month with 8.47” of rainfall. Some extremely high temperatures were recorded with 33.7C on the 25th. There were several thunder days at the end of the month.
August;- The very unsettled spell of weather continued into the middle of the month with again some high daily rainfall totals including 1.24” on the 9th and 1.08” on the 16th. Daily temperatures slowly dropped through this period but it turned very warm again towards the end of the month with 29.4C recorded on the 25th. There were several thunder days at the start of the month. (rainfall total between 17th July and 16th August totalled 12.29”)
September;- Another very wet month and despite temperatures remaining fairly high, it was a very dull month. There were a few days of dry weather between the 17th and 21st after which it turned very wet with the passage of several depressions.
October;- The very wet theme continued and rainfall spread evenly throughout the month. Notable wet days were the 25th 1.04” and 26th 1.08” after which resulted in some localised flooding. There were numerous depressions throughout the month and daily maximum varied little and was mostly between 10-15C. The first autumn air frost was on the 28th.
November;- No let up in the very wet spell of weather and again wet throughout the month. 1.15” of rain was recorded on the 7th. It was an exceptionally dull and gloomy month with many dull days. There was a succession of depressions throughout the month and after a mild start, temperatures dipped somewhat through most of the month but it turned slight warmer in the closing days of this period.
December;- Again the rainfall was above average but slightly drier than previous months. The month opened with a few days of fine weather and some air frosts before turning wet for much of the remainder of the month. There were however a few fine sunny winter days. The month was noted for several very deep depressions with barometric pressure dropping to 28.65” on the13th.
MONTHLY RAINFALL TOTALS
January:- 2.42”
February;- 1.83”
March ;- 5.86”
April;- 2.78”
May;- 1.73”
June;- 4.61”
July;- 8.47”
August;- 5.20”
September;- 5.66”
October;- 5.36”
November;- 5.23”
December;- 3.78”
That’s a staggering 52.95” of rain. (Average is around 36 inches in Macclesfield) It’s been the wettest year since my records began in Macclesfield in 1990, but spare a thought that if you lived in Fort William, this would have been a dry year as their average rainfall is 78 inches!

Group walk 17th December

The silence of a grey December morning is broken by this flock of Canada geese flying over Teggsnose Reservoir.

On a still grey morning with a bit of frost around a group of us gathered at the small car park at the end of Holehouse Lane in Langley for a walk led by Laura Hall

There was hardly a ripple on Teggsnose Reservoir and whilst we waited a large flock of Canada Geese flew over.
At 10am we were ready for the off with the initial steep ascent to reach the summit of Tegg’s Nose. A slow pace was set before catching our breath before our wander around on the path on the eastern side of the summit. What was amazing today was the view west across the misty Cheshire Plain to Snowdonia which was quite a rare sight. Despite it being cloudy overhead and to the east, there was much blue sky to the west and Snowdonia was bathed in sunshine. The snow clad mountains really stood out on the far horizon some eighty miles away. The Carneddau Range was clearly seen and individual summits could be made out. A little further to the left, the summits of the Glyder Range were also visible but Snowdon itself was hidden by the nearer Moel Famau.

The still waters of Teggsnose Reservoir & Bottoms Reservoir on a grey December morning.

The Carneddau Range as seen from Tegg’s Nose – a distance of eighty miles away. Carnedd Llewelyn is the highest summit visible. The nearest range is the Peckforton Hills and behind is the Clwydian Range.

We continued with the Gritstone Trail over towards the Buxton New Road and stopping at some picnic benches which had seen better days en route for our morning break.
We had to join the Buxton New Road soon afterwards, and after a couple of hundred yards branched left down to cross Gulshaw Hollow before ascending again to the Buxton New Road at Walker Barn. Charity Lane was next followed over to Forest Chapel. The little church was our lunch stop and most of the group ate their lunch in the church porch with a few more inside the church and a couple of hardy ones sat outside but we were glad to set off again after fifteen minutes.

We now followed the lane around to Standing Stone Car Park then the forest track south before ascending over Buxtors Hill and negotiating the usual boggy bits en route. Reaching the flag stone path we turned right to head downhill, with the hills to our east draped in low cloud which seemed to be drifting our way but in contrast to the west the blue sky and sunshine was painfully slowly edging in. Over Nessit Hill we were briefly engulfed in cloud before descending through the forest and emerging later to the sunny skies that had now reached us. To complete the walk we skirted around the eastern end of Ridgegate Reservoir with the low sunshine in our eyes.

