St Paul's Rambling Group Heaton Moor

A small group of four made the journey to Monsal Dale, close to Bakewell, in warm and sunny weather. The walk was based on the Monsal Dale and Brushfield circuit starting from the lovely vantage point of the Monsal Head Hotel. From there you could look down into the valley some 250 feet below. The view is spectacular over the River Wye. Our walk took us over the Headstone Viaduct and along the Monsal Trail through both the Cressbrook and Litton Tunnels, doing our best to avoid the cyclists! John Ruskin, the writer was critical of the Viaduct when it was built in 1863 as it destroyed the beauty of the Dales. However, time moves on and a preservation order was placed on it in 1970. The curved tunnels were cut through limestone and have a combined length of nearly 1,000 yards (or 914 meters in new money). We spotted an abundance of wild flowers along the Trail; including wild orchids, harebells and Scabious Devils Bit. We then left the Trail and headed up a long, stee...

It was pouring with rain as just four of us left St Paul's Road for the drive to Parkgate. Parkgate is on the Wirral Peninsular in Cheshire and is a curious and quirky place. It used to be an important sea port on the River Dee in the 18th Century. Well known people such as the composer Handel sailed from here to Dublin. However the Dee estuary silted up and the sea retreated a long way out from the 'sea front' but the sea wall remains. We walked north with the silted up reed beds on our left and the Welsh Hills rising above the distant remaining Chanel of the river Dee. We turned East for a short stretch and then South-ish, along tracks, minor roads and bits of the Wirral Way. Part of the route took us over the Neston Golf course and then along it's edge where we enjoyed stunning views of the river channel, and the estuary mouth. We worked our way round to 'The Old Port'. This has sandstone blocks from the original port and provided a good lunch st...

You would not normally associate Worsley, Greater Manchester with the country side  and a place for a ramble but within this suburb of Manchester lies a walk which you would only expect to find much further afield. Starting from the car park adjacent to the motorway the route takes you along the Bridgewater Canal towards Manchester, Then at Monton Green your turn right, at the 'lighthouse' on the left, onto the Roe Green Loop Line. This line originally linked Worsley with Bolton before closure in 1969 It was reopened in 2016 as a cycling and pedestrian route and is now an attractive woodland walk teeming with wildlife. Leaving the Loop Line at Beeson Green a short walk along the road brings you to the entrance to Worsley Woods. Another attractive woodland full of wildlife and native plants. Wood carvings of plants are to be seen along the path and if you look carefully in the locations the wild plants can be found in the undergrowth The path eventually opens out into th...

On a warm sunny Saturday eight of our members set off to walk a 5 mile circular ramble around Disley. Leaving the White Horse Inn we took the path through the church yard to the first part of the walk which was to take to the top of the Bowstones. The path climbs steadily along the edge of the Peak District and although the track is difficult in sections the route is not too demanding. The final leg to the top is on tarmacked road and although the road rises steeply it is only for a short distance and once on the summit we were able to enjoy excellent views across Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. Of course we could not walk up to the Bowstones without stopping to look at these 10th Century Anglican crosses with their interlaced carvings and lettering. After a coffee break we then made the descent down from the ridge and into Lyme Park. The route takes you through woodlands and parkland until eventually you reach the Hall in the centre of the park. From here we set course ...

After a week of extremely wet weather we decided to abandon open fields and instead elected for a canal walk and old railway tracks. Starting from Nelsons Pit at Higher Poynton we joined the Middlewood Way and headed out towards Marple. At Middlewood we then joined the path to the Macclesfield Canal and turned south to walk towards our start point at Higher Poynton. From here we continued along the canal to Wood Lanes Marina where we rejoined the Middlewood Way to return to the start point once again. The distance was about 5/6 miles and the walk took around three hours with a coffee break. Lunch was taken at the Boars Head Pub in Higher Poynton where we enjoyed an excellent home made mince and onion pie. Car Park at Nelson Pit, Higher Poynton Waterfall along the Middlewood Way Canal Towpath - Lyme Park in background http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/leisure,_culture_and_tourism/ranger_service/countryside_sites/nelson_pit_visitor_centre.aspx https://boarsheadpub.c...

The first walk of the 2017 season started from the Pack Horse Inn, Birtle on the lower slopes of the Pennines above Heywood. On a cold wet windy Saturday we set off from the Inn to follow the road north on a long steady climb to the hamlet of Birtle where we then turned to follow the path along the edge of Ashworth Valley. Unfortunately from the top the views over Lancashire were obscured by cloud and mist but the views of the wooded valley with Cheesden Brook running through provided some compensation. We made a detour from the route to visit Nabs Wife the site of the former Tea room and weaving mill known as Kershaws Bridge. The site is now occupied by a private dwelling  although the old mill yard is still evident. From here we continued along the edge of the valley before turning to take the path across fields to return to the start point and a long leisurely lunch in the pub! Further information: http://www.packhorseinnbury.co.uk/about http://heywoodmonkey.blogspot.co....

The Christmas Ramble was held last Saturday in Mobberley. In the morning on a very mild December day  a party of 10 walkers enjoyed a short circular walk around Mobberley finishing at the Railway Inn. Here we were joined by other members of our group, to enjoy an excellent Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings. Thanks to Mike and Judith for organizing both the walk and the lunch. Details of the walk route can be found in Railway Walks in Cheshire at  PDF]Rail Walks - Cheshire East Council At the start The train now standing.......is holding us up! We think this is Rudolph......but no red nose Two headed Rudolph St Wilfred's Mobberley Wellies essential on this part of the route. Christmas lunch in the Railway Inn