Sunday 13 January 2013 – A Bike Ride from Marple

I’ve been a member for nearly a year now, but this was only my third ride with the Manchester Mountain Biker (MMB) Club.  I should join this friendly bunch more often, as these are always very jolly outings.

After nearly crashing into Huw in the car park, I recovered my composure and set off down the Middlewood Way with today’s leader, Steve Brok, in a group of 18, or was it 19 (we never seemed quite sure, but I don’t think anyone was lost), eager punters on a brilliantly sunny morning.

Huw came equipped with the latest breed of slimline mountain bikes, with skinny tyres and no gears.  It reminded me of one of my old bikes, except that it didn’t sport the fixed wheel that kept dumping me over the handlebars of my bike!

Glaring sunshine on the Middlewood Way gave way to shady tracks leading up from the West Gate of Lyme Park.

Four of us enjoyed a little excursion to the top of a hillock, whilst the majority regrouped.  Luckily, nobody saw me lose control completely as I flew down the far side of the hillock!

Soon we found ourselves gliding along beside the Peak Forest Canal, trying as always to be courteous to other users of the towpath.  With 18/19 of us that may have been difficult, and I can understand some folk being a bit narked by such a large group of mountain bikers.  However, today’s sunshine brought the best out of everyone and I didn’t hear a single harsh word.

By the time we reached Strines, Steve seemed a bit concerned.  We were dangerously ahead of schedule. "I fancy a beer!" announced George.  I hadn’t even been aware of a ‘schedule’, but nobody seemed to complain about an extra loop being slotted into the ride in order to contrive a visit to the Fox Inn.  Huw disappeared for a while then reappeared at the pub – I think he may have found a different route, and I suspect he walked for a short distance…

The Fox Inn provided an excellent array of refreshments, supplemented by cake a little earlier at the top of the hill, and by chocolate biscuits from a birthday boy.

Until today, all my MMB rides had featured a chap called Keith, who is a quite fanatic mountain biker.  It had been a surprise not to see him on today’s ride, but I believe Keith does like a beer, so it should really have been no surprise to see him put in a guest appearance at our pub stop!

After a while – we’d cooled down a bit outside the pub – Steve decided we might now be a bit behind schedule, and was worrying on behalf of anyone who might be late for their Sunday lunch, so off we flew, down a lovely descent that I think he called the ‘Fox Trail’.  [Personally, I think it was his own lunch (or lack of it) that was worrying him.]

After arriving at Strines for the second time, we headed up to the farm with the old Ford Capri, where I was impressed with the leader’s ability to repair a broken chain in just a few short minutes. 

Another easy hill, just near the end of the ride, took us to a carefully arranged mudfest on the otherwise delightful descent of Strawberry Hill, to ensure that everyone went home 'gooey'.

Thanks for leading, Steve.  I think we all enjoyed this ride.

Here’s our rough route - approx 24 km (15 miles) with about 600 metres ascent, taking rather more than 3 hours.  I reckon it would be around 2½ hours (give or take) in a smaller group without the pub stop. I’ll try it soon, as my Garmin was out of action today.

There’s a slideshow with a few more images here.

Wednesday 9 January 2013 – A slideshow for SWOG – Tour of the Ecrins

This was at least our fifth slideshow for Stockport Walking and Outdoors Group, and achieved a record (for us) attendance of some 42 people.

We had a most enjoyable evening, reliving the experiences of our recent trip to the French Alps, the blog postings for which are here – hopefully I’ll soon find time to add an index to aid ‘navigation’ of the website, and we will of course be happy to present the slideshow to or answer any queries from folk who may be planning to visit this beautiful part of the Alps. 

You can email us via the ‘Contact us’ button on our topwalks.com website.

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Wednesday 9 January 2013 – Calf Top from Barbon

Heather and I contrived to choose the best day of the week to embark on a new route for me, a long planned circuit from Barbon taking in the horseshoe shaped ridge that leads for the best part of 10 km (6 miles) over Calf Top.

We set out from Barbon Church soon after 9.30 on a misty morning, with blue sky lurking enticingly above the skeletal wintry trees.

Soon we rose into a land of frosty grass above the mist laden environs of Barbon.

The 307 metre cairn on Eskholme Pike was a good vantage point (see header image), with Crag Hill and Gragareth just clearing the cloud that was rolling in from across Barbondale.

