Saturday 10th October 2015
The Gawsworth Circular - a 7 mile walk through the Cheshire countryside.
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At the start of the walk in Gawsworth |
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Friendly heron on the village lake |
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Lunch break at Bosley Lock |
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Countryside around Gawsworth |
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North Rode Manor House |
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Our friendly heron again
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A ramble around Bakewell - Saturday 11th July 2015
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Now where do we go from here! |
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Close study of the Burdock plant |
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Cutting across a field |
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Countryside and industry |
Nine of our group met on the Rangers Car Park in Bollington to tackle the walk up to White Nancy. We set off across the Recreation Ground and then along the Macclesfield Canal before we turned off to begin the climb up to ridge above Bollington. The first part of the ascent is through paths and lanes which wind gently towards the summit. However, you eventually reach the final leg which is very steep and quite testing after too many hot cross buns at Easter! Ultimately we all made the summit, some more quickly than others, where we stopped to admire the views over three counties and enjoy a cup of coffee.
From here we continued along Kerridge Ridge before turning to begin the descent down the old quarry roads to join the Middlewood Way. A short walk along the old railway returned us to Bollington where we enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Vale Inn. Thanks to Bill & Maureen for leading and organising this walk.
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The path to White Nancy - Bollington in background |
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White Nancy |
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The view towards Manchester |
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White Nancy |
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Quarry on Kerridge Ridge |
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The view over Derbyshire |
Pennington Flash - Saturday 14th March 2015
A ‘Flash’ is a lake formed by the land subsiding into old abandoned coal mines Pennington is the largest flash but there are numerous smaller lakes dotted around the region.
10 of our group assembled in the car park for a circular walk of 5.5 miles around the area which has now become a natural habitat for birds and other wild life as well as a playground for walkers, cyclists and yachtsmen.
The first part of the walk took us along the banks of the flash, via a stop at a bird hide, to join the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. From here we followed the canal past the site of the former Bickershaw Colliery, now a marina, for about one mile before leaving the canal to join a path along a disused mineral railway.
The next section of the walk crossed Lightshaw Meadows, a Nature Reserve, and then we detoured down to Lightshaw Flash to watch the birds and take a short break. From here we returned to Pennington Flash to walk along the banks of the lake and back to the car park.
After the walk we adjourned to the Robin Hood Hotel for a well-earned lunch.
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Assembly point |
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Coot nesting in reeds |
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Pennington Flash from Leeds Liverpool Canal |
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Grebe on Pennington Flash |
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Footpath along Leeds Liverpool Canal |
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Lightshaw Flash |
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Bird watching at Lightshaw Flash |
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Lost again! |
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Pennington Flash
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Chelford Village Walk - Saturday 14th February 2015
On a fine Saturday morning, with sun promised later, 17 walkers assembled at the Egerton Arms in Chelford for the village walk. The first part of the route took us down the main road into the village where we then turned right to pass the livestock market, under the railway and into open fields. After crossing the Knutsford Road we continued through more fields to reach the sand quarry. Here the path crosses directly across the old sandpits and the landscape becomes more of a moonscape with barren wasteland and pools of water left from excavations.