Gritstone Trail: Timbersbrook to Kidsgrove

Monday 1st May 2023

At the start of my final day on the Gritstone Trail I woke to hill fog enveloping the Wild Boar Inn campsite where I had been staying for the weekend. This didn’t seem hopeful for the walk but after packing up I drove away from the campsite and was soon below the level of the clouds as I made my way to the railway station at Kidsgrove. The Gritstone Trail lends itself to being done using trains which almost run alongside the trail and indeed it starts and ends at railway stations. I had caught a train to Disley at the start of the trail and on each stage I was able to walk to a railway station to get back to where I needed to be, and now I caught a train from Kidsgrove to Congleton where I had reached the previous day. A short walk along the Macclesfield Canal and Brookhouse Lane brought me back onto the Gritstone Trail not far from Timbersbrook where the third and final stage of the trail begins. Soon I was on the Biddulph Valley Way, which follows the course of an old railway, and I loved walking through the gorgeous woodland which was filled with birdsong and overflowing with greenery including bluebells and stitchworts that was very soothing and uplifting for me. I couldn’t help contrasting this with my state of mind at the start of the Gritstone Trail when I had felt stressed and overwhelmed, but now the trail had completely restored my mind and spirit.

Eventually I moved away from the Biddulph Valley Way to climb slowly past a campsite and up onto a ridge, finally reaching the top at a dip known as Nick i’ th’ Hill whereupon I proceeded along the wooded ridge with bilberries lining the path until I reached a road. While the sky brightened with the sun briefly trying to break through the clouds, the trail continued along the road on top of the ridge with extensive views west across the Cheshire plain. There were many parking laybys beside the road to afford motorists the opportunity to appreciate the extensive views, but it was distressing for me to see that these were covered in litter despite bins being provided. I picked up loads of the litter and put them in the bins, but I could have been there all day and I would have needed many bins. This was very frustrating, but eventually I tore myself away and finally branched off the road to reach the Old Man of Mow where a tall, rock monolith sat amongst burnt heathland. Quickly, I made my way around the gritstone pillar and up to the trig point that marks the highest point on the hill behind before carefully making my way back down and across to Mow Cop Castle, though it was the millstone grit outcrops that the folly sits on that was of more interest to me and I enjoyed scrambling amongst them. There were extensive views south from the castle, but this only reinforced the knowledge that I was coming to the end of the trail and the high ground that I had been following throughout was no more.

I had enjoyed this walk which had succeeded in lifting my spirits more than anything else could so I was sad for it to end, but now I descended to the Cheshire Plain and picked up the Macclesfield Canal which I followed beside delightful displays of bluebells, briefly coming off to find somewhere to sit and have my lunch. Upon returning to the canal I followed it out to the junction with the Trent & Mersey Canal, which was a dirty brown colour from the iron oxide seeping into the water, mainly from Harecastle Tunnel. The urban surroundings of this canal were much less appealing to me than on the rural Macclesfield Canal, so I felt fortunate to not be following the Trent & Mersey for long and soon I returned to Kidsgrove railway station. This was a relatively short walk, by my standards, having reached the station by 1.30, but I wasn’t bothered by this as it meant that I was able to get home and enjoy the afternoon sunshine. This holiday performed wonders on my mental health after starting the trail feeling anxious, stressed and in a fragile state, but by this last day I was feeling relaxed and carefree. After just three days, the Gritstone Trail had performed a miracle on my mental state. The trail was surprisingly hilly, but I could have easily done it in just two days, though I enjoyed the more relaxed schedule which gave me a chance to relax and obtain the refreshment I needed.

