Oh dear ! The day dawned damp and overcast. I jogged my way to the start at Nelson
Pit, Higher Poynton (strange now to think of coal mining in deepest Cheshire). I had
stopped a couple of times to put on/take off my anorak in decidedly murky conditions.
I was surprised and delighted to see a good number of hikers assembled in the car
park, we totaled about 18 or so at the start (Sue H has the exact figure, Sue counted
us all as we squeezed through the gap in the hedge leading on to the canal towpath.)
At least half of those present I didn’t recognize and it transpired that they had come
along after reading of the walk on the ‘Meet Up’ web site; well done to John E for
organizing that.
We proceeded towards High Lane along the canal and as we moved off the canal to
follow the brook leading to Lyme park, it started to rain (again) and many of us
slipped on our wet weather gear. Fortunately, and against expectations, this proved
only to be a passing shower. Walking along to the park, there was plenty of mud;
in fact significantly more than when I had checked the route the previous week-end.
We moved into the park and walked up past The Cage; conditions underfoot not too bad by now. We descended to the Hall where some of our group beat a retreat directly
back to the start.
Those of us remaining climbed up through the woods and along moorland to
Bowstones, enjoying all the while magnificent views over the Cheshire plain.
We dropped down and followed the roadway to the park’s west gate catching sight
along the way of a deer with a splendid full set of antlers before picking up the
canal to return to the start.
We finished in good time to enjoy refreshments at a bustling ‘Boars Head’ where we met up with Tracy, Sue and Linda; the girls had
decided that discretion was the better part of judgement and had enjoyed a leisurely
lunch at a local carvery, far removed from any wind or rain!
Thanks to all who came along and hopefully the ‘meet up’ crew will not have been
too discouraged and that we might just see at least some of them again !
John H
