Monday 16 June 2025 - Sarah Spencer's Transatlantic Band at Eagley Jazz Club

We had the pleasure of attending a superb performance from Sarah Spencer's Transatlantic Band, who included Eagley as a venue on a long UK tour.

We do hope to see them again. They attracted a near capacity audience of 103. That's really good going for Eagley.

All eight of them are pictured above; the core band of six are pictured below, and the banjo team with bass and drums, who gave a virtuoso performance, are also pictured.

Just for the record, the players were:

'Magic' Mike Henry - cornet
Rob Pearce - trombone
Sarah Spencer, internationally renowned saxophonist - reeds and band leader
Tom 'Spats' Langham - banjo/guitar
Jim Swinnerton - string bass (well known at Eagley Jazz Club)
Graham Smith - drums
AND SPECIAL GUEST FROM THE USA - Multi-instrumentalist CLINT BAKER

And here's a message from Ann:
For those of you on Facebook, here's a video of the band's finale to help you relive some of the magic of that evening!:
https://www.facebook.com/eagleyjazzclub/videos/1116064210567937

Wednesday 11 June 2025 - GM Ringway Trail Stage 5 - Middlewood to Strines

Starting where we finished last time, outside Middlewood Station on the Middlewood Way, Sue and I disembarked from the Buxton train at 11:20. The rest of our team had either walked this stage already (Rick, Roger, Viv and Steve) or were planning on catching up soon (Paul and Jeanette). Sue still has to complete Stage 1.

Previously, we'd walked out to the A6 road and caught a bus. This time, after about 200 metres we turned right up a marked footpath into Middle Wood.

The hedgerow plants included Hogweed and Cranesbills.

We joined the Macclesfield Canal towpath in Ladybrook Valley.

A bridge was soon reached. We crossed it and doubled back on the other side of the canal before descending to Bollinhurst Brook.

The brook disappears into a tunnel and is crossed by way of several wooden footbridges.

We emerged into open ground running parallel with the brook. This seems to be the middle of nowhere, but it's very close to the sizable town of Disley.

We continued on good, well signed ground, past fields of buttercups, eventually going under the railway that is criss-crossed by today's route.

We crossed the National Trust's Lyme Park boundary and took a path that was unfamiliar to me, all the way to the car park via Crow Wood. A delightful route, including a good bench where we encountered three chaps doing the same route as us, that I would have taken on a visit a few weeks ago had I known of its existence as an alternative to the tarmac driveway.

A little earlier, Sue had found some water loving plants and a mushroom that pretended to be a puffball.

She was still trying to identify fungi as The Cage came into view above us.

There was a good choice of picnic benches and we had no need to utilise the Timber Yard Café for more than a visit to their toilets. Rick had reported that the service was incredibly slow at the café, hence steering clear of it.

After lunch, the GM Ringway route doubled back towards Disley, passing the hall before rising up to The Cage.

An 'erratic' - relic from the ice age - is passed on the way up to what was originally a hunting lodge.

Still on course. The barred windows offer a clue to a more recent use of 'The Cage'.

After negotiating the tricky crossing of the A6 road at the entrance to Lyme Park, our path went steeply through dense woodland, eventually reaching a road that leads to Disley Golf Club, where the inmates were friendly but the mobile café recommended by our earlier encounter with the three chaps near Lyme Hall was closed today.

Leaving the golf course, we went through Stanleyhall Wood to pass a lone chimney in a field.

Without realising, by the time we had walked up Turf Lea Road and The Ridge, we had passed the private house that used to be the Romper pub, we had risen way above Disley. There are good views over the Peak District before the path meanders down to the Peak Forest Canal.

The canal is quite high relative to its surroundings, and a walk along the towpath passes an unusual lift bridge used for private farm traffic.

After helping out a chap who was trying to follow a self guided route and had got confused, we left the canal where it goes over a lane that descends to Strines Road. We deviated from the GM route by taking the prettier option though Springfield Copse, a lovely place looked after by the Woodland Trust..

After crossing the main road, we dropped further to reach Bruce's clock - the subject of a highly detailed information board concerning the clock and the printing industry in this location.

Before the final climb up to Strines Station, we passed a dovecote by the mill pond that I can recall being full of doves. Sadly crows now seem to have made it their home, but I suppose that's better than dereliction.

We arrived at 15:30, and the train to Manchester came on time at 15:37. So we just avoided having to wait another hour. All our transport on these GM trips has run to time so far.

The three chaps were somewhere behind us so would get the next train. On the platform was a lady who had done the same route as us today - she passed us early on and must have gone more quickly than us.

Here's today's route - 13km with 250 metres ascent, taking a little over 4 hours.