Gritstone Trail: Tegg's Nose to Timbersbrook

Sunday 30th April 2023

At the start of my second day on the Gritstone Trail I returned to Tegg’s Nose Country Park where I had parked on day one and where the second stage begins. I was trying to take advantage of one of the bank holiday Mondays in May to do a long distance trail and I was taking my time because I wasn’t feeling great at the time and hoped this walk would refresh me, but the weather on this day was poor, grey and overcast with a strong, cold wind coming off the hills and rain was forecast. Soon after leaving the car park beside the visitor centre I reached the hilltop known as Tegg’s Nose where formerly quarrying was carried out and some relics of that era have been left behind and information boards revealed how the landscape was previously worked. Now the hill has been taken over by nature and heather, bilberry and gorse decorated the slopes below bare gritstone rock faces. After taking my time wandering around the hill I slowly made my way steeply down the hill past gorse bushes filled with yellow flowers that brightened the hillside under the grey skies to the two reservoirs at the bottom of the hill. The path across the dams brought me to Clarke Lane where a turning up a track led me to a stream where celandines, wood anemones and bluebells decorated a lovely dell that beckoned me towards it so I was frustrated when I discovered that the Gritstone Trail ignores Macclesfield Forest and instead turned south past Greenbarn Farm and Lees House Farm.

The contrast between the sylvan beauty of Bollin Brook with the dull grassy farmland was depressing and the scenery failed to improve except beside the occasional stream where wildflowers distracted me from the monotony, most notably beside Rossendale Brook where newly emerging bluebells raised my spirits. Eventually I began to climb again, up Fox Bank to the top of the Hill of Rossenclowes where I had extensive views west across the Cheshire plain, but it was very hazy and difficult to see anything, so it was to my left where the more interesting views were to be seen, into the Peak District. The ridge continued to climb until I reached the top of Croker Hill where a large radio transmitter dominated the scene and soon after passing that I dropped down the hill to reach the A54 road. My inspiration for doing this trail was the video on YouTube by Abbie Barnes who did the thirty-five mile walk in two days and stopped at this point, camping at the nearby Wild Boar Inn, which was so warmly praised I decided to stay there myself on the two nights either side of this walk. Unfortunately the pub is no longer open but I was still able to camp in the field behind and the facilities were very good. Since I was taking three days on the trail I didn’t stop at this point like Abbie and instead I continued along the trail over the top of Golden Hill on a road that provided me with nothing of interest underfoot and a strong headwind.

Soon it started to rain and would rarely stop until after I’d finished this stage of the trail, which didn’t help with my enjoyment of the walk, however at the bottom of the hill I encountered the tree-filled valley of Shell Brook but I was disappointed at the lack of wildflowers and it didn’t help that the path was very muddy underfoot. The trail took me across the eastern bank above Cartlidge Wood before finally descending into the Dane Valley where Barleigh Ford Bridge took me over the River Dane and up to the course of what at first I took to be an old railway and then an old canal, but is in fact a conduit for feeding the Caldon Canal. The overgrown sides of the conduit provided me with pleasant walking that proved to be so enthralling I missed the turning off and had to retrace my steps when I realised. The path now took me across some fields, a road, an actual disused railway line and along the bottom of the Dane Valley where I went the wrong way again. Generally the Gritstone Trail was very well signposted but it was not so clear at this point as I missed the turning and started to climb out of the valley. When I realised I took advantage of stopping to have my lunch before returning to the bottom of the valley and back along the trail through the thick grass of the meadow beside the river before turning up beside a beautiful little dell that carries Ravensclough Brook.

Many woodland flowers decorated the slopes starting with wild garlic then bluebells and later the white flowers of stitchwort that produced a beautiful scene that was over all too soon as I climbed out of Raven’s Clough. With the rain continuing to pour I climbed a grassy bank that brought me to the prominent hill and National Trust property of the Cloud that was attracting many people despite the weather so I didn’t linger and quickly made my way past the crags that adorn the northern edge of the summit. A good path took me through the heathland and into a wood until eventually I reached a road near the village of Timbersbrook where the second stage of the Gritstone Trail ends, but I stayed on the trail for a short while longer until I reached Brookhouse Lane where I came off to walk down to the Macclesfield Canal which took me to Congleton railway station. However when I got there I was dismayed to discover that the next train was in two and a half hours, but I tried to not let this ruin the walk which I had felt had gone well, despite the weather and some dull scenery, as there had been some enjoyable moments at the top of several hills and at the sight of many woodland flowers. With hindsight I should have parked at Timbersbrook and caught a train back to Macclesfield at the start of the day, so instead I wandered into the centre of Congleton and had a look around the museum.