[caption id="attachment_4672" align="aligncenter" width="1363"] A winter morning on Alderley Edge Golf Course.[/caption] 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.