CONTENTS The Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society Page Waymarked Walks in Central Cheshire About the South Cheshire Way 3 Using this guide (including online map links) 6 Points of interest 9 Congleton Sandbach Mow Walking eastwards 15 Cop Grindley Brook to Marbury Big Mere 17 Scholar Green Biddulph Marbury Big Mere to Aston Village 21 Crewe Aston Village to River Weaver 24 River Weaver to A51 by Lea Forge 26 Nantwich Kidsgrove A51 by Lea Forge to Weston Church 29 Weston Church to Haslington Hall 33 Haslington Hall to Thurlwood 37 Thurlwood to Little Moreton Hall (A34) 41 Little Moreton Hall (A34) to Mow Cop 43 Stoke on Trent Grindley Brook Audlem Walking westwards 45 Mow Cop to Little Moreton Hall (A34) 47 Whitchurch Little Moreton Hall (A34) to Thurlwood 49 Thurlwood to Haslington Hall 51 Haslington Hall to Weston Church 55 Weston Church to A51 by Lea Forge 59 A51 by Lea Forge to River Weaver 63 River Weaver to Aston Village 66 THE SOUTH CHESHIRE WAY Aston Village to Marbury Big Mere 69 Marbury Big Mere to Grindley Brook 73 From Grindley Brook to Mow Cop Update information (Please read before walking) 77 About The Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society 78 A 55km (34 mile) walk in the Cheshire countryside. South Cheshire Way Page 2 of 78 Links with other footpaths ABOUT THE SOUTH CHESHIRE WAY There are excellent links with other long distance footpaths at either end. At Grindley Brook there are links with the 'Shropshire Way', the 'Bishop Bennet Bridleway', the 'Sandstone Trail', the 'Maelor Way' and the (now The South Cheshire Way was originally conceived as a route in the late unsupported) 'Marches Way'. 1970's by Jack Baker, a keen supporter of Public Rights of Way and the At Mow Cop, there are links with the 'Gritstone Trail' and thence to the founder of 'The Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society'. 'Staffordshire Way', which together provide a waymarked route from Disley, The project was passed to three Society members, Janet Clarke, Justin near Stockport, to Kinver Edge, near Stourbridge. The 'Staffordshire McCarthy and Brenda Passey, to develop detail planning and establish the Moorlands Walk' and the 'Cheshire Ring Canal Walk' are also close-by, the route on the ground, prior to its official opening by civic dignitaries on 17 latter having a common route for 4.2 km. September 1988. South-east of Crewe it also shares a common route with the 'Crewe and Nantwich Circular Walk'. The route It is the second longest of the Society's long distance 'sponsored' walks Getting there by rail through the Cheshire countryside, being some 55 kilometres in length. There are rail stations at Whitchurch, Wrenbury, Crewe and Kidsgrove. All but Running between Grindley Brook (SY13 4QJ), just north of Whitchurch, Wrenbury require a short bus or taxi ride to join the trail. Shropshire in the west and Mow Cop (ST7 3PA) on the Staffordshire border at Getting there by bus its eastern end, the route goes close to, but avoids the main towns in the area There are bus services which will get you to or near to various points along allowing it to pass through some of Cheshire's best walking country. The map the trail but the timetable will need to be checked. on the front page illustrates the location of near towns and villages. Car parking The South Cheshire Way is shown on OS 25K maps as a trail using the green There are many parking locations along the route and many public houses will diamond symbol on the usual green lines. usually provide parking if asked. Accommodation There are a number of farmhouses and guesthouses en route that offer a The trail name is written along the footpath symbol at various intervals. range of accommodation, as well as a variety of different sized pubs and Walkers are advised to take particular care where this way joins other trails hotels. marked with the diamond symbol as you could end up walking on a different trail. Refreshments There are many public houses and other outlets selling food and drink in the Walkers should be aware that whilst the MCFS frequently replaces the yellow villages along the route. waymark discs, these and finger posts do go missing from time to time. Since this booklet was last revised, stiles may have been replaced by kissing gates Maps or gaps in the hedge and hedges may have been removed. Although farmers OS Explorer Maps 257 and 268. are obliged to reinstate footpaths crossing their fields, sometimes this does not happen and routes can become obscure particularly in late summer. You Waymark should always endeavour to keep to the path even if it is through a crop. Black lettering on yellow arrow, inscribed "SCW" South Cheshire Way Page 3 of 78 South Cheshire Way Page 4 of 78 Path Problems USING THIS GUIDE If you encounter any problems en route please report them to : Cheshire East Council (website, letter or telephone) or Shropshire County This guide describes the walk in both directions. Council for the area between Grindley Brook and the A49. To walk east from Grindley Brook to Mow Cop please turn to page 15. To walk west from Mow Cop to Grindley Brook please turn to page 45. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and clarity, the MCFS cannot be held responsible for errors, omissions and post publication changes The use of Ordnance Survey 1:25000 maps to supplement the maps included to the route. in this guide is recommended. These provide more detailed information, particularly at field level. Copyright All the maps included within this document use OpenStreetMap as the base The following links provide on-line access to these maps which can be printed mapping and non-copyright material for the overlays. to take with you as paper or electronic copies. Click on the link and it should The overlays are © Peter Waite (The author). open the appropriate OS 25k “Streetmap”. You may need to scroll to the location arrow near the centre of the map which may be off your screen. © Open StreetMap contributors. The data is available under the Open Database Licence which can be seen at www.openstreetmap.org/copyright. Grindley Brook Hough Common This document, which is provided in pdf format, may be copied and distributed in whole but not in part. You may print copies of this document for your Wicksted Old Hall Weston personal use and to allow you to organise walks for a group of walkers provided that you do not make any charge for the documents. You may Marbury Big Mere Crewe Green download the pdf file to your 'phone or tablet to save printing out the document – just make sure that your battery is fully charged before you Smeaton Hall Haslington Hall venture out! Aston Village Hassall For part or total inclusion in another publication or for any other purpose written permission from the Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society is required. Broomhall Thurlwood River Weaver Little Moreton Hall Bearcat Fields Mow Cop A51 by Lea Forge The following links are to OpenStreetMap street level maps. You can zoom in and out and drag the map to any location. OSM Weston OSM Mow Cop South Cheshire Way Page 5 of 78 South Cheshire Way Page 6 of 78 Layout of pages The route instructions are fairly detailed, providing both a copy of the section Walking the route map and superscript references to points of interest that are shown on the It is possible, but not advisable, to walk using only the maps in this booklet. map as yellow triangles and listed on page 9. However, it is recommended that walkers also use an O.S. Explorer 1:25,000 Walk sections map. These are split into nine sections of between 4.7 and 8.8 kilometres in length. Whilst none of the sections can be classed as too demanding, the last part With the exception of sections 8 and 9, these are divided into two parts in from Ackers Crossing (railway) to Mow Cop is uphill, climbing some 200 order to provide full and easy walking directions. The sections are: metres or more in height, over a distance of around two kilometres. The remainder of the route is generally across gently rolling or flat countryside and 1. Grindley Brook to Marbury Big Mere 5.7 km there are no towns of any size to be negotiated. 2. Marbury Big Mere to Aston Village 6.7 km 3. Aston Village to River Weaver 6.7 km Bearing in mind the vagaries of the British weather, it is advisable to wear 4. River Weaver to A51 by Lea Forge 6.0 km strong walking footwear and also to carry waterproofs. Farmland can still be 5. A51 by Lea Forge to Weston Church 6.4 km muddy, even in mid-summer! 6. Weston Church to Haslington Hall 5.2 km 7. Haslington Hall to Thurlwood 8.8 km Very little of the route uses main roads, although obviously these have to be 8. Thurlwood to Little Moreton Hall (A34) 4.9 km crossed or walked for very short distances from time to time. Quiet lanes, 9. Little Moreton Hall (A34) to Mow Cop 4.7 km although not used excessively, are utilised wherever possible to connect _______ paths. Total Distance 55.1 km Relating maps to text The usual road safety naturally applies, walk on footways or verges where All maps are shown with north towards the top of the map as you read the these exist. Where this is not possible then walk along the right-hand side of map text, irrespective of route direction.