Marbury Park and the Canal

Saturday 9 December 5 miles

Jane, Tracey, Donna and Hilary

Rain was forecast so I decided that the fields would be too wet after the rain we have had, so I thought somewhere with paths would be useful. Marbury Park came to mind. I checked on the map for a route and came up with one that would be about 5 miles.

It was drizzling a bit so we decided to put on our waterproof trousers. Some of us had a lot of layers on because the forecast was for a cool wind.

From the carpark we walked along the Old Warrington Road, there were plenty of people about as there had been a Park Run, a few people were just finishing the run and some people were walking back to the start. 

On crossing Canal Bridge no.196 on the Trent and Mersey Canal we saw a large bird sitting in a tree and we thought it might be a buzzard.

There were some puddles right across the road, it was difficult to walk around.

Two ladies with a horse came towards us.

As we got to the end of the old road there were cars coming in to use the car park. Then we joined Marbury Road so we could pass the sculpture of The Marbury Lady, this sculpture is carved from a tree that died due to salt poisoning. The sculpture is inspired by a ghost story associated with the former Marbury Estate. People in the area frequently claim to have seen this ghost, as she haunts the park.

Shortly after the sculpture we went back into the park passed the nursuries and onto the paths again and the wintery sun came out. As the wind and rain didn't materialise Donna got too hot and took off the extra trousers and a jumper.

As we walked down towards the lake the squirrels were racing through the trees. We reached Budworth Mere and could see the tower of Great Budworth church across the water.

We crossed over on the canal footbridge Where I took off one of my fleeces. We walked along the track back to Canal Bridge 196 this time going underneath it and continued on the towpath. The rain started again so Donna put her trousers back on.

Lunch was eaten a bit early near the Anderton Boat Lift car park where there were picnic tables. It was a bit cold sitting there, even though the weak sunshine came out again there was a cool breeze.

Plenty of dog walkers, we seemed to be the only people without dogs! 

We walked back down through the Anderton Nature Park crossed the Witton Brook via the footbridge and followed the paths around behind the household waste site and back to the car park.

On the way home we visited Riverside Organic drinks and cake. We had hot chocolate and tea with almond slice, chocolate brownie and a tea cake.

Donna's walk

Saturday 11 November

Donna, Tracey and Hilary

Petty Pool Woods and the Whitegate Way

Saturday 14 October 4.5 miles

Jane and Hilary

Parked on Kennel Lane.

We walked across to Daleford Lane on the first path we came to and then crossed another field and came to Cockpit Lane. The instructions then didn't make sense. A gentleman was passing us with a dog and stopped to chat, and we realised we weren't by the Joshua Tree yet, and that we had followed the wrong path initially.

We walked down to the Joshua Tree and found the right path, we entered the woods and followed the path down some wooden steps and then went over the stream. We decided to take the detour to look at the lake but we found it a bit disappointing as we couldn't see the lake very well. We returned along the path.

We crossed Daleford Lane again warching out for traffic, and joined the Whitegate Way, We walked passed the Scout Camp which was being used. We turned back onto Kennel Lane and continued back to the car. There was a light shower of rain but as we were under the trees we didn't get wet.

Tabley Estate and Holford Moss

Saturday 2 September 6.2 miles

Tracey, Jane and Hilary

We parked at the Smoker, and had a debate as to how many layers we needed! As it seemed to be warm we took just one extra layer. The clear blue sky and the forecast was for a good day.

From the Smoker we turned onto Plumley Moor Road amd a little further along the road we turned left onto Whitehouse Lane. Here there was a man trying to get a car and trailer out of his drive, as the lane was quite narrow it was taking a few goes. In the end he told us to go through as it was going to take a while and no one likes an audience! There was a farm at the end of the lane so we had to walk through it. An old dog came to have a sniff and the lady of the house said hello. Hilary noticed a guard dog sign that had been tucked away behind a drain pipe, certainly the dog we had seen was no guard dog.