Group walk 23rd December

A winter morning on Alderley Edge Golf Course.

By Kathryn Carty

A small group of East Cheshire Ramblers spent several hours on a fine and clear Sunday on an eight mile walk along tracks and fields starting from Lindow Common. The group met at the car park and amongst the party was a long standing member whose walking activity had lapsed long ago and she was keen to get started again and this being a flat walk was an ideal one to tackle.

Walking brings so many benefits in addition to just general fitness. It lifts the spirits to get outside amongst nature, and what better than to spend it with friendly companions? It is also an opportunity to make new friends. We always welcome new walkers.

The walk followed some known and some lesser known paths. It is always an achievement (and challenge) for the walk leader to take people where they haven’t walked before.

We headed first towards the Carrs over the barge boards through the woods which are filled with the haze of bluebells in the spring. We skirted the rugby club into the Carrs and we followed the River Bollin towards the play area which proved to be an ideal spot for a coffee break with picnic tables and loos. The route then took us past St Bartholomew’s across the Handforth Road and under the bypass in the direction of Alderley Edge. There was no chance of escaping the mud on the fields past the allotments. We walked briefly on the Hough and then crossed farmland below the Edge and could see the spire of St Philip’s in the distance. A tunnel under the railway enabled us to head for Hardern Park. We had to cross London Road and the Alderley Bypass onto a footpath which took us away from the constant sound of traffic. Lunch was a quick picnic in a somewhat odd spot near a culvert just before the entrance to Alderley Golf Course but it was an unusually dry spot. The golf course was devoid of golfers and we could only guess that the course was closed presumably waterlogged. At least it meant we hadn’t to worry about stray golf balls as we crossed the course to exit onto Brook Lane. From there we walked onto Knutsford Road towards Row of Trees past Lavinia where we could have picked up a bargain Christmas tree for a fiver. Sadly we had all already splashed out far more on one.

Once across Knutsford Road we could get onto bridleways to take us to Lindow Moss. The Moss is a fabulous place to walk, a real oasis just a stone’s throw from the centre of Wilmslow. Before then we passed Dan’s DIY at Stormy Point, an excellent shop and one of my absolute favourites. Across the road from Dan’s was Rotherwood Road and we were now near our destination. We walked back to the car park over Lindow Common, another oasis and an SSSI no less where the Rangers are working at restoring the natural heath land. Years ago, pressed by my young son, we went on a Ranger’s activity, cutting down saplings as part of the heath land restoration project. It was jolly exhausting but satisfying and I still remember Paul, the Ranger, showing us unusual plants and mosses, so another place worth an explore.
We all enjoyed our day out and felt it surpassed any Christmas shopping.

Poetry Please

The start or end of the Poetry walk depending which way you are walking.

There are some walks which exceed all expectations and this was one of them. Stemming back to the walk I led from Repton for the East Cheshire Ramblers earlier in the year, Steve Hull and I discussed a return visit to the area with thoughts of visiting Staunton Harold. I devised a walk starting out from nearby Melbourne and taking in also the village of Breedon on the Hill and walking through the grounds of Calke Abbey.

A cold air inversion as seen from the Cat & Fiddle. The Cheshire Plain is under all that cloud.

For once we chose a perfect day but we started out under murky conditions in Macclesfield. The drive towards Buxton headed up through a band of thick fog before suddenly bursting into bright sunshine under deep blue skies. We couldn’t resist a stop at the Cat & Fiddle to photograph the cold air inversion with the communications tower on Croker Hill ‘floating’ on the cloud.

Setting out beside the attractive mill pond at Melbourne.

The sluice at the mill pond, Melbourne

Parking at the attractive village of Melbourne we set out alongside the large mill pond with the village church as a backcloth and stopping to take a few photographs on this perfect early autumn morning with just that little chill in the air. Our first objective was to walk to the ancient hill top church at Breedon on the Hill and this involved a pleasant walk across undulating fields of heavy dew in the bright autumn sunshine. An ascent later followed joining the minor road to the hill top. Part of Breedon Hill has been eaten away by a quarry and the summit has an Iron Age hill fort and today dominating the summit is the fine ancient church. We stopped for our morning break in the churchyard as a volunteer was opening up the church for the day. We spent a little while looking around inside the church afterwards our volunteer gave us a potted history of the fascinating building. There has been a religious site here since the 7th century but the present church is Norman and Grade I listed. In its fabric is incorporated many fine Saxon carvings. Of note is the Breedon Angel, a carving which dates from probably the 6th century and is located in the bell ringing chamber and not normally open to the public. An exact replica of the carving has been made and is one view within the nave. It is probably the earliest representation of an angel in England and one of our finest surviving pre-Conquest sculptures. Also of note are the box pews and the large enclosed wooden box pew. This grand wooden structure in the north aisle is the Shirley pew, with its carvings and obelisks it dates to 1627 and was originally placed in the main part of the church. The Shirley family would have sat in ‘the box’ keeping themselves private from the ‘less important’ members of the congregation.

