Welcome to the Ramblers East Cheshire Group. Our group covers an area which includes Bollington, Disley, Macclesfield, Poynton and Wilmslow. We are well situated to enjoy a wide range of walks in the Peak District, Cheshire West, North Wales and Shropshire.
East Cheshire Ramblers group offers a great programme of walks, providing an opportunity to get outside, make new friends and discover how walking boosts your health and well-being. The walk programme aims to cater for all walkers. From those people who want a very gentle stroll to those who want a rigorous long walk in tough terrain. Our regular walks take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and in the summer months we run scrambles and evening walks. For more information go to 'What to Expect on a Walk' in the Walks Menu.
The Bollington Walking Festival is back this September, offering nine days of guided walks, sociable events and fresh ways to explore the wonderful countryside on our doorstep.
The 16th festival takes place from Saturday 5 to Sunday 13 September 2026, with an evening launch walk on Friday 4 September. It is a brilliant opportunity to get out into the landscape around Bollington, whether you are looking for an easy local stroll, a leisurely social walk or a more energetic day on the hills.
Something for every kind of walker
The programme includes walks graded from easy to strenuous, alongside special-interest outings and social events. There are short, accessible options as well as longer routes that head farther into the Cheshire countryside and towards the Peak District edge.
Among the varied programme are early-morning White Nancy challenges, countryside and history walks, family-friendly options, canal and park routes, and longer hill days for those wanting a proper test of the legs. There are also activities designed to make the festival more inclusive, including a dementia-friendly walk and a sensory walk with East Cheshire Eye Society.
For many of us, the joy is as much about the shared experience as the mileage: meeting new people, discovering an unfamiliar path and seeing familiar views in a different light. Bollington is a particularly fine place to do all three. From the sweep of the valley beneath White Nancy to lanes, woodland, canal towpaths and open moor, there is a great deal of walking country to enjoy.
Read more: 🥾 Bollington Walking Festival returns this September
If your walks take you anywhere near the Cat and Fiddle, take note: the A54 Macclesfield Main Road is closing for major roadworks from Monday 27 July 2026. It's good news for the long-term safety of this stretch, but it will change how some of us get to our usual start points over the next few months.
What's happening
Derbyshire County Council is carrying out major improvements to a 2.8km stretch of the A54 – the road we all know as the Cat and Fiddle – between its junction with the A53 (Leek Road) and the A537 at the Cheshire/Derbyshire border. The work will strengthen the earth banks alongside the road, improve drainage, and resurface the carriageway, all to stop the recurring bank collapses and surface water problems that have plagued this route.
Because the work involves major excavation and heavy machinery across the full width of the road, the A54 will be fully closed to through traffic for the duration. Access is being kept open for properties and businesses along the route, but not for general traffic, including anyone hoping to drive through to a walk start point on the other side.
Read more: 🚧 A54 Macclesfield Main Road is closing for major roadworks from Monday 27 July 2026