Beyond the farm we crossed a stream and followed the edge of Royd Wood onto Sudlow Lane. We crossed a stream and then turned off the lane to head towards the railway line, we didn't cross it here. We followed the railway a short distance crossing a few stiles, we crossed one stile into a filed with black and brown cows that looked very pretty in the sunshine. We carried on talking not paying much attention to the cows, and then realised that they were following us. They caught up to us as we were supposed to cross another stile, but we weren't able to get to it before the cows had crowded in so we had to climb over the gate.

Then we headed to Plumley village. We crossed a footbridge over the ditch, and followed a path between garden fences.We turned right onto the main road towards Plumley Methodist Church, then left into Trouthall Lane. There were quite few people out and about around in the village chatting and walking their dogs.

When the lane bend to the left we took the no-through road.  We crossed a stream (Peover Eye) and turned right at the footpath sign and over a stile into a track by a large wooden gate in a high wall.There was a man breaking up stuff in a skip, it sounded like he was breaking glass. We continued along the path and across some fields where we came to a bridge that crossed the railway line.

We then followed the path doing a left and right to keep ahead, and stepped over an old cattle grid. We continued to a gate and passed to the left of a house. There was a lot of barking as we passed the gate. At the end of the garden wall we looked back at the dogs and could see three different kinds, they stayed on the gravel to start with and then ran onto the grass. We turned right at a footpath and went over a stile into birch woodland. This was Holford Moss and we saw lots of fungi in the woods along the path. It was quite humid under the trees.

Coming out of the woods we followed the field edge to a stile, and continued along the hedge passing a car park and office building for the Holford Brine Field. We decided to have our lunch here on  the grass verge there was on old pipe with concrete on it so we sat on that and had our lunch. (11.50am - just a bit early!). As we were sitting there we could see men in yellow hi-vis jackets and cars turning.

We followed the driveway to a crossroads where there was a field with cars in it. Hilary asked one of the men what was going on, he said there was a funeral, they were going to have a service in the marquee and then the family were going to go to walk the Crematorium at Lach Dennis. In the marquee in the field across the road we could see one section had covered tables and there were also rows of chairs.

We turned right on Moss Lane walking passed Langford Farm, we could see a group of men behind a shed for Country Kitchen and once we had passed a small tractor with a trailer came out with the coffin on the back and the men followed, and at the crossroads they turned towards the marquee.

There were swallows flying around and landing on the cables across the road and the birds sweeping around the farm buildings as well.

There was a strange dead hedge along one side of the road, it had recently been cut back. It was hard to decide what had happened to the hedge and the trees. As they was dead perhaps they had been poisoned, the other idea was that fire had caused the problem especially as some of the grass was grey coloured.

Then we passed Hame Farm on the right, and continued along the track through the trees until we reached the railway. Then we turned left and after a little way we turned right through a metal gate and crossed the railway line with care. We followed the track with woodland on our right and we could see the black-and-white Holford Hall in the distance.

We came out onto a lane and had to watch for cars, we crossed a bridge over the Peover Eye and headed up the road. We could hear lots of voices ahead, coming from a building on the left. This turned out to be The Mill and there were quite a few cars outside so we wondered what was going on. When we got to the A556 there was a sign saying 'Wedding Venue' so we had our answer.

We crossed the A556 and walked along the pavement, passing the old car wash place that now has car sales,to the traffic lights and then crossed back across to The Smoker.

Plumleys Garden Centre for tea and cake (coffee and walnut, fruit tart and blueberry blondie).

Goostrey

Sunday 11 June 4.5 miles

Carol, Hilary, Tracey, Jane and Donna

A very hot day.

We parked at The Crown pub, put on our boots and went left out of the carpark towards the church. As we walked passed the road to the school there was a sign for an art exhibition.

We turned left down Church Bank and crossed the stream at the bottom of the hill. Then we turned left into a driveway with a footpath sign to ‘The Bongs’ and Mill Lane. We passed to the right of the house,It always seems strange walking so close to someone's house. Then we followed a path dropping into the woodland and across a footbridge, along the wooded valley   to joined Mill Lane near a bridge over the stream.  

