Win Hill as seen from Bradwell Moor before the weather closed in.

By Sue Thersby.

The forecast was not good, however 16 brave ECR ramblers set out from Mam Nick, the break in the ridge walk from the bottom of Rushup Edge to Win Hill. Unusually, we did not go along the ridge but started off in a southerly direction to cross the aptly named Windy Knoll. On reaching the junction of the Limestone Way and another footpath our route took us along the footpath over the western edge of Bradwell Moor. Continuing in the same direction, we crossed Batham Gate which is the site of a Roman road. It is believed that it ran south-west from Templeborough on the River Don in South Yorkshire to Brough-on Noe and the spa town of Buxton. The name means “the road to the bath town”. On reaching Pittlesmere Lane, we changed direction to go along this lane in a roughly easterly direction, before reaching our next footpath sign to take us northwards, through field paths across Tideswell Moor to cross Batham Gate again. The area is well known for its lead mining history and the OS map shows remnants of old mines across both Bradwell and Tideswell Moor. Crossing the Limestone way by a farm marked on the map as The Cop, we went via north-westerly paths to Oxlow Rake. Workings on this rake have been documented from at least 1709 when it is recorded that `John Bradley’s Grove on Oxlow was in production’. However, another branch of Oxlow Rake, known as Daisy or Deasy Rake was recorded on the Castleton enclosure map of 1691 suggesting that lead working in this area started before this date. At the end of the rake, we arrived at a small settlement called Old Dam and then picked up the Pennine Bridleway as far as our second rake – Gautries Rake. This was our lunch spot before we climbed up and through the rake. It is said to be an extremely well-preserved example of a linear sequence of lead mine workings. From here, we passed through Sparrowpit, another small settlement, and continued uphill to take a route above the valley to reach the lay by at the western end of Rushup Edge. We finished our walk by climbing gradually along the edge with views of the Edale Valley to our north and some of our route to the south, passing the highest point of the ridge Lord’s Seat at 550 m (1,804 ft) on our way.

Additional notes from Colin Park
Did you know how Sparrowpit got its name? It is not an earth pit where you might find some of our featured friends so I decided to look it up and the name derives from ‘spar row pit’ from the fluorspar mines nearby. My search for information led me on to another unusual name in the village. The local public house is called ‘The Wanted Inn’ but why? Again I decided to research the origins of the name and the explanation is as follows;-
The public house started out its history as a farm house over four hundred years ago and in 1700 was converted to a pub and named The Three Tuns. In 1839 it was renamed as The Devonshire Arms and was then part of the Chatsworth Estate. A decision was made in 1950 to sell the pub to raise money for death duties but during the auction there was no one interested in the property so it remained empty for some years until it was eventually sold to new owners who decided to re-christen the unwanted pub to the Wanted Inn.
On Sue’s walk did anyone notice the water trough as we walked through Sparrowpit? This is called Bennet’s Well as is unusual as it lies on the watershed of England. Water from the well runs west via a series of streams and eventually enters the River Mersey which in turn flows into the Irish Sea whilst rain falling on the eastern side of the village street eventually makes its way via the River Wye and River Derwent to reach the River Trent then into the River Humber and finally into the North Sea.

Circling over North Ronaldsay with a view down to Linklet Bay which I would visit later.

We probably don’t think twice on the mode of transport we use to get to the start of a walk. More often than not we usually get there by car, or we may use a train or bus, especially if we are doing a linear walk but there are other forms of transport to get to the start of a walk. I have on occasions arrived by tram and rarer still used the hovercraft from Portsmouth to Ryde to do a walk on the Isle of Wight, but how many of us have gone on a walk by using a plane to get to the start?

