12 July (Friday) – SWC 380 Macclesfield to Leek A strong candidate for one of the top walks on the website: A tour de force of highlights in the Cheshire/Staffordshire borderlands - Reservoirs, Macclesfield Forest, the 'Cheshire Matterhorn', lonely Wildboarclough, the Dane Valley, Lud's Church chasm and the Roaches gritstone escarpment. The Riverside Café in Gradbach ought to be open for lunch, this being summer. The Crag Inn won’t be, unless we arrange it to open just for us well ahead of time. 9.30 start from the station. Return by Bus Line 109 (last at 17.40!!!, i.e. no dawdling). Miss that bus and a bus to Stoke beckons, then a train journey back up to Macc.
13 July (Saturday) – SWC 381 Macclesfield Circular via the Dane Valley The Dane Valley, pastures and wooded valleys, and ridges with views of the Cheshire Plain, high moors and gritstone ridges. 9.30 start from the station. Lunch in Wincle, either at The Wincle Beer Company or The Ship Inn. Then passing 5 more pubs before getting back to Macc.
14 July (Sunday) – SWC 389 Buxton to Macclesfield via The Cat & Fiddle An exciting route from the fringes of the White Peak to the fringes of the Dark Peak, or from Spa Town to Silk Town via the wild Goyt Valley, Shining Tor, lonely moorlands down the Clough Brook Valley to Macclesfield Forest and through Tegg's Nose Country Park. 9.20 Bus Line 58 from Macc Bus Station to Buxton Station. Lunch at The Peak View Restaurant & Tea Room. The Cat & Fiddle Distillery Bar is 550m off route. The Stanley Arms Hotel/Pub further along may or may not be still in business. Tea at Tegg’s Nose Tea Room.
15 July (Monday) – SWC 384 Buxton Circular via Combs Moss A mini Kinder Scout Circuit, kind of: Exciting but short and easy circuit of a quiet moorland plateau above Buxton. Green valleys, reservoirs, Castle Naze hillfort, far views and dramatic gritstone edges. Picnic lunch unless you descend steeply to a pub 1.8 km away. Perfect walk for departure day, as it gives enough time to explore Buxton at the end and still get one of the last buses back to Macc (15.25, 16.25, 17.05, 18.05) and a decent timed train back to The Smoke.
3 comments:
All in, n=22 different walkers, with 2 only present for 1 walk each though. Only a handful of the 22 had been on the previous Macclesfield trip 3 years ago.
The weather was bad for July, but not too unusual for what now seems to be our new normal of 'eternal autumn'. No sleet or snow at least...
A fine group with very good cohesion within the Main Walk and Short Walk subgroups, some evening get togethers and no obvious stress between punters. A good pace on all walks without people feeling rushed (I think). No noteworthy organisational or traffic snafus. The routes and scenery were complimented on, so - from my side - all was fine and dandy.
Thanks to everyone for turning up and playing a part.
Onwards and upwards...
One breakaway SWC member decided to recce in Macclesfield before his train instead of the Monday walk. Setting out to the Stepping stones at Tytherington Wood and then returning to see other parts of the city like St Paul’s church (with church spire) and inside the famous Arighi Bianchi retail shop.
Trip summary of the 4 days: V.happy to complete all planned walks given some health issues beforehand. Thanks to trip organiser Thomas again and it was also nice to meet some new faces and walk with them. General group cohesion was good. Finally the trip coincided with some sporting event and for some football didn’t come home :) .
Recommendations
Café Mustard Macclesfield (breakfast/picnic options take out)
Restaurant Leek: The Napoli (practical dinner option to avoid concerns about missing the bus back to Macclesfield).
Breakfast Recommendations (July 2024):
Rustica, Park Lane SK11 6TX
Good food, spotlessly clean, friendly and run by a Moroccan family. Good coffee. Family very keen to stress that Lamine Yamal (star Spanish striker at the European Championships) has a Moroccan dad. Very reasonably priced. Closed on Mondays.
All Things Nice, 10 Chestergate SK11 6BA
The best of the cafes (I tried three). Epic scrambled eggs on seeded brown toast. Excellent coffee. Far more reasonably priced than the impression given by the exterior. Friendly and spotlessly clean. Open every day.
Hotel tip:
The Travelodge website suggests you cannot leave luggage at Reception. At the very convenient (5 minutes from the station) Macclesfield Central branch,however, they will happily take care of your bag.
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