A little further on, the view ahead to Calf Top from Thorn Moor was sunny and clear.  It could be summer!

A silent wind turbine punctured the mist below, with a backdrop of the Coniston Fells.

The cloud chased us over Castle Knott and on to the summit of Calf Top - 609 metres – which afforded good views towards the Howgill Fells.

The Lake District was also seen, through a bit of a haze. It was frosty here, with the mist never far away.

Suddenly, on the descent, we found ourselves in cold mist, so we retraced a few steps into the sunshine for an early lunch, before descending to the Lune valley for an overcast afternoon's stroll back to Barbon.

It was pleasant enough, though, with good conversation, a long chat with a farmer near Middleton Hall, and easy paths intersected a couple of times by the dismantled Lune Valley Railway that linked Lowgill with Clapham for 107 years between 1860 and 1967.

Back at Barbon, the Inn was closed, so we went home…

Here’s our route - 22 km, 650 metres ascent, taking 6.5 hours.

An excellent day out in the best of company – thanks for joining me on this one Heather.  There’s a short slideshow here.

Sunday 6 January 2013 – A Circuit from Taddington

A Bimble on the first Sunday of the year has become a tradition.  Sue W organises it.  This year we received late news that she had ‘flu, so it was ‘over to us’ to organise.  This meant we could widen the invite list, and it was good to be joined by Bridget and Gary, as well as many of the regulars.

We arrived early – so there was plenty of time to explore the environs of the church (pictured above) - dedicated to St Michael and All Saints, and built in the 14th century.

Eventually the masses assembled, despite a misleading map reference (my fault, apparently), and 13 of us headed across fields towards High Dale, the descent into which was pleasantly illuminated by a wintry sun.

The mist returned as we approached Miller's Dale, pausing frequently to regroup, here at the bridge over the old railway line that operated between 1863 and 1968.

Today's route simply crossed the Monsal Trail, and headed to Litton Mill via a narrow bridge over the River Wye.  The river was fairly full, if not in spate, and it was good to see that the old mill has been put to good use. The original cotton mill, built in 1782, had a chequered existence, becoming notorious during the Industrial Revolution for its unsavoury employment practices.  It was replaced by the current building in 1874 and seems currently to be enjoying something of a renaissance by way of self-catering apartments such as this one.

Our path beyond Litton Mill ran beside the River Wye, which is well known for encroaching onto the footpath.  It did that today, effectively barring our way.

This provided an ideal opportunity to scoff some tea and Madeira cake before hauling ourselves up the high path to Cressbrook, where a short section of tarmac led to Ravensdale Cottages, and this MGA 1600 Roadster, which must be at least fifty years old. Surely it deserves better treatment.

Beyond the two tiny rows of former lead miners’ cottages, we slithered on up the valley towards Tansley Dale.

I’d planned to stop for lunch in Tideswell, but our slower than expected pace saw us passing through the village of Litton at around 1pm.  Keith and Carol had missed our Christmas Lunch Walk, so were anxious to make amends for that by enjoying a pub lunch today.  The Red Lion proved an ideal venue, and they were joined by the rest of us in the cosy pub after we’d noshed our butties at the picnic tables outside.

After a good hour at the Red Lion, Andrew took a short route back to Taddington whilst the rest of us rambled on in rather gloomy weather to Tideswell.

The church of St John the Baptist in Tideswell is known as the 'Cathedral of the Peak'.  Built in the fourteenth century, this fine church was funded by the local wool trade and by lead mining, as Tideswell was a major centre for the lead mining industry from medieval times to the nineteenth century.  As the mining declined from 1850 onwards, so did the population of the village and it has only started to recover in recent years.

By now the atmospheric conditions had defeated the sun's efforts. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a pleasant rain free stroll back from Tideswell on good paths and tracks.

Darkness was looming on the last lap to Taddington, as we proceeded along the footpath from Priestcliffe.

The route was about 17 km (11 miles), with 500 metres ascent, taking rather less than 5 hours.

There are some more images here.

This was a most sociable and enjoyable bimble.  Thanks for coming along, everyone, and we hope that those who had to cry off have recovered from their ailments.

