Wednesday 7th August, Timperley to Northwich

It was Fast Blackshaw’s fault, he fancied walking to Northwich and needed company. I’d walked to Northwich a few years ago, although by a more direct route. Fast Blackshaw has a reputation for adding ‘little loops’ onto his routes – making them rather longer than planned, today’s route, rather unusually, was slightly shorter than originally planned. He must be losing his touch.

Long Suffering Rick had foolishly agreed to join the expedition, although with a selection of leg & back injuries to deal with, he’d very sensibly decided to just walk around 8 – 9 miles. We wandered off through Altrincham in bright sunshine, dodging the poor souls who were heading off to their places of work. Our route took us across The Devisdale and the well-kept Denzell Gardens before dicing with death as we crossed the busy A56 to get to the peace and quiet of Dunham’s golf course. No golfers, just one dog walker this morning.

Fungus

Dunham Park was similarly quiet, it seems that only deer and dog-walkers were out today.

Dunham Hall Deer

Once out of Dunham Park it was time for Rick to return home, he’d decided to walk back to Timperley along the Bridgewater Canal towpath – a pleasant route on such a lovely morning. Rick went north(ish) whilst we continued south(ish) to do battle with forests of sweetcorn:
The path through 6ft + high sweetcorn was overgrown and we were soon separated. I managed to stay on course by monitoring the position of the sun, whilst Blackshaw & Pike allowed themselves to be led off-course by following the rows of sweetcorn crop. A stile in the middle of the forest provided a high point for me to shout and wave my walking poles so that I could be found. After 3-4 minutes of shouting and pole-waving we were re-united. A quick map & compass check and we were on our way once again – this time taking the trouble to stay in-sight of one another.
 
Half a mile later Steve realised his hands were emptier than usual – he’d left his poles in the middle of Sweetcorn Forest. We trotted back to find them  (I needed the exercise). Fortunately the poles were found at the stile in the middle of the plantation and we were soon on our way once again.

Pole-less Fast Blackshaw

More crop-filled fields followed. It was a very different scene compared to this time last year when the great wetness made all the fields and paths horrible muddy..

Battling through the barley

Lunch #1 was taken on the front lawn of St John’s Church in High Legh. The site has a bit of history, this is the third building in relatively recent times. The two previous structures were destroyed by fire. The present building is around 120 years old and was designed by Edmund Kirby who may have started a lucrative sideline in vacuum cleaners.

 

I’m guessing that the site pre-dates Christianity (christianity?) – it’s located at the crossing of two ancient routes, is on a high point and there’s a yew tree in the grounds. Yews as a consequence of their Pagan associations and enclosure, were planted in churchyards as Christianity spread - perhaps to placate those whose religion had been superseded by Christianity.

 

Or perhaps they just liked the look of yews.

 

More southness to find a crossing point over the motorway, harder than the map suggests. Eventually, and after a bit of a map faff, a bridge was located and we traipsed on towards Arley Hall where we found a lovely shaded spot for lunch #2.

 The view from Lunch Spot #2

It’s funny, but we used to be over-run with grey squirrels (my friend Christine describes them as rats with good PR) in north Cheshire, but the last couple of years there have hardly been any. On today’s wander I saw just one squirrel all day. I just hope whatever is causing the lower numbers isn’t damaging the red squirrel population of the country.

 

Our route was now due south to the very picturesque village of Great Budworth – a very suitable spot for lunch #3. We exhausted our stock of butties and coffee – we were left with the odd manky banana and some corporation pop, quite enough to see us to the end of our journey.

 Lunch stop #3, Great Budworth churchyard

The view south from our final lunch stop

Leaving the churchyard I spotted a very interesting sight (well I thought it was interesting), a BMW 650 single – with a belt drive. It’s a shame more motorcycle manufacturers don’t use belt drive, they’re clean and virtually maintenance free…..and they outlast conventional drive chains very significantly.

 Belt-drive BMW

Times must be hard in this part of Cheshire, the local library service seemed to have teamed up with BT. Dual-use buildings make good financial sense…..

Great Budworth has it’s own spring. Notices tell you that the water is tested from time-to-time and has always been found to be fit to drink. I was still carrying half a litre of water so didn’t sample the delights of Cheshire Spring Water. Perhaps it should be bottled and flogged-off to bolster the funds of the local council.

That last sentence was tongue-in-cheek by the way….just in case you were wondering.

 

The Plan had been to walk around to Anderton Boat Lift, a fine piece of engineering. Unfortunately the clock was against us – we had a train to catch. Never mind, we’ll make sure we get there next time.

 

More southness, now towards the salt-town of Northwich. Our route towards the town took us past the Flashes – bodies of water that appear very quickly (in a ‘flash’) when underground excavations take place. This area of the Flashes is now very much a nature reserve, and very nice it is too.

 

Leaving the Flashes and nature reserve behind we passed by Northwich’s bike-park:

Next stop was the end of our walk, Northwich Station – and a cheap train-ride back to Altrincham.

