St Paul's Rambling Group Heaton Moor

Eccles Pike via the Roosdyche A group of seven, plus a lively Jack Russell, set off from Bugsworth Basin. We headed uphill from Buxworth across fields with very muddy patches, which nearly swallowed one of the party. Then we walked along the outer bank of the mysterious Roosdyche (Roman chariot track, Iron Age fortification, or glacial meltwater channel?). This gave us wide views over Whaley Bridge and the empty Toddbrook Reservoir.  From there we headed up the road past Ollerenshaw Hall to Eccles Pike. Some of the party made the final ascent to the top of the Pike which offers a panoramic view of Chinley Churn, Whaley Moor and Combs Edge. Getting down from it involved a “black run” of tussock grass. The rest of the group took the gentler route round the shoulder of the Pike. We regrouped and followed the long traverse back down to Buxworth, over several styles which the dog found very exciting. Finally we crossed back over the A6 to the Navigation Inn and a traditional pi...

Marple Circular Lime Kilns Marple visited on this walk All set to go Our group of walkers set out on the 4.5 mile walk around the Marple area on the day before storm Ciara hit. The walk started and ended at the Crown inn at Hawk Green, SK6 7HU. We walked up to The Ridge Methodist Church, in use for over 170 years, which afforded an excellent view of the countryside towards Stockport. We dropped down to the Peak Forest Canal which runs from Whaley Bridge. The Canal was under construction from 1794 to 1805. This canal is joined by the Macclesfield Canal at Marple. The Canal was primarily built to transport bulk manufactured goods and raw materials. Of particular note was the limestone brought from the quarries in Dove Holes in the Peak District. Our walk along the canal past some of the 16 locks which form the Marple Flight of Locks. The locks have one of the steepest rises in Britain, 209 feet over a distance of 1 mile. The route took us to the nearby remains of ...

Our group set off for the walk near the Errwood Reservoir on a morning that had threatened rain which, fortunately, didn’t arrive. The starting point was at the Errwood Hall car park, adjacent to the reservoir. We made our way, with a slight detour to the remains of Errwood Hall (built in 1840 and demolished in 1934) for some of the party, following a path towards the “Riverside Path” which descends towards the River Goyt. The term “river” does not really describe what is in effect a stream at this point. We continued until we reached a series of steps which led up to a road. A word of caution concerning the steps; the rise is steep and some of them are difficult to climb because of the height of individual steps. The road we reached runs from the Errwood Reservoir towards Derbyshire Bridge. Following the road we passed by the disused loading bays for stone from the Goytsclough Quarry reaching the rise above the Packhorse Bridge. The bridge got its name from the packhorses used to tran...

Not so much 'Three Men in a Boat' as 'Three Women and a Dog' who strode out from the Crown at Hawk Green up to the Ridge where we took in the view from the quaint little Methodist Chapel, which has been modernised and is still in use. From here a steep walk down to the canal meets one of the most picturesque parts of our walk, Our first stop was Samuel Oldknow's Lime Kilns just away from the canal past some lovely gardens, where we learned quite a bit about the living conditions and the pros and cons of industrialisation. Minutes later and we were strolling around Marple Park where the skate park was being well used as we enjoyed surrounding glorious views in the sunshine. Back along the canal we were just in time to see the last leg of the British Cycle Tour as they flew down Brabyn's Bow. Past some allotments and Marple Cricket Club, where we witnessed a match in full whites, and we were on the Middlewood Way before turning onto the Cown Edge Way and...

This walk came about during a discussion over coffee after Church probably two Sundays ago and was a bit of a corporate effort. Nothing was planned until some one mentioned Styal Mill and possibilities of lunch at the Ship Inn. One person had a much walked route embedded in her boots! This route also allowed the opportunity to cut back through the beautiful gardens if the prospect of the few short but sharp inclines was too much. Firstly we had coffee in the Mill restaurant before ten of us set off from the old Mill Yard (featured in ‘The Mill’ TV series). We went up the hill from the Mill towards the Apprentice House but turned left along the track that skirts the outer edges of land round the original home of the Gregg family. This used to be a muddy path but in the last few years the National Trust has upgraded many of the paths on the estate, making them accessible to more visitors, including wheelchair users and children’s buggies.  We dropped down to the River B...