Outdoor Discoveries

There was an easier way home…

During a weekend of two hikes, and with one occupying me for the whole day, anyone would think that an easier day after all that exertion would have made sense. That, in fact, was the plan. Walking back to Macclesfield from Congleton via The Cloud should have traipsed through Cheshire farmland and through North Rode and Gawsworth, shadowing previous walks and cycles in the area. The sunshine was not there to be wasted anyway. However, temptation got the better of me and a more hilly diversion ensued.

Before all that, there was the matter of getting to Congleton first. Pandemic bus service reductions (this was July 2020) meant that bus travel was not an option. Handily, there were occasional local train services that Sunday, and I caught the first of those. This was the first time that I had travelled by train since the onset of the pandemic and, if there was any apprehension about this, it would have been dispelled by my having an entire carriage to myself. Passengers were fewer in those days.

Much like Kidsgrove further south, Congleton also has a train station beside the Macclesfield Canal. By going by train there, I also had saved myself an uphill schlep from its town centre. The photos above show an unpeopled canal towpath, but that is not how I remember it. Disquiet about the pandemic had me recording that it was a little busier than I might have liked. The weather was such that others were lured out for walking, jogging and cycling; the temptation was not mine alone.

Leaving the canal might have brought me onto quieter paths, but I was never without sharing the space with others at times. Nevertheless, there were an ample number of occasions when solitude could work its magic. All the while, I was bound for The Cloud. A stretch of level field crossing was replaced by an ascent that tested wearied limbs. That the summit was occupied should have been no surprise to me. The sunshine and preceding restrictions would have led to that outcome. Everyone needed a break after the weeks of lockdown, and this was one location where that could happen.

Quite what turned me from my original plan is somewhat lost to me. The quality of the day’s weather surely must have had something to do with it, as would my sensing any extra strength in my legs. There also was my having more company than I felt comfortable having in those times. Taking to the Gritstone Trail quickly alleviated the latter.

Any quietness that there was along the Gritstone Trail between The Cloud and the A523 really mattered near Cloudwood End Farm and Raven’s Clough, where the trail narrowed to a shaded single track path. Beyond that, everything broadened as fields were crossed beside the River Dane. By this stage, my course was shared by the Dane Valley Way and the Staffordshire Way. Sometimes, long-distance trails overlap each other.

Once across the A523, crossing a field led me to the muddiest part of the hike: a towpath shadowing a conduit that was greening over in places. The water looked as if it were anything but moving. Others passing the way stayed in the nearby fields to avoid the conditions underfoot. Having boots meant that I stuck with the right of way instead, thus staying legal.

Leaving the conduit, I crossed the River Dane by means of Barleigh Ford Bridge. Beyond this, I encountered more walkers than I had done for a while. This was not so intrusive though and was behind me soon enough. Beyond this, the mind was focussed by the ascent on the way from Dumkins to Hawkslee. It was during that section that views south towards the Roaches began to open out before me.

Beyond Hawkslee, I found myself on Minn-End Lane all the way to the A54. A quizzical sign warning about the passage of ducks and ducklings entertained early in the time. Later, as opening views of Croker Hill drew me onward, I also gazed down on Bosley Reservoir and beyond whenever I could. The Cloud was in view too during these westward sightings.

After crossing the A54, the ascent of Croker Hill began, Views eastward towards Shutlingsloe abounded and looking north drew my eyes towards Tegg’s Nose. While I do not recall the effects of climbing Croker Hill, fatigue certainly kicked in after that. Even going downhill can have that effect on you, and the descent of Fox Bank to reach Lowerhouse, not far from Rossen Dale, would have been enough for that to happen.

Coaxing was the order of business from there onward, especially as far as Meg Lane, where I was going uphill more than I might have liked. Someone out for a run went past me at one point as I marvelled at his energy. There might have been a certain amount of temptation to stay on Meg lane to reach Sutton after going past Higher Sutton, yet I did not do even that. Thankfully, the way towards Ridgegate Reservoir was easier on my legs than that around by Smallhurst.

Proximity to home helped to provide encouragement too. The way to Clarke Lane is well known to me, as is the way from there through Langley. That may explain the uphill deviation around by Birch Knoll, too. Familiarity can make it easier to mark off progress to reinforce the internal messaging that there is not much further to go. That pull may be even stronger than coaxing, even on the second of two long days of hiking.

Wearied yet sated, I arrived home. Spontaneity had intruded yet again, and for the better. The pandemic onslaught had zeroed things on me, so this was part of a journey of reinstatement that is still ongoing in some ways. Returning to public transport usage and finding those quieter spaces where solitude could be healing became important steps for getting through a disruptive and scary period. Such escapes retained their importance throughout. Simpler pleasures can be so sustaining.

Afterword: A Winter Reprise

Looking through my mini trip reports posted in advance accounts, I notice that there is nothing for 2021. The cause was not that I was distracted with other things, as I had supposed, but a certain lack of variety. In short, I went over old ground rather a lot. It is difficult to find anything to write about a repeated hike. There were some unique strolls like one from Miller’s Dale to Castleton and various saunters around Combs Moss near Buxton. Mostly, though, it was a year when much felt as if it was frozen in anticipation rather than moving into novelty.

2022 started in a likewise manner before the South Pennines, the Lake District, Ireland and Scotland returned to the fray for me. Novelty was returning. Before all that, I ended up doing a reprise of the route described here on a crisp day near the start of the year. Restrictions had returned in part, which allowed me to get going outdoors again. The day was less peopled than the one in 2020, partly because of its being a working day and the time of year. Either way, it was a healthy way to get 2022 on the way. The year turned out to be less about repeats than its predecessor.

Travel Arrangements

Train journey from Macclesfield to Congleton with Northern Trains