I reckon we did around 20 miles. They weren’t all intended…..some of them just cropped up as we found ourselves, er, misplaced. But stuff like that happens when you go for a walk. This had been a cracking route through gentle and pleasant countryside. Even when we got lost misplaced.

 

A not very successful exercise in stitching images together.

More photos ur.

Aldi waterproofing aerosol spray

You all know that I've arranged for good weather for my next Challenge, TGOC2014....but just in case it all goes pear-shaped again I thought you might be interested in this latest offering from Aldi.

At £1.99 for a 300ml can it's got to be a steal - provided it works of course!

I shall report back.

Thursday 26th July, to Brereton, Macclesfield and Gawsworth

My mate Mark is currently unable to drive because of a buggered tendon and I offered to transport him to hospital for his bits to be fettled – in return for which he very generously treated me to lunch at Gawsworth’s  Harrington Arms (rather fine Robinson’s). We usually go to The Harrington to play music at the regular Friday evening sessions.
The journey to Mark’s was slower than usual…and my camera was on the passenger seat of the car:

    What???

 

Lunch stop, The Harrington – we usually go there on a Friday evening to play music. I was there playing music only last Friday, ‘twas a rather very excellent evening!

 

Mark in hop-along mode

Brereton, home to odd-ball bears:

 

Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope, last seen from The Gritstone Trail a couple of weeks ago:

It was good to catch up with Mark – especially being able to enjoy a leisurely lunch with him: thanks Mark!

Tits

15th July

By this time of the year the tits usually have left my garden, not returning until the later part of the year.

I don’t know why, I’m no ornithologist, but this year one or two have stayed. Perhaps I’m feeding them too well.

Not a good photo, taken this morning, through my kitchen window with my Lumix FS40. 

Beating The Bounds

The Court Leet, an ancient form of local government, is responsible for keeping the old (Saxon) boundaries of Altrincham defined and to do this they 'Beat the Bounds' each year.
The boundary is marked with a number of boundary stones or plaques and on the second Sunday of July Members of the Altrincham Court Leet process around these markers.
The Court Leet always invite members of the public (ie: Plebs like me) to follow them around their annual bimble….stopping off around half-way round for beer and lunch. Nice…except hardly anyone ever turns out to support them.
Today a total of four walkers turned out, better than most years, but still not great.
At 10.30am we all gathered at the boundary stone on The Downs in Altrincham for the first ‘beating’ of the day:

Members of The Court Leet doing their stuff

The boundary stone on The Downs, Altrincham

  A Dunham / Altrincham boundary marker

Altrincham / Hale boundary marker on a house gate-post

I’m sure The Court Leet won’t mind me saying that a couple of them aren’t in the first flush of youth – although one member in particular walked around most of the route with the pedestrian followers. Other members of the Court Leet were transported around the 8 mile route in a minibus.
Lunch was had at Timperley Old Hall (that isn’t very old at all) where a very good pint (or two)of Jennings High Spy was served. I don’t normally drink beer when on a walk, but we were probably 5 or 6 miles into the route, and at 3.8% ABV it didn’t have any adverse effect – apart from straining the bladder department!

The Court Leet at lunch

After lunch there were only 3-4 more boundary markers to visit. A few people came out to see what all the fuss was about and I’m pleased to say that they all showed a genuine interest in this quirky tradition.
By 3.30pm it was all over. Around 12 boundary markers had been visited, some of them in locations that made access difficult – but not impossible.
The population of Altrincham had been assured that their town’s boundary was intact and, according to the speech repeated around the circuit, assured of protection by the Barony….provided they stayed within it’s boundaries.
A nice little walk and a very interesting day out. I’ll probably do it again next year. Especially if the Old Hall are serving High Spy.
More photos here.

Thursday 11th July, Lymm sunset

View from the TransPennine Trail, part of the E8 European route.

The E8 European long distance path is one of the European long-distance routes. It stretches over 2900 miles between Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey. You’re not expected to walk on water though.

Sunday 7th July, Almost The Gritstone Trail

The Gritstone Trail is ‘a challenging 56km walk’ and is a trip I’ve had on the backburner for quite a while. Running between Disley (South East of Manchester) and Kidsgrove (er, 56km South of Disley), it traverses some pleasantly hilly country of Cheshire and Staffordshire. 

Options for doing the route were: a) Jog/walk in a day, b) Backpack (Hotel/B&B) over two days, or c) Backpack (Camping) over two days.

Sudden high temperatures blew-out the jog/walk idea – I’m not fit enough anyway. I’m such a tight-arse that the hotel/B&B idea was rejected…..that left backpacking with a tent. And so it was.

In order to go lightweight I chose to use my Terra-Nova Laser Competition for the first time. I had no idea how to pitch the thing properly – I chose the phone-a-friend solution and it worked. Thanks Judith!