Turning right we followed the road as it wound left pased Barnshaw Bank Farm. After 500 metres passed Meadow Bank Farm, then bear right at the end of the drive to Winterbottom Farm. 

We turned left, off the track into the woods and on a footpath signposted to Galey Wood and Appleton’s Lane. We crossed a footbridge between ponds. At the end of the wood, we crossed another footbridge into a field and then into Galey Wood.. At a junction of paths, we turned left past a pond, signposted to Appleton’s Lane and Peover Superior.

The path had a few kissing gates and continued along the edge of a couple of fields before descended to a footbridge and then we climbed the far bank to meet Appleton’s Lane. We turned right along a path, it was signposted to Jodrell Bank. This hedged way led to a road after a little under half a mile. We turned right here, and kept right at the junction with Red Lane.

After half a mile, we turned left into Cross Lane. At a crossroads we went straight ahead, then turned right at the triangular,junction. We took a left at Blackden Firs, past semi-detached houses, and kept right at the fork at the entrance to Yew Tree Farm. We descended to cross a stream and we continued along the track.

Then we followed the path to Blackden Hall Farm, and turned right between brick barns  to emerge in front of a half-timbered farmhouse. We headed left of the house to the driveway and then to Dark Valley Dingle, before continuing to the road on the outskirts of Goostrey. We turned right past the Red Lion pub and passed between Church Cottages and the church to return to the Crown. 

We were pleased to get our boots off and then we went to see the art exhibition,

Bidlea for icecream - 2 blackcurrant and liquorice, 2 honeycomb and 1 sour cherry. Fortunately we had finished our icecreams when there were spots of rain.

Redesmere

Sunday 28 May 6 miles

Hilary, Donna, Tracey and Jane

We started from the car park on Redesmere Road, when we had put on our boots we walked to the A34 turned left and turned left on the B5392. we crossed the road and walked up the driveway to Siddington Church, there was a service going on so we didn't go inside. (2021 marked the 500th Anniversary of the consecration of the church!)

We continued on down a path from the porch, and looked at some of the newer graves, and then went through a gate into a field. Crossing a few fields we came to Northwood Farm. Take the stile just before the farm gate, skirt the farm and turn left along a farm track, in following the track we ended up at a hedge near the road but managed to find our way to Marton Lane.

At a gate we turned left on a road to Crabtree Moss Farm. The farmhouse had a flag pole with a Ukrainian flag, and a large glass structure that looked as if it joined two older buildings together. At the back of the farm buildings we took the path and then turned right to follow a track through the trees to Henshaw Hall Farm. Then continued on to Henshaw Lane. Where we met the B5393 we crossed to join the lane opposite. As the lane had a lovely grass verge we decided to have lunch even though it was only 11.52am. It was a sunny spot by some rhododendrons, where we could hear the bees buzzing from flower to flower.

We continued up the track passed some lovely houses with gorgeous gardens. At one of the houses there were builders putting in some lovely stone walls finishing off the look of the house which had probably been done up inside as well. There are some very nice houses in this part of Cheshire. We joined Fanshawe Lane, and walked along the road until we came to a farm where we turned onto a footpath. The footpath led to a track and we passed some horse chestnut trees, one of them must have been very old as its branches were twisted some parts had died and were on the ground.

The track led us to the A34 where we turned left. After walking through the quiet of the countryside the road seemed extra busy and noisy, fortunately we only had to go along it for a short distance. We walked around the side of Redesmere passing the entrance to the sailing club and then went through the woods and back to the parking place.

For tea and cake Hilary took us to Rowley House in Kermincham which was having an NGS open garden day. We had tea and a lemon drizzle cake and three coffee and walnut cakes.

Then we had a wander afound the garden looking for the trees in the guide which Tim Foden had planted back in the 70s and 80s. There was a beautiful horse that Hilary stroked.

Wedgwood's Monument

Sunday 30 April 6 miles

Jane, Tracey, Donna and Hilary 

Was the day going to be warm or cold? Well it was coolish with a bit of rain and wind especially in exposed places.