The ancient hill top church of St Mary & St Hardulph at Breedon on the Hill

The Breedon Angel. This is the replica of probably the earliest stone carving of Christ in Great Britain and dates from probably from the 6th century.  The original carving is in the belfry.

The village green at Breedon on the Hill. The unusual war memorial was constructed in 1926.

Steve and I now descended to the village of Breedon on the Hill. On the green we passed the War Memorial which is listed at Grade II. The Norman-style war memorial was constructed in 1926 and is of an unusual and unique design. We took a very good path west from the village through the newly constructed Breedon Priory Golf Course and later on a newly created field path towards Spring Wood. Through Spring Wood and beyond towards Staunton Harold we passed through several wooden squeeze stiles each with part of a quotation from a poem. Running north to south the quotations are by John Blunt and in the opposite direction the quotation are by Hilaire Belloc.

This link gives more details;- www.woodlandtrust.org/mediafile/100698669/permissive-footpath.pdf?cb=66e2c82c12c445879828aebb429ee07f

Entering the grounds we had a lovely view down to Staunton Harold Hall and a convenient seat in the sunshine made it an excellent spot to have lunch. We afterwards crossed the ornamental bridge to enter the grounds in front of the hall and took a closer look at the church which is now in the care of the National Trust but is closed except summer weekends.

A perfect spot to stop for lunch with this view to Staunton Harold Hall.

The grounds at Staunton Harold Hall with a view to the church.

Staunton Harold Church was built in 1653 by Sir Robert Shirley of Staunton Harold Hall, which stands beside the church, and it is a fascinating example of Stuart taste. Shirley, later 1st Earl of Ferrers, risked the displeasure of Cromwell and his allies by his open act of defiance in building the church. The church is unusual where gender separation is still in practice.

Staunton Harold Hall is set in a 2000 acre estate and its history goes back some 500 years. The Shirley family have had a chequered history, with several reversals of fortune. Sir Robert Shirley was an ardent royalist, and built the church here in defiance of Cromwell. He was imprisoned six times, and died in the Tower of London, aged 27. From exile in France the future Charles the Second wrote to his widow, promising redress in better times and, true to his word, restored the family’s fortunes. They became Earls Ferrers under Queen Anne. In 1760 the Fourth Earl Ferrers, a dissolute rake, shot and killed his steward, John Johnson. For this he was tried by his peers in the House of Lords and condemned to death and was the last peer to be hanged. In more recent times the house was put up for auction with plans to demolish it but it was thankfully rescued by Leonard Cheshire to become a Cheshire Home. The house is now privately owned.

Time for a locally made ice cream at the Ferrers Centre, Staunton Harold.

Steve and I stopped for a locally made ice cream at the courtyard of the Ferrers Centre before pressing on along a field path to Heath End and later passing through the wooded nature reserve at Dimminsdale. After a little road walking we entered the grounds of Calke Abbey and passing the church en route towards Calke Abbey itself. We continued through the grounds and walked beside Mere Pond before taking the path around and above Staunton Harold Reservoir. The reservoir was built in 1964 to serve Leicester and the towns of northern Leicestershire. Although no villages were lost in the construction of the reservoir, Furnace Farm, New England Farm and Calke Mill were submerged and their remains lie 25 metres below the surface. We followed the B587 for a short distance before following another field path to Melbourne and back to the car.

Melbourne is just an hour and a half drive from Macclesfield and this walk is full of fascinating history. I would be happy to lead it for our group as a summer walk and could arrange a car share for anyone not wishing to drive there. Please E-mail if you have any comments.

Nephin’s little brother

Setting out along the Letterkeen Loop Walk along easy forest tracks to begin with.

Having climbed Nephin in the wild northwest corner of County Mayo back in 2016, I decided this summer to take on its little brother Nephin Beg. These two mountains are not juxtaposed but lie some ten miles apart and whereas the 808 metre Nephin can be ascended and descended in a half day, Nephin Beg is a much more serious undertaking.

