St Paul's Rambling Group Heaton Moor

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...

Vernon Park - The Lily Pond Our original intention to do a round trip along the River Goyt from Vernon Park in Stockport was thwarted by a land slip that closed part of our path. Luckily we had reconnoitred the walk during the week and decided on a different route. Our small group set out from the Vernon Park car park and aimed to reach the Goyt beyond the land slip by heading through Vernon to the adjacent Woodbank Memorial Park. The River Goyt joins the River Tame at Stockport to form the River Mersey. Vernon Park was known as Pinch Belly Park in the 1860’s because of the hungry, unemployed mill workers who were employed to work in the park. Although previously neglected, a grant of £1.6m was awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2000 which has supported the wonderful restoration work. Look out especially for the drinking fountain, the lily pond and the bandstand. We found a downhill path just beyond the museum and café in the park. It is worth noting that the ...

A lovely walk, but the blustery wind and the rain ever present in the air did its best to put us off. However the intrepid walkers from St Paul’s donned boots, rain jackets scarves and hats and set off from the car park near the museum. In the event, the solid downpours on the Manchester side of the Pennines left us alone. Eyam is often referred to as the Plague Village. During the 17th century the villagers isolated themselves from the outside world as they were decimated by the dreadful disease that killed off whole families in quick succession. We saw the evidence of this as soon as we began to walk through the village as too many of the 17th century cottages have plaques listing the names of those who had died. The walk took us out to the east of the village up a steep quiet road until we reached more open country. We were rewarded with wonderful views but also with the bleakness and isolation of the Riley Graves. As we began our descent to the River Derwent we could see C...

The first question about our May walk was “what is a Diggle?”. The name comes from the Saxon word “degle” meaning valley. The original hamlets housed farm workers and loom operatives. We passed many of gritstone buildings with their distinctive mullioned windows. These were designed to support bigger windows to admit more light for the workers inside. The walk covered 4.5 miles in mainly dry and fair weather. Our group of eight set out from the public car park in Uppermill and climbed up towards the Pennine Bridleway National Trail, flanking the Saddleworth moors. We headed towards the Diggle Hotel pub which was unfortunately closed. This did not stop us from having a short refreshment break there on the outward journey and from using the garden benches for our lunch break on the return leg! We dropped back to join the Huddersfield Narrow Canal where horses were routinely used to pull pull the barges. However, a canal tunnel was necessary to pass beneath the hills. Here the...

A party of eleven of us set off from the Shireburn Arms, Hurst Green to explore the Tolkien Trail in the Ribble Valley. The first leg of the walk takes you across fields from which you have fine views of Pendle Hill and the surrounding countryside. Eventually we reached Stonyhurst College the Jesuit School with it's fine Grade 1 listed buildings. From here we made the descent into the Ribble Valley passing Cromwell's Bridge over the River Hodder and named after him when he marched his army across on the way to Walton-le-Dale to fight the Battle of Preston in 1648. The route then leaves the river and follows farm tracks to reach the River Ribble at the junction of the two rivers. The path continues along the banks of the Ribble undulating through the beautiful Lancashire countryside. On the way you pass the Jumbles where the river tumbles across the limestone ridge and the mysterious stone cross on the adjacent hillside, Finally you reach the graceful aqueduct which arches...