Sandbach Flashes and the River Wheelock

Saturday 17 February 6 miles

Tracey, Jane and Hilary

There had been a lot of rain this week so it was difficult to decide on a walk. We started at the Bear's Paw in Warmingham, walked up School Lane to Crabmill Lane and then crossed the stile into the fields. We followed the path to a t-junction and turned left following a yellow arrow. After we had gone a short way we realised this must be the wrong way so we returned and saw that we should have turned right and then continued on our way.

We came to Green Lane and followed it to the flashes and then turned right across the fields, diagonally across one field, eventually coming down some steps onto Plant Lane. As we started to walk down the lane we met a young girl on a pony with her mum, Hilary gave the pony a stroke. The lady told us that it was very wet through the wood so we decided to take the alternative route along the road.

There were 'road closed' signs once we had passed the bungalows on Plant Lane, so we wondered if it would affect us, but we continued along the road. We did see a car drive down the road but it returned in a few minutes so there was definitely a road closure. When we got to the end of Plant Lane there were some vans and they seemed to clearing away the road closure stuff but we couldn't see why the road had been closed. 

At the canal bridge we joined the towpath, walking to the next bridge whrer we decided to cut the route down a bit so we continued along Hall Lane. We walked to the crossroads and decided go to the Sandbach Flashes. On Clay Lane the rain did start a little and I thought we might can wet, but it ended up being just a bit of drizzle. At the flashes Hilary had thought there might be a bench as it is a birdwatching place but there wasn't. There were quite a few people around and a few cars parked up. We sat on the grassy old bridge over the River Wheelock and had our lunch. We had a chat to a couple of birdwatchers.

We walked back up Clay Lane and crossed into Crabmill Lane, we decided to give the riverside walk a miss as we thought it would be too wet. Just a short way up the lane we came to a flooded bit of road! We managed to keep along the hedge, which fortunately had been cut recently so we were able to hold onto the branches and step along the verge. When cars went through the water it created waves which came over our boots, but it wasn't too deep at the edge. A cyclist turned back once he saw the amount of water.

We followed Crabmill Lane Until we found the path across the fields leading to School Lane and the Bear's Paw again.

Then we went to Hopley House and had tea and cake.