Tuesday 1 January 2013 – A Circuit from Beeston

This year opened in much the same way as we seemed to spend much of 2012 – with wall to wall sunshine.  The short drive to Beeston saw us parking up below the eight hundred year old Castle* and taking a stroll along the well marked paths of the Sandstone Trail, an excellent 34 mile walking route from Frodsham to Whitchurch, up to the junction where Hill Lane leads to Higher Burwardsley.

There were a few others enjoying the bright sunshine, though some did look a bit hung over.  Hill Lane took us to a brief spell of tarmac, and back to the Sandstone Trail, which we followed in the opposite direction until a stile with an ‘Eddisbury Way’ sign took us through a slithery wood and across a lane near the Pheasant Inn.

The Eddisbury Way is a 16½ mile route between Frodsham and Higher Burwardsley, where we joined it.  It provides an alternative to the Sandstone Trail rather than an opportunity for a long circular walk, as the two routes do intercept each other from time to time.

The Pheasant Inn is an excellent place for refreshments, as are the nearby child friendly Candle Workshops, but on this occasion we headed on along the Eddisbury Way to Yew Tree Farm.  The final field before the farm was decidedly gloopy.

We continued towards Woodhouse Farm, which looks recently renovated, but for the sake of their privacy the owners have rearranged the path to skirt the perimeter of their land, denying the public access to the farm lane.  So we turned back to reach the lane via the ancient footpath at Yew Tree Farm.

The Eddisbury Way signs seemed to follow our planned route all the way to the Shropshire Union Canal, luckily without any further gloops and with the benefit of a handy lunch bench by Newton Lane for our first picnic of the year.  We eschewed the attraction of a nearby Ice Cream Parlour, preferring to stay off road.  Anyway, we had plenty of cake.

To the south of the canal, we crossed a bridleway – the Bishop Bennet Way – that was being well used by ponies today.  After all, this is a 34 mile route for horse riders which can also be used by walkers and cyclists. It is named after William Bennet (4 March 1745 - 1820), an Irish Bishop who carried out detailed surveys of roman roads including those between Deva (Chester) and Mediolanum(Whitchurch).  The way starts near Beeston Castle and finishes near Wirswall on the Cheshire-Shropshire border. There are apparently hopes of extending it to Shrewsbury.  The way follows bridleways, byways and minor roads; half of it being along tarmac roads. Walkers can bypass the longer road sections on footpaths.

The canal was reached at an unexpectedly long underpass.  Was the canal really that wide?

The Shropshire Union ‘main line’ was the last trunk narrow canal route to be built in England. It was not completed until 1835 and was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of Thomas Telford, linking Ellesmere Port, by the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, with the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal, in the West Midlands canal system some 66 miles away at Wolverhampton.

We were soon striding along the towpath, with Beeston Castle again in our sights, savouring the bright sunshine and acknowledging the occasional passing barge.

The Shady Oak, well known for its friendly welcome to an itinerant clientele, was busy today, with resident swans looking for titbits and a selection of cruisers parked outside.  It was warm enough for the beer garden to be in use.

A little further along the canal, Wharton’s Lock signaled our point of departure from the canal, or indeed – our return to the Sandstone Trail and an encounter with yet another trail, the Two Saints Way, an 86 mile pilgrimage route between the cathedral cities of Chester and Lichfield.

I suppose all these different named trails do help to keep the footpaths open – the paths are very well marked, and well used, in this part of the world, despite a bit of mud at this time of year.

A road appeared to be under construction beside the railway line near Wharton’s Lock, but we concluded that it was probably just ongoing track maintenance in an attempt to protect the embankments from erosion.

We knew we must be nearly back when we encountered a family with two children in a push chair doggedly negotiating their way across a muddy field, and soon we were back below the ruined castle, admiring a fine looking cottage next to the car park.

Here’s our route – 13 km (8 miles) with about 200 metres ascent.  Allow 3 to 4 hours for this enjoyable and varied bimble.

There are a few more pictures from this walk here.

* Beeston Castle – according to Wiki it was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted (partly demolished) in 1646, in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a stronghold. During the 18th century the site was used as a quarry.

It is rumoured that treasure belonging to Richard II lies undiscovered in the castle grounds, but the many searches that have been carried out have failed to find any trace of it. The castle is now in ruins. The walls of the outer bailey, and the walls, gatehouse of the inner bailey have been separately designated by English Heritage as Grade I listed buildings.  It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is currently owned by English Heritage.

