Congleton Edge, Mow Cop Castle and More 21st September 2024

Ed on his last Saturday Walk with Harris Hikers before heading to Scotland.

The view towards Jodrell Bank from the Cheshire View layby.

Congleton Edge from Mow Lane.

Part of path on the Gritstone Trail through Willcocks Wood.

The start of the climb up Congleton Edge.

The view from Congleton Edge towards Jodrell Bank.

On Congleton Edge.

A delightful section of the path over Congleton Edge.

The view towards Macclesfield and Sutton Common as we emerged from Whitemoor Wood.

On the Biddulph Valley Way.

On the towpath (part of the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk).

Crossing the canal, heading to our lunch spot.

Rudie the parrot had a chat with Ed, but went quiet when I went past.

Lunch time in the shade.

Ducks and  geese.

A Moorhen - catch me if you can.

The way ahead.

A few Canada geese grazing in the field next to the canal.

One of three appropriately named bird boxes in the trees next to the canal.

"I think it's this way."

A different view of the Old Man of Mow and Mow Cop Castle.

Ed standing next to the Old Man of Mow.

A place to rest and meditate.

Mow Cop Castle.

Mike descends the steps on the East side of Mow Cop Castle

A Common kestrel - our bird of the day.

Walk stats: 9.2 miles. Climb: 1066’.
Time: 5 hours 0 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h. Overall Walk average: 2.2 m.p.h.
Temperature: 16.8 Celsius to 23.9 Celsius.
Beaufort Wind Force: Mainly 0 -3. Calm, mainly Light breeze, gusting to a 10.5 mph wind at Mow Cop Castle.
Group: Ed, Martyn and Mike
The forecast for today was pretty good, with the possibility of rain coming in after 16-00.
Arriving at the Cheshire View Point lay0by, our view was marginally better than the last time we did the walk. At least this time we could just about make out Jodrell Bank in the distance.
We decided to tackle Congleton Edge first and leave the Old Man of Mow and Mow Cop Castle to the end of the walk.
We set off on the walk a little later than expected as road closures at Astbury sent us on quite a long detour around Congleton.
Initially it quite pleasant walking, with the temperature around 17 Celsius, and plenty of cloud cover or tree cover shading us from any direct sunlight.
It was only when we left the Biddulph Valley Way onto the towpath of the of the Macclesfield Canal (part of the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk) that the Sun came out in full force. At one point the temperature rose to around 23.9Celsius, any occasional breeze was very welcome.
Lunch was taken by the canal, where several picnic benches and a bench provided good seats overlooking a canal basin, where we were entertained by the many Mallards a couple of Moorhen and a few squabbling geese.
After lunch we had we had the three-mile trudge along the tow path as far as “Ackers Crossing”.
Sometimes when you complete a walk in the opposite direction to the way you have done it in the past, it presents a few problems that you didn’t expect. Today was no exception, and trying to follow the South Cheshire Way to Roe Park took a few careful looks at the map before we got it right.
As we left Road Park / Hanging Wood, we had views of the Old Man of Mow and Mow Cop Castle that we hadn’t seen before, a real bonus.
It was good to see that they had removed the unsightly fence around the Old Man of Mow. Arriving at Mow Cop Castle, we found it to very busy, obviously it is a hot spot for tourists.
The final walk along Congleton Road / Mow Lane in good visibility was a pleasant contrast to the heavy mist / fog encountered last year.
Birds seen or heard today were but included: Woodpigeon, House sparrow, Common buzzard, Common kestrel, Black billed magpie Carrion crow, Wood nuthatch, Moorhen, Herring gull, Canada goose, Mallard, Winter wren, Jackdaw and Coal tit.
Arriving back at the car around 15-30, well before any expected rain, having had a really enjoyable walk, but disappointed that Ed had not been able to see the superb views that you can get from the view point layby on clear crisp day.
As we set off for home, we could se the rain clouds coming in, but it wasn’t until we were enjoying refreshments at The Stamford Bridge Country Inn at Barrow, that it began to rain and saw lightening through the window and heard thunder.

Exploring The Stamford Bridge Country Inn Walks 31s July 2024.

Is this the first or second bridge on the way to Stanford Mill.

Our first view of the Gowy.

Stamford Mill on the Gowy.

The Stamford Bridge Country Inn, but not the start of the walk today!

Heading to the unknown!

St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Barrow strikes 11-00 as we approach.

The sheltered sunken road leading to St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Barrow.

Ed hoping to see inside St. Bartholomew's Church, Great Barrow 

A Common toad crosses our path on Ferma Lane, Great Barrow.

St. Peter's Church, Plemstall.

St. Peter's Church, Plemstall.

Today's lunch spot.

Unusual carvings on a gravestone in St. Peter's Church grounds, Plemstall.

Unusual carvings on a gravestone in St. Peter's Church grounds, Plemstall.