In a series of three forthcoming articles, my mode of transport will be a plane to reach the starting point for my walk and for this I am not even leaving the British Isles.
Two of my three walks using a plane to get to the start were planned at very short notice and my first time I tried this was when I was in the Orkney Islands many years ago. Now there was no long term advance planning for this but the opportunity arose where I could fly out to one of the outer islands, but which one. I decided to go for the remotest and with the promise of good weather the following day booked a flight out to the tiny island of North Ronaldsay.

It was just a short drive from Kirkwall, my base, to the airport on this fine sunny morning and I had plenty of time to spare. Whilst waiting in the departure lounge the weather had changed from sunny skies to misty grey conditions so that was not a good start. The Islander plane duly arrived, and a little late and under a grey sky we boarded and soon we were off flying out and passing to the east of the island of Shapinsay and soon we were back into the sunny skies. The flight had been altered and would now include a stop off on the island of Sanday before off again for the short hop to North Ronaldsay.

In bright sunshine we landed, and having watched the plane take off again from the short grassy and uneven runway I set off north along the straight lane running up the spine of this small and flat island. After about a mile I branched left on another lane to reach the few scattered crofts at Ancumtoun before crossing a couple of fields to reach the coast. Turning east I now followed the shore with the aim of reaching the tall brick lighthouse in the distance. The going underfoot was slow as the shore was rocky and pebbly with a few stretches of good sand to walk on. Later as I headed closer to the lighthouse there were far more birds about, in fact there were thousands of them. The lighthouse is a fine building consisting of a slender brick tower painted with white bands. Built in 1854, this 139 foot high structure is the tallest land based lighthouse in the British Isles and cost just over £6,000 for its construction. In 1889 it was repainted with two white bands so it could be better seen. The climb to the top is via 176 steps but it was closed today.

The Islander plane at North Ronaldsay. Along with the pilot, this plane can carry seven passengers.

Setting out along the straight and open lane towards the northern end of the island under big skies.The lighthouse can be picked out towards the right of the photograph.

The lighthouse on North Ronaldsay is the tallest land base lighthouse on the British Isles.

The original lighthouse at Dennis Head was first lit in 1789.

The white and empty sands at Linklet Bay were not exactly crowded.

I headed next to Dennis Head which is dominated by the Old Beacon, a crude stone tower which stood amidst a jumble of ruined buildings. This earlier lighthouse was first lit on the 10th October 1789 and was in use until 1809.
I paused awhile before rounding Dennis Loch and decided to take the road westwards rather than stay on the rocky foreshore. Later at Snash Ness I decided to regain the coast which meant climbing over a fence. Soon I was on the fine white sands of Linklet Bay which provided a mile of easy walking. I stopped and chatted with an islander gathering seaweed which would be sold to an American company as seaweed had a number of uses in the chemical industry. I now lost the sunshine as thicker cloud rolled in from the south and I continued at a leisurely pace around Bride’s Ness and here there were many seals offshore. The going again became slow to reach Strom Ness and at the same time it was turning misty. I still had plenty of time to spare as I followed the shore to South Bay which had another fine stretch of sand. What I hadn’t bargained on was that it had now turned very foggy with a visibility of only around fifty metres. At the pier at Nouster I got chatting with another islander who said that the plane wouldn’t be back if the fog stayed like this. This was all I needed, and so on a dull and very foggy afternoon I took the lane north to Hollandstoun thinking about at my options. I paused to visit the church and afterwards took a longer route back toward the airfield. With time still to spare I headed west out to Doo Geo and sat on the rocks looking out on a very foggy North Atlantic before returning to the airfield waiting room. The staff there were uncertain as to whether the plane would return and there had been no phone call from Kirkwall to say that the plane wasn’t coming. Time slipped by in the silent waiting room. Was I going to be marooned on a remote island I thought? Where would I stay? Did I have enough money? All these thoughts went through my mind. As time dragged by, the sound of an aircraft approaching was music to my ears and I was soon aboard and being whisked back to Kirkwall Airport and back into the sunshine.

Returning to Kirkwall Airport. The final approach after an exciting day.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.