Friday 28 December 2012 - Silverdale

We chose to venture out on this walk despite a dire weather forecast.  We had planned it, so we were going.  The short itinerary enabled a lie in before we struggled up the M6 motorway with R and J in driving rain.

Leighton Moss RSPB reserve was our starting point, and after taking advantage of their café we managed to delay the start of our exercise until after 11 o’clock. 

We were soon loitering on Silverdale Golf Course, somewhat puzzled by the fact that our waterproofs were superfluous due to the rain having ceased just as we had set out.  Perhaps that was because of Richards energetic ‘Canute’ impersonations, though they had at first seemed more like futile efforts to chase ducks.

A good path beside Hawes Water on well wired boarding helped preserve our clean looks, and it wasn’t until we reached Arnside Tower, pictured above, that we hit the expected mud.

Low cloud hung over the village of Silverdale as we descended to Elmslack, where Richard and Sue vied for favours.

“Mine’s bigger than yours!” bragged Richard, producing one of his stock phrases.

 

The tide was in at the Cove.  Sue went to check and confirmed it wasn’t a mirage, whilst I wrestled with a wobbly horizon.

We hastened on to the Silverdale Hotel in a bid for sustenance.  This was a good move and we enjoyed the warm atmosphere and hot food for a good hour before stumbling along the path to Woodwell on the now gloomy afternoon.

But at least it wasn’t raining!

We admired the well that used to provide Silverdale with its water supply.  The water looked excellent.

Parked outside Gibraltar Farm was a purring beast, vibrating slightly but running with an odourless clear exhaust, unlike some of our absent friends.

A little further on we passed the renovated lime kiln at Jack Scout.  Apparently they tried to get it going after its renovation in 1985, but it obstinately refused to withdraw from retirement (I can empathise with that!).

Sue then headed relentlessly towards the beach and splodged through puddles whilst the rest of us slithered over some decidedly awkward rocks.

Eventually we reconvened by the chimney at Jenny Brown's Point.

"We need to be back by dusk" the others muttered, glancing at the soggy path alongside the salt marshes beside Morecambe Bay.  And off they strode, returning to Leighton Moss in plenty of time to purchase provisions for the ravenous tits and blackbirds that seem to rely on our garden scatterings version of a ‘soup’ kitchen.

Here’s our route: about 13km, with 200 metres ascent, taking 4½ hours including that long adjournment for lunch.

There’s a slide show with a few more images – here.

Christmas Day 2012

Oh dear, I’m miles behind with these postings.  Please bear with me.

This is very much for the family, with whom we enjoyed Christmas Day for the second year with four generations present. 

A late change to our routine involved a trip to Bacup, where Kate assumed the mantle of ‘Christmas Dinner Cook’.  I wasn’t complaining, having been incumbent in that role, through thick and thin, with successes and some notable failures, for almost thirty years.

Well done, Kate, you excelled yourself.

I didn’t have a camera, but Sue took a few pictures, the following one giving a fair assessment from Oscar’s viewpoint whilst the rest of us tried (and largely failed in my case) to play a game called ‘Logo’.

Thursday 13 December 2012 – Around Milwich and Burston

Yes, I’m still soldiering on with last year’s entries!

This was a tentative recce for a Christmas walk, as it passed by an excellent establishment, the Greyhound Inn at Burston, run by TGO Challengers Alan and Peter Jordan, with a sizeable restaurant that would meet our needs.

I enjoyed the walk, and there would be adequate parking at my start point in Milwich, but had the ground not been solidly frozen it could have proved to be a bit of a soggy endurance test.  Moreover, a large group would be delayed by the 45 or so stiles I encountered en route, despite a quarter of the distance being along a canal towpath.

So this walk is maybe best left for either a dry summer’s day or a cold and frosty winter’s day like the one I enjoyed.

The route is shown below, in both ‘Anquet’ and ‘Garmin’ style, and there’s a comprehensive slideshow to supplement the following brief description, here.

Parking up outside Milwich Village Hall and former school, I took a well marked path beside the Green Man, which hostelry could be used for refreshments by those wishing to start from Burston or the A51.

Well marked paths and numerous stiles offered easy walking on frozen ground, with lingering fog helping to preserve the hoar frost that coated much of the scenery on this cold day.