I have waited for a fine day to venture into this remote area and drive west through the busy and bustling town of Ballina to reach the smaller town of Crossmolina from where I continue a short distance on the R315 then R316 which is the Irish equivalent to our B class roads. Turning off, my drive continues across country initially on good country lanes for several miles and scattered with isolated farmsteads. The countryside gradually becomes wilder with vast low level moorland with bogs, broken only by occasional blocks of forestry. I am entering what is known as ‘Wild Nephin’ and it’s not long before I am driving on a road consisting of two strips of tarmac with a copious line of grass along the middle. Using the 1:50,000 Irish Ordnance Survey map the yellow road shown becomes grey indicating I’m on what is called ‘other road’. After a few more miles of twists and turns ups and downs I turn off along a forest track to reach my start point. This is the start of the ‘Letterkeen Loop Walk’, a 12 kilometre way-marked trail which I will follow partly on my outward and return trial to reach Nephin Beg.

For a few miles I am walking parallel with the Holes River. At this point the forest has been felled to provide some views.

The car park is deserted albeit one four by four parked up and in the silence of a perfect sunny morning and armed with the excellent 1;25,00 map entitled ‘Wild Nephin’ I donned walking boots and set out from the deserted and peaceful car park. Heading north I follow a good forestry track beside Holes River. There seems a real sense of remoteness all around in this landscape devoid of hardly any human settlement. After a mile or so of walking a car draws past me despite this area being within a gated forestry area. I reach the car sometime later which is now parked up in a forest clearing. I press on for another couple of miles through mostly a forested area passing on the way an emergency shelter.

Walking deeper into the remote country and for now staying on the good forestry track.

On the eastern flank of Nephin Beg with a view north to Slieve Carr which is said to be the remotest mountain in Ireland to reach.

Where there is a forest break on my left it is a good spot to leave the track and head uphill to gain the eastern flank of Nephin Beg. Initially the tussocky terrain makes it slow going, but as I gain height, so the walking becomes easier and after a stiff ascent of around 450 metres I reach the eastern ridge leading along towards the summit of Nephin Beg. The views have opened out along the summit ridge and it’s a relatively short walk to the summit cairn at 627 metres.

The summit of Nephin Beg marked by a prominent cairn. This view looks west towards Achill Island. Time for my lunch stop.

After taking a few photographs I chose a spot just to the southeast with a view for lunch. After a rather warm ascent it is nice to feel the cool breeze and to enjoy the sunny intervals. The landscape is a sea of mountain, moorland and forest with virtually no sign of human habitation. To the north lies the higher mountain called Slieve Carr which is said to be the hardest summit to reach in Ireland as it is so remote but it’s on my bucket list to do one day.

Time for my descent from Nephin Beg via this broad ridge with plenty of boggy bits to avoid.

For the return leg, I set off south down the easy broad ridge passing on the way a few peaty areas with peat hags. Two people are coming the other way as I cross the col and start out on the ascent of the lesser hill called Cruckgarru. It is the two ladies that past me in the car on the forestry track who as it turned out are local to the area and know that the forestry gates will be open all day. They have two small but boisterous dogs that are delighted in jumping up on me as I chat with them. They are surprised to come across anyone out on the mountains.

Once over Cruckgarru, I descend towards the Lough Avoher Emergency Shelter which consists of enclosed shed but open to the weather on the northeast side. Before reaching it, the ground becomes quite boggy. Not far from the shelter I pause awhile in this truly remote landscape. A sign points along the Bangor Trail which runs through this remote area and is a serious undertaking and it has been described as the loneliest place in Ireland. Another notice warns that a bridge along this trail is down and the only way across a river was to wade. At least I’m not going that way.

The junction with the Bangor Trail close to the Lough Avoher Emergency Shelter which leads into a even remoter area.

Looking back along the Bangor Trail on the return which concurs with the Letterkeen Loop Walk.

One of the metal footbridges which span the many streams on the Bangor Trail.

Towards the end of my walk the Bangor Trail runs through this attractive bracken filled valley.

Meanwhile I set off along the Bangor Trail in the opposite direction and towards the car on this fine summer’s afternoon. The trail is quite rocky underfoot and so progress is slow and I stop several times to take photographs. Little metal bridges span the streams and later the path runs through a shallow bracken covered valley before veering left to reach the car park to complete a most enjoyable walk.

Details of Letterkeen Loop Walk;-

www.mayowalks.ie/WalkingTrails/LocalisedLoopWalks/LetterkeenLoops

Detail of map used for this walk;-

www.eastwestmapping.ie/product/wild-nephin-folded