magazine autumn 2012 magazine autumn 2012 Northern England Northern England Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland Macclesfi eld Forest, Cheshire 06/08/2012 10:53 Route 03 Route 04 master G Distance 16km/10 miles G Time 4hrs G Type River and countryside master G Distance 11km/7 miles G Time 4hrs G Type Countryside NAVIGATION LEVEL FITNESS LEVEL NAVIGATION LEVEL FITNESS LEVEL Plan your walk Plan your walk North G Glossop Manchester G G Berwick G Stockpot G BERWICK-UPON- Edinburgh TWEED CHESHIRE G G Macclesfi eld Peebles G Kelso MACCLESFIELD G FOREST Selkirk CongletonG NORTHUMBERLAND Ashbourne Stoke-on-Trent Langholm G G G WHERE: A linear WHERE: Circular walk route from Paxton to around Macclesfi eld Berwick-upon-Tweed. Forest, Cheshire. PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAMY PHOTOGRAPHY: START: Paxton village green ALAMY PHOTOGRAPHY: START/END: Trentabank (NT935530). Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First the bus shelter and the Cross Reservoir, Langley Cheshire’s hill country comes as through the forest to bring you END: Berwick town Minister, has the bit between Inn and immediately turn L (SJ962712). a great surprise to most. East of to Cheshire’s largest heronry at centre (NT996532). his teeth, and within a year or and then R along Merse View TERRAIN: Lanes, tracks and the verdant Cheshire Plain, the a woodland reservoir. TERRAIN: Some stiles and two Scotland will vote on some – a small residential road. Go woodland paths. One long, last-gasp of the Pennines rumbles gates, with two short form of devolution. The idea that through the gap ahead and turn steady climb, and some steeply upwards as an intricate 1. START From the bottom uphill climbs and some the border area will become a L along the wall, following the thin, slippery paths. series of gritstone ridges, deep corner of the car park (SJ962712), riverside walking. demilitarised zone or that walkers footpath as it bends R. Pick up MAPS: OS Explorer OL24; cloughs, green vales and moorland join the compacted path MAPS: OS Explorer 346; will need to pack their passports the lane, signposted to Foulden. Landranger 118. domes forming the western separated from the lane (on Landranger 75. is fanciful, but it’s worth pointing Isolated farmsteads dot the GETTING THERE: Arriva bus edge of the Peak District. This was your R). Keep R at the junction. GETTING THERE: Berwick out that the current tranquillity hills, which include Halidon service 14 links Macclesfi eld once prime Royal Forest hunting The path shortly joins the lane railway station is on the of the border is something of a Hill, the scene of a crushing with Langley (very limited country: the woods and chases over a reservoir creek before east coast mainline, which historical anomaly. Berwick – 14th-century English victory. on Sundays and bank of the Angevin Kings are now advancing to the Leather’s is served by East Coast the English town with a Scottish At the fork above the valley holidays, ✆ 0871 200 2233, characterised by valley oakwoods Smithy pub. Keep L to reach (www.eastcoast.co.uk) football team – is a case in point, bear L downhill, dropping down www.arrivabus.co.uk). The and billowing stands of broadleaf Bottoms Reservoir. Opposite and Cross Country (www. having changed hands 13 times to the metal bridge across the start of the walk is beyond trees amidst conifer plantations. some cottages, slip R into the crosscountrytrains.co.uk) over the years. The landscape’s Whiteadder river. the far end of the village at Today’s Macclesfi eld Forest is a waterside track and cross the train services. Bus 32 runs beauty wasn’t what attracted the Tegg’s Nose Reservoir. Pay & multi-hued arboreal chequerboard dam. Go up the steps beyond Monday to Saturday from English, Scots, reivers and villagers; 2. Pronounced locally as display parking is available across the steep slopes and sharp the footbridge and turn R onto Berwick to Paxton (www. but today this is a breathtaking, ‘wit-adder’, the river enjoys at the Peak Park/United valleys at the source of the River the rough lane beside Tegg’s visitnorthumberland.com little-explored hinterland. This a lovely setting, tumbling Utilities Trentabank car Bollin. This walk explores such, Nose Reservoir. There are good – click on ‘Travel’ link). lovely route, hopping continually beneath high cliffs and ridges park, or nearby roadside. rising to sublime viewpoints views to the wooded arc of EATING & DRINKING: from one country to the other, of sandstone. The Whiteadder EATING & DRINKING: across Cheshire’s highest land Macclesfi eld Forest from here. Queen’s Head, 6 Sandgate allows this underrated area to is a tributary of the Tweed; in Sutton Hall, Sutton that stretch over the Pennines (✆ 01289 307852, www. reveal its full charms. turn the Whiteadder is fed (✆ 01260 253211, www. and across to the