Bollington

Saturday 28 March 5.5 miles
Jane, Donna and Hilary

We parked at the Adlington Road car park in Bollington.The rain was pouring down as we arrived so we sat in the car for a while.We put on our waterproof trousers. Ed the Ranger was about so we had a chat with him.

The Recreation ground is opposite, we walked along the path by the River Dean and then up the steps to the road. At first we couldn't see the hole in the wall but then we noticed it and climbed the steep steps on to the canal side.

The canal was closed so we had to make a detour, there was a little map but it was hard to take on the details so we made up our own route. We joined the Middlewood Way and walked along until we reached a road bridge then went back on the canal to the bridge we should have come off at.

We soon got too hot and took off the extra trouser layer layer, also had a sandwich standing in someone's drive entrance!.

White Nancy painted with a poppy in 2014 to commemorate the start of the WW1. From Kerridge Ridge there were good views across Jodrell Bank to Beeston Castle, Frodsham hill was visible, and we could see right across Manchester to Winter Hill. Then we walked along the ridge a short way and then started heading down.

In coming down the steps of 'Rally Road' you drop quite a distance. We had our lunch sitting on a bench by Kerridge War Memorial.

We crossed the road and some fields and soon came back to the road we had walked on earlier and joined the Middlewood Way to go back to the car park. Crossed the road and found the Bollington labyrinth a sculpture designed by Jeff Teasdale and Lorna Green in 2009. I followed the path through the labyrinth. 

The Middlewood Way follows the line of the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway which closed in 1970. We crossed the 23-arch sandstone viaduct that spans the River Dean. We looked down on to a new housing estate that is nestled in the bend of the River Dean and wondered how often the river flooded for the only way for the river to go is into the houses as there is a steep bank on the other side of the river. The houses cost over £280,000 for a 3 bed semi.

We crossed the viaduct and then walked down the hill to the car park.
 
At the Silk Museum in Macclesfield we had a look at the Ten Plus Textiles Exhibition and had a cup of tea and cake/granola bar.