Afternoon break at the lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Thurlwood
Mow Cop Castle folly is a landmark dominating the Staffordshire skyline for miles around. The folly, built 260 years ago and now belonging to the National Trust, was the location of the first stop of the day on a recent twelve mile walk by eight members of the East Cheshire Ramblers, led by Colin Park.
After a wet night, the Ramblers set off from Little Moreton Hall along the South Cheshire Way. Soon after crossing the Macclesfield Canal the group ascended towards the Old Man of Mow. The summit however was just within the cloud base, and so on this occasion, only the grey outlines of both the Old Man and nearby Mow Cop Castle loomed out of the mist as mystical grey outlines, and there were sadly no views from these high vantage points. A descent was followed via a maze of lanes through Mow Cop Village, which is famed for the birthplace of the Primitive Methodist movement. On the edge of Kidsgrove, the group then followed a section of the Trent & Mersey Canal to reach their lunch stop in the church yard at Church Lawton.
The church which stands on a mound has been a religious site for near on one thousand years. The present church was built after a fire in 1798. One hundred and forty six years earlier the church was struck by lightning killing eleven people inside.
Rejoining the canal towpath again the group crossed Snape’s Aqueduct to reach Thurlwood. Here it was time for another brief break before setting off along field paths in bright afternoon sunshine, following once more the South Cheshire Way for much of the way back towards Little Moreton Hall.
Colin Park
Walking along track south of Higher Smallwood near Thurlwood