Having parked in Hall Street in Audley, we walked to the end of the road and then went down some steps along a few paths and we were soon into the countryside.

We climbed up the steps and walked along the former railway,

rough grass, trees, listened to the bird song. Tracey had a bird song app on her phone so she was able to identify the songs, there were blackbirds, bluetits, robins and chaffinches. 

As we walked towards the bigger ponds I could see cars and wondered why they were there as a carpark was not marked on the map, when we got closer I could there were men fishing.

There were sheep in the fields, a lamb was trying to get back to its mother but we were walking between them as the mother was through a gate in another field and the young one was in the field where we were. It made a sudden dash for its mother before we reached the gate

As we got closer to the monument the wind got stronger, we managed to find a little shelter on one side of Wedgwood's Monument and had our lunch. There were swifts flyng about the monument we could hear them but could not see them except occasionally.

Wedgwood's Monument - This now-truncated obelisk on Bignall Hill in north Staffordshire commemorates John Wedgwood a prominent local mine owner (1760-1839), whose will includes the sentence: "I desire my body to be interred within my estate at Bignall End in a vaulted tombe at the summit of a certain field called Old Hill…..and my excetors do cause an obelisk or monument to be erected." and that he should be buried underneath it. This latter request was rejected, and he is interred in Audley churchyard. The Monument was heavily damaged in a violent storm in January 1976 and is now much reduced in height, although the base is still substantial. The monument is a Grade II listed building.

There are 360 degree views all around the monument but with the cloud we could not see too far, but we coud see the rain clouds gathering over Mow Cop. As we were deciding to go after having our lunch the rain started. I thought we might get very wet but it didn't rain too hard. The rain continued as we walked on.

Donna and Hilary held up by a lady with a dog. 

There were quite a lot of stiles around the whole walk so some of us thought there might be aches and pains tomorrow from climbing over all those stiles.

There was beautiful pink blossom (like pompoms) on the trees especially the ones we passed under on Old Road.

We walked across New Road to go into the Wildlife Area. We went around the pond and back up the slope to the car.

We then drove to the Apedale Cafe but they didn't have cake! So Hilary found a cafe online so we went to the Courtyard Cafe at Hall Farm and had some lovely tea/coffee and cake (chocolate flapjack, lemon cake and raspberry and coconut slice) and a hot chocolate.

 

Pickmere Radio Telescope

 Saturday 25 March 6.3miles

Tracey and Jane

The forcast was for rain but fortunately we just had a couple of quick showers and lots of sunshine!

We parked at The Smoker, crossed the road and went up towards Smoker Hill Cottage and joined a track heading towards the radio telescope.

We walked past the Pickmere Radio Telescope, standing proud, and a bit incongruous in farmland close to the busy A556. There is a link with Jodrell Bank, Pickmere’s telescope is one of seven in the nationwide MERLIN (Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network) array of radio telescopes, for which Jodrell Bank is the hub. We continued past Providence Farm and onto Milley Lane.

As we came to Frog Lane there was a house for sale and when I looked it up it was for sale £600K.

At a junction, with a large pond to we turned left, going along Park Lane. After a short while, turned right into Mere Lane, walking down to Jacob’s Way, where a right turn brought us down to the lake.  

Pickmere looked pretty in the sunshine. There were people in the lake swimming when we arrived, they did have wet suits on. We walked around the lake it was a bit muddy in places. Tracey dropped her neck scarf and we decided to go back to look for it, fortunately a man who had recently passed us was returning with it so we didn't have to go very far. 

The lake had waves lapping at the edges as we returned to the beginning but there was still a guy with a sailboard ready to go out on the lake, I suppose the breeze was good for him.

We walked back up Mere Lane and joined Park Lane following the road, passing the Red Lion to join Spinks Lane

We were getting near to the walk and we hadn't had our lunch, so we sat by the edge of a field before we headed down the road. We emerged onto Linnards Lane, going left. We crossed Smoker Brook and came up to the A556.There we went left and returned to The Smoker.

Plumley Garden Centre - tea + bakewell, coffee + coffee and walnut cake.

