Friday 15 December 2023 - Father Christmas at Styal Mill, and more

It's that time of year. Time for a shy three year old to encounter a scary person with a big beard.

Isabella could relate to the penguins.

But she found Father Christmas a little scary.

Eventually they became friends and managed a 'high five'.

The snowmen were fun, and there were presents.

Thanks go to Sue and Sarah for the pictures above. Only two adults were allowed to accompany  children to see Father Christmas, so I went for a short walk to Twinnies Bridge and back, repeating a circuit I used to do with Isabella's dad in a push chair or papoose (there may be photos when I get around to scanning them!).

Back in 'the day', the path shown below was a quagmire.

Twinnies Bridge hasn't changed.

Nor has Heron's Pool Bridge, although the woodwork has probably been renewed.

The small children's playground, complete with wonky mirror, is a relatively recent addition.

The next two pictures were taken from the same place.

The big house, right next to the mill, has recently been renovated.

Isabella seemed impressed by the tall chimney.

She then demolished a plate of beans and some tasty cake.

After Isabella headed home with her mum, Sue and I went to Bacup, where Sue was enrolled to assist Jessica in Christmas Cracker production. They had lots of fun with various bits of stationery.

Meanwhile, Jacob played 'Fortnite', not very photogenic, but he was seen earlier with a monster brass instrument.

Wednesday 13 July 2022 - A SWOG walk from Wilmslow

Thirteen SWOG walkers set off on Wednesday evening from The Carrs in Wilmslow for a 9km stroll around the environs of Styal, Morley and Lindow Moss. We soon crossed the River Bollin - not exactly in spate - at Twinnies Bridge, pictured above.

The two hour walk, with minimal ascent, was devised by Pam and Paul, who ensured that everyone remained jolly enough to enjoy the extra distance compared with their 6km prediction!

There's not much more to say, except that it was a very pleasant, warm evening, and a delight to be out with the friendly crowd. You can tap on an image to access a slideshow, or skim through the captioned pictures below.

The weir at Styal, above, and the Mill Pond, below. How times have changed!

Pam leads the way through the meadow behind Styal Mill

Paul fails in his mission to hold the title of 'Tail Walker'

Styal Mill (part of) from the meadow

Quarry Bank House, home of the Mill Owner

Crops near Morley, near where the old boggy path and tatty farmhouse have been replaced by smart housing and a solid surface

Tonight's team near Lindow Moss

Black Lake - grebes live here, but tonight all we saw were mallards

Here's the route, one of many good walks in this area

Wednesday 4 August 2021 - Quarry Bank Trail Race

We entered this running event in 2020, but the race didn't take place and the entries were carried over to this year. Our entries were organised by the Barbers, pictured below with us at the start.

We were there in plenty of time, so we could wander around before the start. Sue and I had no plans to extend ourselves as we'd hardly eaten anything for the last few days due to a bout of Norovirus emanating from our monster grandchild, Isabella.

Laura was also going to take it easy, as she is running a half marathon at the weekend.

That left Paul and Greg nudging their way to the front to start, whilst Laura took her time, and Sue and I started at the back of the entire field. That made for a slow start, as lots of people ahead of us seemed to have misinterpreted the 'Race' element of the event and had chosen to block the way up the hill with platoons of walkers.

Anyway, that wasn't a problem, the slow start provided an opportunity to warm up slowly, then once we were warm, a light shower of rain proved very refreshing as we continued our virus induced jogging.

It's a lovely course, about 7.4 km in length, with plenty of opportunities for rests during the second half of the run, due to the single file nature of parts of the course, and the reluctance of walkers to run up the steps in the Bollin Valley.

The race ends after a steep, wide section of tarmac that was an absolute delight. It felt as if I was passing a couple of hundred people on the descent as any brakes I may have had clearly failed, and I arrived at the finish in time to get the camera out to record Sue's finish.

The Barbers had all finished successfully, though Paul's plan to finish at the top of the VM60 age category was foiled by one person who crept in ahead of him!