Resting on one of the Packhorse Bridges at Hockenhall Platts.

Ed's photo of the middle Packhorse Bridge at Hockenhall Platts.

That's all three Packhorse Bridges crossed now.

Walk Stats:
Distance: 10.7 miles. Climb: 440’
Time: 5 hours 34 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.6 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.
Temperature: 17.6 Celsius to 26.2 Celsius, although it felt much warmer than that at times and felt quite humid.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 -2 Mainly calm with occasionally a refreshing Light breeze, especially after lunch as we left Plemstall Church.
Group: Martyn and Ed
The weather forecast today was looking good, dry, lots of sunny periods and only a Light breeze. However, the forecast temperature of around 27 Celsius did put some of the group off.
We were down to two, so we decided to start the walk on Platt’s Lane, near the Packhorse Bridges (often called the Roman Bridges).
The original walk was 5-6 miles, so we decided to extend it a little and include the longer Plemstall and Great Barrow Walk as well.
I remembered working out that extending to Plemstall and Great Barrow Walk would make it 7-8 miles, but that was combining it with the Barrow Walk, not Tarvin walk which we ended up doing. The expected 7–8-mile walk ended up being over 10 miles. My feet we very happy when I took my boots off at the end of the walk! I was just happy to sit in the car and take the weight off my feet!
None of the walks could be described as exciting, must do again walks, but at least it was dry underfoot and route finding wasn’t too difficult. We were very grateful in the morning, where we had lots of trees and high hedges shielding us from the glare of the Sun. However, it had the downside that many of the paths had lots of overgrown vegetation like nettles and brambles that wanted to leave their mark on our legs and arms.
We arrived at Plemstall just after 12-00, so we were grateful to be able to sit in the shade at the entrance to the church.
By now the temperature had risen quite a lot and it started to feel a little uncomfortable to be out in the open.
We ended up missing out parts of the described routes, just to shorten the walk a little and get back to a local hostelry to enjoy a refreshing pint.
Birds seen or heard today: Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Collared dove, Common pheasant, Common blackbird, Black billed magpie, Goldfinch, House martin, Barn swallow, Common buzzard and Common swift.
Overall, an enjoyable but challenging walk under the conditions of the day, and probably never to be repeated!
After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Ring O Bells in Christleton, where a couple pints of Weetwood Brewery’s Cheshire Cat went down very well, even if it did cost more than £5 a pint!
At least when I arrived at home, the temperature had dropped a little and I was able to clean my boots, cooled by a very pleasant Gentle breeze, in fact I was tempted to get out a garden chair and just sit in the garden for a couple of hours. Thoughts of cooking an evening meal had long since gone!

Above Helsby and Frodsham Hills 13th March 2024

One of the three notices at the start of our walk.

The second notice at thye start of our walk today.

On the trail through Helsby Quarry.

On the way through Snidley Moor Wood to Shepherds Houses.

A male Pintail on the right, but not sure about the one on the left.

Time for a rest and drinks - elevensies!

"I haven't finished yet!"

The Sandstone Trail from the elevensies spot.

Looking across the River Mersey towards Liverpool Cathedrsl as we crossed the field towards Beacon Hill, Frodsham.

The view across the Mersey from Frosham Hill.

On the Sandstone Trail across Frodsham Hill.

Sandstone outcrops on Frodsham Hill.

Looking over Helsby from the Sandstone Trail near Woodhouse Hill.

Liverpool Cathedral from the Sandstone Trail near Woodhouse Hill.

Walk Stats:
Distance: 7.6 miles. Climb: 1339’.
Time: 4 hours 32 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.3 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.7 m.p.h.
Temperature: 11.1 – 13.7 Celsius
Beaufort Wind Force: 2 – 3, mainly just a Light breeze, but around Memorial on Frodsham Hill it increased to a Gentle
Group: Martyn, Ed, Nigel, Fran and Mike.
This was a last minute switch as the Frodsham area had a better forecast than Flintshire.
This was a good decision as we only experienced a few odd spots of rain.
This was a good varied walk with a fair bit of ups and downs and at times giving us good views across the Mersey.
The only downside to the walk was the paths through the woods around Frodsham and Helsby Hill that challenged us in our attemps to avoid sinking too deep in the mulch!
Lunch was taken at the Memorial on Frodsham Hill, where there were plenty of benches to suit our needs.
Birds seen or heard today included: Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Rook, European robin, Common blackbird, Great tit, Blue tit, Common buzzard, Wood nuthatch, Black billed magpie, Greenfinch, Woodpigeon, Winter wren, Pintail, Shoveler, Grey heron, Moorhen, Collared dove and Dunnock.
Overall a very enjoyable walk, that felt a lot longer than the 7.6 miles recorded!
After walk drinks were enjoyed at the White Lion at Alvanley, where all three Robinsons real on offer were sampled by the group. The pot of tea I had was the largest I have had to date. I gave up after 4 cups.