[caption id="attachment_4611" align="aligncenter" width="1145"] The group gathered on Windgather Rocks.[/caption]

By Ian Mabon

There were ten East Cheshire Ramblers setting out at 10 am on this walk from Taxal lay-by car park on the A5004, led by Anton Woolford, who has been leading walks for us for a number of years now.
The weather was cold but sunny and we crossed the Goyt to the village of Taxal from where we took a field path up towards Taxal Edge. At the top we got good views of the Todd Brook valley. We continued south and later turned west to reach Windgather Rocks where we had a morning break. The views from here were even better, looking south to Shining Tor and Shutlingsloe, and west to the Cheshire Plain.
We restarted after the break continuing south to Pym's Chair and then onto the ridge of Cat's Tor and finally to Shining Tor itself which at 559 metres is the highest point in Cheshire.
After enjoying the excellent views from here, we turned southwest to Stakeside, then down the hill to have lunch near Errwood Reservoir.
After lunch, walking along the side of the reservoir, we were rewarded by superb autumn colours reflected in the waters of the reservoir.
After Errwood we followed Fernilee Reservoir for a time then turned up Deep Clough for a short but sharp climb to a higher path (the sting in the tail!). At the Fernilee Dam we crossed over to follow the River Goyt back to the car park. A great time was had by all!