Wednesday 3 November 2021 - Around Alvanley

This was a short walk to check out Jen Darling's route description in her 'Walks in West Cheshire and Wirral' book, so that any changes since 2007 can be incorporated into the next print of the book.

The village of Alvanley is just a few minutes from juncion 14 of the M56, and the obvious place to park is in the White Lion's capacious facility. But not without permission. Jen suggests parking about 100 metres up the road, opposite Rose Cottage. My car is shown there in this next picture, taken from outside the pub. 

Church House Farm, pictured above and below, has an impressive Georgian facade. Nearby is a church dedicated to St John the Evangelist. It has a tiny spire. I didn't investigate the church on this occasion.

A path beside Rose Cottage, labeled as the North Cheshire Way, skirted a field of winter greens and soon crossed a lane called Commonside, along which alternative parking is available where the Sandstone Trail crosses the lane.

The route then hugged a hedgerow on the left, and passed through a couple of old wooden kissing gates that haven't yet been replaced.

Eventually a bridge across a stream is reached. Jen's route eschews that and follows the sign to the right - 'W'DHSE HILL', or the 'Longster Trail'.

This path leads to The Ridgeway, an ancient route through the hills, beside which a pony sanctuary nestles in the quiet countryside.

A little further on, opposite a caravan site, the Sandstone Trail is joined at a point where it heads up steep steps, on this occasion to the sound of mewing buzzards.

The path leads past Cliff Farm (unseen thanks to dense foliage), below the heights of Alvanley Cliff, eventually turning right by a timber-framed house that was apparently transported from the Nantwich area and reconstructed in this pleasant spot.

The Sandstone Trail is a delightful path at this point, here looking back to the timber-framed house.

A narrow path beside a field of crops (potatoes?) leads to a country lane, with Simmond's Hill looming above to the left. 

Then a T-junction with Manley Road presents a dilemma, as it would be an easy stroll along the road back to Alvanley. However, a stile opposite presents the opportunity for a minor adventure. 

The path rises through a tussocky field to reach a muddy track to Manley Old Hall, home to a large herd of cows. This track has been covered with a carpet of green baize. This in turn is covered by a layer of mud. All the way to the farm. It's slithery.

After being redirected along 'Permitted Paths' to avoid the cattle, it's possible to make your way around the buildings (the route I took is shown on the map below), through a number of electric fences with wire 'gates', and down a well disguised path to a bridge over Moor's Brook. Editing Jen's description of this section of the walk will be tricky, and a slightly different, longer, route may be sensible. You can see from the state of the stile before the footbridge that the 'Right of Way' furniture is not being maintained here.

Beyond the footbridge, the 'path' rises, soon coming into sight of a post with a yellow marker in the distance, confirming that this overgrown area does in fact house a path, and after a while you emerge onto Manley Road near the village.

The path goes through the gap on the far right...

Here's the route, only about 7.5 km, with not much more than 100 metres ascent. It took me two hours. Only the brave should attempt the loop at the bottom of the route! (Click on the image for a better version.) At least I kept away from the cows by using the route taken.