We will be walking Stage 6, Strines to Marple by a devious route, on Tuesday 17 June, as planned. Starting with the 10:18 from Piccadilly to Strines.

Friday 6 June to Tuesday 10 June 2025 - A Visit to Hawkshead

Sue and I took the opportunity to catch up with friends who had rented cottages in Hawkshead. With no realistically priced accommodation available, we chose to camp at the excellent Hawkshead Hall Campsite for just £33 per night. It was just a ten minute walk from where others were staying, and we were able to use their kitchen, thus enabling us to dispense with having to brew up and breakfast etc in the tent, though that would have been fine.

So after Saturday's parkrun at Wythenshawe (full results here), where we met Richard and Georgina for the first time, we gathered together our camping gear that hadn't been used for several years, and headed up to Hawkshead to enjoy a fish and chip supper with our friends.

On Sunday 8 June I'd volunteered to lead a walk. I chose a circuit from Hawkshead, taking in the summits of Latterbarrow and Claife Heights.

We were soon looking back to the village and heading up Latterbarrow's gentle slopes.

The summit of this small hill (244 metres) is nothing if not conspicuous, with its huge monument visible for miles around. I don't know the purpose of the monument, but it is impressive. Worthy of a lingering coffee break for the seven of us on the walk.

The touristy village of Hawkshead looks compact from up here.

We took paths NE then SE from the summit, all the way down to the shore of Windermere.

Where families of tourists and of ducks were enjoying the warm day.

Lunch was taken at the end of the tarmac track from the Bowness ferry.

We were pleased to leave the busy area by the lake, and take a lumpy path crossed by minor streams, all the way up to Scale Ivy Intakes, with good views back to Windermere on the way.

I hadn't intended to visit another summit, and it wasn't until writing this diary entry that I realised that we had gone to the highest point in the area, at 270 metres, the High Blind How summit of Claife Heights - a 'Marilyn', for those interested in that sort of thing. (I've already ticked it off several times from previous visits.)

There were good views to the southern end of Windermere, though as you can see from the pictures it was a rather overcast day.

Some tourists took this nice picture of us at the summit.

Sue positioned herself to admire the views to Windermere and Bowness, before we descended on a variety of paths through bracken and mixed woodland, all the way back to Hawkshead.

Here's our route - 18km with 550 metres ascent, taking over 6 hours. As usual, click on this or any other image for a better version/slideshow.

After a nice evening and a tasty meal with the others, Sue and I adjourned for a good night's sleep in the tent, where for some reason we always seem to get a best night's sleep.

Monday 9 June - I'd volunteered to lead another walk. This time nine of us drove to Grasmere and set off up Helm Crag, another favourite little hill.

The path starts gently in Easedale.

Then the short but relentless ascent of Helm Crag brings views of the broad ridge beyond the summit, leading to Gibson Knott.

It's a short scramble to the summit of Helm Crag. Sue and a couple of others got up there. I didn't bother on this occasion. Sue and I have memories of going up here with my mother, when she was a similar age to my current age, on the day after our wedding in 2002.

We enjoyed our flasks of coffee whilst watching the scramblers get to the top of the crag.

There's not too much descent before the path rises up to Gibson Knott.

Here, we are descending from Helm Crag.

Now on Gibson Knott, here are a couple of views back past Helm Crag, with Grasmere in view.

Across the valley, Steel Fell will be our final hill of the day.

Our next objective was Calf Crag, before which Sue found a good spot for lunch out of the cool breeze.

Then the summit of Calf Crag was an easy stroll - here are Ian and Sue on the top.

Grasmere was only just visible through the haze on this overcast day. We were however thankful to stay dry.

We were happy to change direction after reaching Calf Crag, so there was no need to climb a further 200 metres to the top of Greenup Edge and Ullscarf, pictured behind Sue as she stands near the summit of Calf Crag.

As we headed with the wind now behind us to Steel Fell, Helm Crag looked a long way from us as it lurked above Grasmere.

We've come from the left in the next picture, across some boggy ground that left some of the nine on this walk with damp feet.

From near the top of Dead Pike, on Steel Fell, our path back to Grasmere drops steeply but without any tricky rock bands.

A road is eventually reached, next to a pretty white building at Helmside.

Back in Grasmere, Beatrix Potter characters can be seen everywhere, even on a post box.

Here's our route - 15km with 650 metres ascent, taking about 6 hours. A most enjoyable outing.

Back at camp, there was time for a quick change / shower and a wander down to the Queens Head for a meal with most of the entire group of around 20 people.

Then on Tuesday morning we quickly struck camp and pottered off homewards.

That was an excellent few days. Good to meet up with folk who we hadn't seen for some time, and two fine walks with some of the more active members of the group.