Clwydian 2. Just before a gate blocks queensheadberwick.co.uk), by the Blackadder – to the brunningandprice.co.uk); mountains in North Wales. the lane, fork L and cross the Berwick’s fi rst – and only 1. START From the village green doubtless delight of fans of Leather’s Smithy, Langley Shapely Shutlingsloe – the stepping stones onto a rough L – gastropub serves local in Paxton (NT935530), a Saxon Rowan Atkinson’s wily, sardonic (✆ 01260 252313). L ‘Cheshire Matterhorn’ – draws track that climbs across the village, take the road between character. Turn L over the bridge the eye before tracks plunge lower fl ank of Tegg’s Nose hill. ▼ ▼ 57-58 WALK36 ROUTEMASTER NORTHERN.indd 1 57-58 WALK36 ROUTEMASTER NORTHERN.indd2 Ordnance Surveymap Ordnance Surveymap 3 Continued... SLEEPING: Common Barn Farm B&B, Rainow Map not to scale. ping ©Crowncopyright.AM34/08 (✆ 01625 574878, www. ping ©Crowncopyright.AM34/08 Representation of OS Landranger MAP 75 cottages-with-a-view.co.uk); 3 1:50,000 Red Oaks Farm B&B, 2 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk Bollington (✆ 01625 574280, www.redoaksfarm.co.uk). VISITOR INFORMATION: START FINISH Macclesfield TIC, Town 1 Hall, Market Place 4 (✆ 01625 504114, 2 4 5 www.cheshireeast.gov.uk). GUIDEBOOKS: Cheshire and the Gritstone Edge by Neil Coates (£7.99, Crimson, ISBN 978 1854586391); 6 East Cheshire Walks: from Peak to Plain by START Graham Beech (£8.99, 1 FINISH 5 Sigma Leisure, ISBN 978 Continued... into England. On the R is the 5. Turn R uphill to Paxton Toll 1850581123). bounds road: an innocuous track House, then dog-leg across and LOCAL RAMBLERS GROUP: Map not to scale. fare such as ocean pie and that marks out the border and down the lane to the River Tweed. East Cheshire Ramblers Representation of Berwick crab pot. runs to a dead end at the river. Several shiels (old fishing houses (www.ramblerseastcheshire. OS Landranger MAP 118 and stores) make for isolated 1:50,000 SLEEPING: Northumbrian org.uk). www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk House B&B, Berwick 3. At Low Cocklaw, turn R to pinpoints on the landscape (✆ 01289 309 503, follow the signpost through a fronting the Tweed, which here www.7ravensdowne.co.uk), farm for Canty’s Brig – also known demarcates the border with a whose owner also runs local as County’s or Whiteadder majestic sweep. Keep on the At the tarred lane, turn L and is beside the distant hill-top waymarked with a white disc. geology walks. Bridge. The field-edge path drills river bank, passing below Paxton accompany this rarely trafficked transmitters) and Shining Tor – Remain outside the Access Land VISITOR INFORMATION: south before swinging half-L House – a neoclassical 18th- way up to the main road at the highest point in Cheshire boundary fence, rising through Berwick TIC, 106 Marygate downhill through woodland century mansion. Keep to the Walker Barn. at 559m/1,834ft. The hollow an area of immature maples (✆ 01289 301780, www. above the Whiteadder. The path bank via a wall to reach the way continues to drop towards before toying with a meandering visitnorthumberland.com). then heads due east along the Union Chain Bridge, a miniature 3. Turn R along this very busy the deep green vale secreting woodland-top path. The GUIDEBOOKS: A Walk riverbank – a good place to see suspension bridge across the road (wider verge opposite). Wildboarclough village below. pyramidal peak of Shutlingsloe Round Berwick Borough Daubenton’s and pipistrelle bats Tweed. It’s a rusting, beautiful At the Peak District millstone soon etches an eye-catching by Arthur Wood (£4.95, – to the Whiteadder Bridge. affair, opened in 1820 and boundary marker in 150m, fork 4. At the hamlet of Forest skyline, where the path reaches Berwick Ramblers, spanning 137 metres, making it R up Charity Lane, continuing Chapel (tiny St Stephen’s a wide stile at a fenced corner. ISBN 978 0954533113). 4. Turn R across the bridge, the world’s oldest suspension the gradual climb. Immediately Church here still celebrates a Don’t climb this; rather, turn LOCAL RAMBLERS GROUP: cross to the opposite pavement, bridge carrying road traffic. after a sharp bend R, turn L rushbearing ceremony each R (white disc) down a steep, Berwick Ramblers descend to the river bank and onto the rougher track outside August), turn R on the tarred narrow path alongside a fence. (✆ 01289 309581, turn L under it, now heading 6. Turn L on the southern side the forest edge. Immense views road. At the forest’s edge, go Turn L with the fence, then drift www.northumbriaramblers. west on the south side of the of the bridge and pick up the are revealed north up the line L at the fingerpost, dropping down through the woods to org.uk). river. The weir and its salmon riverbank path. The route to of the South Pennines, and west to a path junction at a fenced reach a forestry road at a bench.