Year Seventeen Summary

Walk 1: April 9 2022 Barton, Coddington, Clutton and Stretton 5 miles Carol, Donna, Jane and Hilary

Walk 2: April 30 2022 The River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal 4.5miles Donna, Jane and Hilary

Walk 3: June 4 2022 Whitegate Way, Petty Pool woods and Sandiway Sandpit 6miles Tracey, Jane and Donna

Walk 4: July 2 2022 Middlewich to Aqueduct Marina 7 miles Jane and Hilary

Walk 5: July 30 2022 Lymm and the Dam 5.5 miles Jane and Tracey

Walk 6: Aug 27 2022 Shropshire Union Canal from Barbridge 9 miles Donna, Tracey, Jane and Hilary

Walk 7: Sept 24 2022 Warmingham and Sandbach Flashes 6miles Hilary, Donna, and Tracey

Walk 8: Oct 22 2022 Goostrey Carol, Hilary, Donna, and Tracey

Walk 9: Nov 19 2022 Two Canals Jane, Donna and Hilary

Walk 10: Jan 14 2023 Dunham Park and the Bridgewater Canal 6 miles Hilary and Jane

Walk 11: Feb 12 2023 Middlewich and Planning 4 Miles Hilary, Tracey, Jane and Carol

Middlewich Canal Walk + Planning

Sunday 12 Feb 4 miles

Hilary, Tracey, Jane and Carol

Mill lane and crossed the River Wheelock.

Cows on the track

Coalpit Lane and onto the Canal - Little robin

The Big Lock for bacon butties with tea + coffee.

Chatted and did the planning

Dunham Park and the Bridgewater Canal

Saturday 14 January 2023 6 miles + Dunham Massey Garden

Hilary and Jane 

The forecast was for some wet weather, and as it had been raining all week I tried to choose a walk that might have proper paths under foot. It was raining as we left and as we arrived at the car park, we sat in the car for a few moments and then decided we had better get on with the walk.

We joined the Trans-Pennine Trail from the car park. The path was amongst trees in some places and at other times open to the cold wind coming across the fields. In one place there were lots of small birds swooping around. Against the pale grey grey sky it was hard to tell what they were.

We continued along the path to Station Road, then followed the road passed The Rope and Anchor pub - the name seemed a bit incongruous as we were in the middle of the countryside on the edge of Altrincham. At the bend we turned down Meadow Lane where there was a large empty house, it seemed a shame that no one was living in it. Ivy had once been growing inside the house as we could see the old brown ivy still on the inside of the window.

We walked to the bridge over the River Bollin, the river was running fast but had not come to the top of the banks, The fields were flooded and we were not sure we would be able to find the path, so decided we had better go back to the road. We went along the road to the entrance to Dunham Massey.

On entering the visitor building we decided to use their facilities and when we came out we sat on a bench in the corridor. It seemed like a good time to have our lunch so we ate it indoors! We then continued on our route throuh the park.

As we were passing the garden at Dunham Massey we dicided to have a little walk around. It was still very much a winter scene. We were lucky that there was some blue sky, the colours of the stems and trunks looked good in the spring light, particularly the white trunks of the birch. The snowdrops and the winter aconite were beginning to come through, and we saw the lovely yellow flower of the witch hazel.

We sat on the bench under the wooden pergola made from tree trunks, there were lots of birds flying about in the sunshine. We walked to the rose garden were we saw the bare structure of the place and looked at the kitchen garden.

Continuing our walk we weren't sure if we would see any deer but we were hoping to, a family of mum and two boys were looking for them as well and they had been told that there were some deer further on along the path. So we did see some from a distance in the end.

We climbed the steps to leave the parkland, and walked along the road following the wall, we crossed some fields and walked along School Lane to join the Bridgewater Canal. It was very muddy with lots of puddles to start with, and at the end it was solid surface so easy to walk on. We came back to Seamon's Road and to the car park.

Thinking about places to stop we remembered Plumley's Garden Centre where we had hot chocolate and tea.