Family responsibilities meant that I couldn’t set out until the evening. Daytime temperatures reached 27degC so a late start was a good move.
At 8pm I parked the car in Disley railway station car-park, ignored the Ram’s Head and shouldered my pack. Heading south (and uphill) I was glad to have left my start until late, it was still very warm even at this late hour.

There were good views over Lyme Park, Stockport and Manchester. This is a cracking time to walk. Ask Denis, he knows these things. 

 

Monkey Nuts

Light was fading as I climbed up to Bowstones, the views improved to the west – Manchester and Stockport were turning their lights on. This is the holiday season and at one point flights were coming into Manchester Airport every couple of minutes.

Bollington soon hove into view. The Gritstone Trail only touches the outskirts of the town before climbing steeply up to the Saddle of Kerridge to White Nancy, a folly built in 1817 to celebrate victory at the Battle of Waterloo. Two years late, but what the hell, eh?

No pictures of White Nancy – it was too dark.

Dropping off the saddle a bit early (well it WAS dark) I had to walk a couple of hundred yards on tarmac before regaining the correct route. It was 12.45am. Never mind.

The next two miles were a delight, even in the dark. There were good tracks and footpaths, one particular path crossed a lovely meadow. Well I think it was a lovely meadow, the absence of moonlight meant I needed the head-torch more than I wanted which was a shame. I find I can often see so much more walking in the dark without a headtorch, once your eyes adjust to the darkness. A headtorch generates a lot of glare, effectively blotting out much of what you would otherwise see. Note to self: next time I go out on a night-nav trip, bring a compass with luminous bits. I managed without but it was a faff.

My plan was to go to Teggs Nose and drop down to Ridgegate Reservoir to camp. Even with my Alpkit Gamma headtorch, a seriously good bit of kit, it was a no-no. It’s a stony track and I was tired, it was 2am. The chance of tripping on the decent in the dark was just too great. I chose to camp on some lovely flat grass just far enough from the visitor centre.

The tent was up in not a lot of time (thanks again Judith!) and after a wash down (Ask Alan. Or Phil) I covered myself with my sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep.
I got up around 7am and after a coffee I packed and was away by 7.45am. A mountain-biker had stopped to chat as I packed, he was off on a ride from Macclesfield to Buxton and back again – planning to be back home before his wife was out of bed!

Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope from Tegg’s Nose

The air was pleasantly cool but even at that early hour the sun was hot. Dropping down to Ridgegate Rerservoir, I recovered a 4 pint milk container full of water I’d hidden the previous day.  After breakfast and replenishing my 2 litre platy, I drank the rest of the water, dumping the empty container in the Leathers Smithy pub bins.

Tegg’s Nose

The next substantial up of the walk was to Croker Hill and Sutton Common. On a clear day the telecomms tower on the top is visible for miles around, almost as distinctive as the outline of Shutlingloe. It’s a good but hard pull to the top in such hot weather. I didn’t see any other walkers out on this trip. Obviously they weren’t as daft as me.

South of Croker Hill, the route follows Minn Edge Lane, a green lane traversing the length of Bosley Minn. To the west, across the Cheshire Plain, Jodrell Bank white parabolic dish shone brightly in the strong morning sun.  
The Trail leaves Bosley Minn towards it’s south end, but I’ve run around here before and well remember the killer strength nettles. For the sake of a few hundred yards of tarmac I diverted slightly and enjoyed a nettle-free passage. Good eh?

Another climb – this time up Bosley Cloud, another very distinctively-shaped hill. It was now burningly hot, and although I still had plenty of water on board I was finding the going tough. I don’t do heat very well at all, and this was hot, hot, hot. Views from the top were good, Frodsham and Helsby Hill were just visible through the heat haze.

 Mow Cop on the skyline

Congleton was clearly visible to the west, Mow Cop to the south. I was desperate for cool shade. It was now so hot I was beginning to feel unwell. The next stretch of the route followed a stretch of disused railway line….with lots of shady trees. I found a comfortable spot and plonked myself down, planning to sit out this hottest part of the day before continuing.

An hour later it was hotter still and it was clear that I was going to have to wait for some hours for the temperature to drop. By that time I’d have run out of water and food – and still have another 8-9 miles to walk into Kidsgrove.

Executive decision time. I waited another half-hour and set off walking west, into Congleton and it’s railway station. It was the only sensible choice. I wasn’t enjoying the walk now and it was getting harder and harder.
The very excellent Queens Head in Congleton, a very short walk to the railway station, provided a pint of cold water followed by a pint of TT Landlord in very good nick. I’d have stayed longer but I just wanted to get home and have a cool bath. I’ll go back to the Queen’s, it’s a proper pub with a good selection of proper beers and real ciders.

I ended up doing 26-27 miles, all of which was lovely – it was only the extremely hot conditions that buggered it up for me.

I’ll do it again, but only in more appropriate weather. The Gritstone Trail is a cracking route  through some glorious countryside. You should do it.

This is where I went….well up until the bail-out point: