Saturday 10 November 5 miles
Hilary, Carol, Tracey and Jane
The weather was supposed to be ok, possibly sunshine and showers. The previous day had been grey and windy and the evening very windy and rainy, so we were not sure what weather we were going to experience, Hilary had checked the forecast and said that rain was only due in the afternoon.
We left the car by the pub. Beautiful autumn colours along Cherry Lane
Saw a horse with a coat on, the coat had foxes on it.
Walked along the Trent and Mersey Canal passing the locks there were also black and white cows in the field on our right. Then we crossed the canal at bridge 137 and went over the stile, there were cows in this field too, we went down to the bridge where the water was moving quite fast.
We went up the rise in the land across to the corner of as field, and then went through the woods and over the bridge. In spring this wood is full of bluebells but at this time of year we were admiring the colours of the colours of the trees.
As we crossed the fields there was a glow of yellow, as we got nearer we saw that the yellow was rapeseed plants that had self seeded amongst the grass. Then we joined a lane called Lunts Moss walking away from the farm and following the lane until we reached Church Lane.
We crossed Church Lane to walk on the pavement, we passed the entrance to Rode Hall and the parish Church of All Saints of Odd Rode. There is quite a long stretch of road which becomes Poolside after the bend as it passes alongside Rode Pool. There were quite a lot of cars along this road. Having reached the A50 we crossed the road to go along Chapel Lane. There were a couple of people with a dog and the younger woman was kicking up the leaves and the dog was jumping up as though he was trying to catch them. The dog wanted to continue playing with the leaves and not continue on the walk. We passed Rhema Mission Church - the chapel that gives the road it's name.
We were back at the Broughton Arms once we had crossed the road and walked on a bit. We hadn't had lunch and we were not too far from the car. Fortunately the were some benches in the field by the canal so we had the luxury of sitting at a table for our lunch. Of course that was when the rain started and a bit of a breeze, and it was only about quarter past twelve. We were feeling a bit cold by the time we finished our lunch and chat, so it was good to get on the move. As we went towards the path we needed to take there were a group of people with dogs in the way, they let us through, many of them were wearing t-shirts that showed the were supporting 'Children with Cancer', presumably raising money by doing a dog walk.
For this last part of the walk we returned the way we had come going down Cherry Lane again and the sun came out for a moment making it feel warmer. It was not long before we reached the car, and it was time to decide where to have tea and cake. We thought Sandbach would provide us with some possibilities, like The Cafe on the Square. The town was busy as there was a Maker's Market. We managed to park in the main car park when people moved on. We didn't end up at the Cafe on the Square as we thought it might be too busy, so we went to the Peppers Coffee Lounge across the road from the car park. Then it was tea with Victoria sponge, coffee and walnut cake, chocolate and orange cake and a toasted teacake, and a chat.