Sue and I were feeling fine despite our recent illness, but the above image shows that my camera lens was misted up due to the rain. Thanks go to the Barbers for waiting for us to jog in.

Here are the results for all of us. You may need to click on the images to view them properly.

It was good to see a few familiar faces amongst the 465 participants, including Zoe from Wythenshawe parkrun, and Helen from SWOG.

Here's the route - 7.4 km with 120 metres ascent.

I believe that by dint of some sort of fluke I'm owed a prize (!!!), which Paul may snaffle as it will no doubt be sent to his address.

Today's (not)parkrun - 5km in 44 minutes - included an encounter with our local tame heron.

Friday 27 November 2020 - A Styal Circuit from Lindow Common

Graeme joined me on a dull morning for this excellent 11.5 km circuit from the small car park at Lindow Common in Wilmslow. Our route was very similar to the one that Paul and I enjoyed on 5 November, the detailed record of which is here.

We walked down to Twinnies Bridge, where the car park was overflowing, then beside the Bollin on the good path to Styal Mill, pictured above.

The owner's house has recently been restored, but I have yet to go round it. The Greg family lived right next to their mill, built in 1784 in the days when it's not a surprise to learn that other members of the family were involved in the slave trade. Samuel Greg's brother-in-law owned a slave ship, and his father and brother part owned sugar plantations in Dominica - one of which employed 139 slaves.

There's quite a contrast between today and the fifth of November regarding Styal woods. They were full of colour three weeks ago, but now the majority of leaves have fallen, and only Graeme's jacket significantly brightens the next two pictures.

We enjoyed a pleasant interlude with Ash - a friend of Graeme who used to be an expert pediatric surgeon - and his dog. Beyond the woods, with seasonal Cheshire mud underfoot, we took the path to the runway tunnel, beyond which mainly field paths led us back to our car park.

For more information, check the links in my 5 November posting. There's not much more to add here, apart from recording a pleasant, chatty morning in Graeme's good company that enabled the world to be put to rights.

Here's our route - 11.5 km with 150 metres ascent, taking us about three hours on this occasion.

Thursday 5 November 2020 - Styal

Click on any image for a better view/slideshow

It's always a pleasure to visit Styal Woods, even when - like today - the sun isn't shining.

This was my routine 'Friday' walk. Adjusted to Thursday this week due to a commitment tomorrow (which is now later today!). The 'new normal' restricts me to one companion, who can be from another household [I hope that if anyone reads this in a generation's time, they will be suitably bemused]. Paul B, having been in the right place at the right time, was my worthy companion today.

We set off through the woods. Just imagine what the colours would be like if the sun was shining.

Giant's Castle Bridge always reminds me of similarly named places in the Drakensberg mountains near Johannesburg.

It was muddy in the woods, but even more muddy on the path around the airport perimeter. Very few aircraft were in use.

My Keen Targhee 2 trail shoes proved adequate in keeping the moisture out - even in a waterlogged field, but Paul's less robust shoes eventually relinquished their defence against the elements.

After a pause for fudge and tea, field paths led to Wilmslow, where this ancient barn seemed to be held up by the bales of hay stored under its roof.

After jogging slowly through some of Wilmslow's ginnels, and taking a path that was shut due to the risk of falling trees (no wind today - we ignored the barriers), we reached Twinnies Bridge, where the car park was full and the path to Styal Mill was very busy.

Styal Mill was built by Samuel Greg in 1784, and by the time he retired in 1832 the mill was the biggest cotton spinner in the UK. It's a huge place.

Previous visits to the Styal Mill area are recorded here. Recently, a new entrance building has been added to this National Trust property. There was a light on inside, but today the buildings were all closed.

Back in Styal village, we discovered that Earlams Community Cafe was open for takeaways, so we got some coffees and sat outside the (very much shut) Ship Inn to sup them before returning home for lunch.

Here's our route - 12 km with 150 metres ascent, taking a little over two hours. Allow three hours at a more gentle pace. A delightful outing despite a few bits of mud.