Saturday 29th April 2023
Last spring I thought I’d take advantage of the many bank holidays to go away during one of them and I was inspired by Abbie Barnes of Spend More Time in the Wild to walk the Gritstone Trail, who first did the trail in winter and then after that was unsuccessful returned in the spring with a much better experience. The Gritstone Trail is a thirty-five mile walk through Cheshire along the western edge of the Peak District, which I thought would provide me with an easy three day hike at a time when I was feeling vulnerable. Earlier in April I had abandoned the Dales High Way because I wasn’t feeling well, and because of bad weather, so I really needed to get back out for a walk and this was my chance. To start, I drove to Tegg’s Nose Country Park and walked down the road into the town of Macclesfield where I caught a train to Disley, the starting point of the Gritstone Trail, but almost immediately after getting off the train I fell apart. Firstly, I was anxious because I couldn’t find a toilet and then because I couldn’t find the start of the trail even though it starts at the railway station. Eventually I did find the start of the Gritstone Trail, by the railway station, just not on the side that I had gotten off but by this time I was feeling very stressed and insecure. Nevertheless, before me now was a large noticeboard proclaiming the start of the Gritstone Trail which led me up a flight of steps through glorious woodland decorated with celandines and wild garlic to a lane that brought me out into the countryside.
What I needed right now was some quiet and solitude to help me recover from the stressful situation, but there were too many people around and when confronted with a barking dog I was prompted to put my hands over my ears and try to get away as quickly as possible. I was in a very fragile state and needed to be by myself away from people where I could recover and eventually I thankfully found an area of gorse bushes where I was able to move away from the path, sit down and rest, have something to eat and find myself again. The Gritstone Trail is not very long so I had plenty of time to recover and eventually I set off again soon entering Bollinhurst Wood, whose peaceful surroundings performed wonders on my mental health so that when I entered the National Trust property of Lyme Park my mind was calm and I was able to walk past the crowds without a problem. Ahead of me was a large square sandstone structure known as the Cage that reminded me of Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds, but I avoided it because of the many crowds there and continued along the trail, past Lyme House and the car park before turning to climb up through Knightslow Wood and Park Moor. The views behind me across the Cheshire plain were extensive but it was the views into the Peak District that were more appealing to me. Turning south along a clear lane brought me over Sponds Hill, the highest point on the trail, where a viewfinder promised me that the Berwyns in Wales were visible to the west, but unfortunately not in the hazy sunshine that I had on this walk.
The descent gradually brought me down to a gap with the former mill town of Bollington in the distance and across various streams, firstly Harrop Brook where a stone packhorse bridge crosses the water beside celandines that decorated a scene so beautiful I was prompted to stop and take a moment to take it all in. Slowly, I crossed the gap and climbed the steep hillside opposite to the whitewashed monument known as White Nancy where I had extensive views west, but which lacked the interest, though restricted, that I had east into the Peak District. A narrow ridge across the Saddle of Kerridge brought me to the trig point that marks the top of Kerridge Hill while the Gritstone Trail crossed the lower slopes. The top of Kerridge Hill more than justified the diversion and I enjoyed the path down the other side and back across the side of the hill to pick up the trail and cross another gap in the hills before slowly climbing again through many small meadows whose only wildflowers tragically seemed to be dandelions. Eventually I returned to the car park for Tegg’s Nose Country Park just as it began to rain after a walk that had started very badly for me but soon began the work that I had hoped this walk would perform on my mental health.
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