GALES BUT GREAT VIEWS ON KERRIDGE RIDGE

Prepare for take-off ! The walkers were buffeted by fierce winds on Kerridge Ridge.

Sixteen doughty East Cheshire ramblers battled through near gale force winds on a recent 10-mile walk led by Caroline Finlayson which passed along Kerridge Ridge where they were rewarded by stunning views over Bollington and the Cheshire Plain as far as the Welsh hills

Starting from Riverside Car Park on the edge of Macclesfield town centre, the walk travelled through residential neighbourhoods in order to cross the Silk Rd by the timber footbridge. Moving on to Clarke Lane the group joined a footpath on the sharp bend beside Endon Lodge and climbed steadily through fields to reach Kerridge End where they swung north along the ridge towards the trig point in the teeth of fierce winds sweeping in from the Plain.

They were therefore glad to take shelter behind White Nancy – a well-known local monument resembling a beehive which was erected by a local farmer in 1817 to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. Last year it was painted with giant poppies to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1.

After descending from White Nancy the route zig-zagged through muddy fields between Rainow and Bollington to re-enter the town and ascend a steep flight of steps beside Bollington Aqueduct where it joined the towpath alongside Macclesfield Canal. The ramblers followed the towpath back to the car park past Victorian mills, gaily-painted narrow boats and roving – or turnaround – bridges which were designed to enable horses to remain hitched to the narrow boats as they crossed over from one side of the canal to the other.

Caroline Finlayson

Caroline Finlayson leads the walkers over Macclesfield Canal on a ‘roving’ bridge.