Sandon Wood looked as if it is home to a large colony of badgers, and a stile leading into the wood could be used to access a good night time observation point.  The path is to the right of that misleading stile, and it leads to a gate and a rough track through the woodland and bracken.

Numerous pheasants noisily tried to keep their distance as I proceeded through Sandon Park, where the sun was trying very hard to break through as I passed close to a folly that sits on a knoll in the centre of the park.

The fog was winning to the south, but the sun briefly dominated views back across the farmland to the north.

I missed a public woodland path to the right near Ritt’s Column and found myself in a narrow field between the A51 road and the London to Glasgow railway line, for the short stretch to the splendid construction that is bridge number 82 on the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Refreshments could be available in the nearby village of Salt, but I chose to head along the frozen towpath towards Burston.  With the first mile post I encountered showing Shardlow 43 miles away in one direction, and Preston Brook 49 miles in the other, I seemed to be rather far from anywhere.  No matter, after tiptoeing along the edge of the canal to avoid falling through a thin sheet of ice into a quagmire, I soon reached Sandon Lock, which thankfully delivered me to higher ground and a more solid path.

There were several barges moored within a short walk of the fleshpots of Sandon Lock.

The bridges (see slideshow) are all different on this section of canal, which I exited at bridge 85 towards Burston.

Burston was home to various members of the Stubbs family, about whom my father wrote a number of short essays.  I may even have met dad’s ‘Cousin Mary’ who lived in Stone near to various other relatives.  She died in 1953.  Hers is an interesting story – her dad, the black sheep of the family, was born in 1803.  But I digress.

I enjoyed looking around the village that was home to this strain of our family, wondering which of the houses had been their homes, before eventually wandering into the Greyhound Inn.  Hot soup and an excellent beer were savoured in the company of Alan Jordan, who was on our Turkish trip last year and is a seasoned TGO Challenger, so an hour wasn’t really sufficient.

But, suitably refreshed, I eventually left, in rather dimmer afternoon light, with wintry views back to Burston, from a hill beyond which, as dusk approached, the unseen path to Milwich lay ahead.

Here's my route - 18km, 250 metres ascent, in 5.5 hours including a good hour at the Greyhound.

Here’s what the Garmin gadget recorded:

And here’s a link to the slideshow again.

Have fun!

Happy New Year!

I’ve noticed some bloggers raising doubts as to whether they will continue making postings beyond the immediate future for reasons such as the issues they cover having been exhausted, or the feeling that they are unable to add usefully to the subjects they cover.  I pondered their dilemma whilst we were engaged in the pleasurable festive activity featured in this posting.

There is no such dilemma on these pages.  This blog remains true to its header, written when it was set up over five years ago:

“The main purpose of this blog is to keep in touch with friends and family, and maybe entertain others with common interests, particularly in relation to the outdoors. We hope you enjoy it, and your comments are valued....”

The blog actually followed on from over five years of reporting on our outdoors activities through our website that continues to this day (though a ‘programme’ for 2013 is somewhat overdue).

The on-line record, which starts with Sue’s account of our Tour of Mont Blanc trip in 2000 – thanks go to Alan Rayner for reminding us last night of that lovely trip – follows on from a diary that started in 1980 (thanks, Laurie) and has now reached Volume 74, albeit latterly through a lot of copying and pasting (literally) from these pages.

So this blog will continue in one form or another for as long as I’m around to make the postings.  You could say that it’s in its 33rd year!

Family and friends can now call in to Picasa, etc, at will to view images of scenes in which they may have been present, and I do get satisfaction from the fact that digital images can be displayed for all to see.  What a contrast to days past when the photos or slides received a cursory glance before being boxed or albumed and eventually relegated to the loft.  I even have a set of negatives from my first venture across the Channel in the 1970’s which have never even been printed.  I must dig them out and scan them sometime!  If you are reading this, Jacqui, Roger or John – be warned!

I also gain pleasure from the comments and viewings by complete strangers who visit these pages to seek information that may be useful to them, whether it be a route, image or a gear review or sundry piece of information – this blog and our website receive over 200 such visits every day; we hope that some of those visits provide the answers or information that is being sought.

I could ramble on, but I’ll finish by thanking Richard, Jenny and Dot for their assistance with this seasonal indulgence, and Nell and Keith for providing it in the first place.  It was fun…

 
… and it brought back happy childhood memories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

December in Timperley: occasional sunny periods…