Over the hills from Rushton Spencer

Sunny skies greeted the ramblers on this long walk on the 31st May from Rushton Spencer back to Macclesfield. Meeting at Macclesfield Bus Station we caught the bus bound for Leek as far as Rushton Spencer and soon left the busy A523 along Tanhouse Lane and up across fields for a early coffee stop. Pastures were crossed before descending to Barleigh Ford Bridge and here we joined a section of the Gritstone Trail as far as the ruinous building at Dumkins before continuing via Wincle Grange to our lunch stop at picturesque Wincle Church which today as the wind was in the north was a suntrap.

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The group on the path on the approach to Wincle Grange.

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Wincle Church – an idyllic location for a picnic lunch.

Our afternoon route continued via the Wild Boar Public House before taking the path over Brown Hill with a small diversion to visit the little known Bullstones Stone Circle. Despite it being a very small stone circle there is one large stone and others lying in the grass. Excavations have revealed a pre-historic burial of a young person some three feet below the surface. The site is said to be the most important pre-historic site in East Cheshire after The Bridestones which is located south of Bosley Cloud.

Withershaw Lane was next followed downhill before taking the path contouring along the hillside and later ascending to the Hanging Gate Public House. After passing through Higher Sutton, a little used path was taken down to Lowerhouse before taking the path via Ridge Hall Farm to Ridge Hill. Beyond Sutton, the group paused again to view Sutton Hall Round Barrow which has had two archaeological excavations, firstly in the late 1800’s and a second in 1962 but findings have been inconclusive.
To finish off the walk, afternoon tea was taken at the Fairways Garden Centre before following the canal towpath into Macclesfield.

Colin Park