A walk led by Dave Wright which in spite of it being on our doorstep introduced many new paths to our members. Excellent weather too.

28/2/22 Wide Tracks Way Walk. Walk Leaders Report

Greeting me on a beautiful , fresh sunny morning my fan club seemed bigger than envisaged, nominally Quentin, Nicole, John, End of Life care lady, Bridget, Frank, Duncan, Alison, Dave number 1, Dave number 2 and Dave number 3 (, which was me) for your archives. Yes, a short while ago  I thought one or two unknown hackers had escaped me but excluding the surnames I am pleased to now have everybody.

Well, Dave opened the walk by thanking me for having arranged the glorious weather. Indeed, he having by contrast gone on a bleak wet and windy walk about three years ago  from the Pennine Way to Chew Reservoir  with just myself, I was flattered that not only had it failed to deter him from going on my new walk but had even emboldened him to PR it by mentioning it on the whats app messenger.

We walked through Reddish Vale park, then on the other side of Stockport Rd into the Haughton Dale nature reserve park and up Apethorn Lane to reach the A560  junction at the bottom of Gee Cross where I made an enforced, unscheduled stop for elevenses at a small park with seats around a boulder. Then it was onwards and upwards from a very narrow footpath (which Dave criticised) at the end of Bowlacre Rd, passing through Wood Lane Farm to reach the Werneth Low ridge road, noting an excellent view down below of Manchester’s city centre as well as part of Stockport’s. Here I turned left, with later half of us walking on the road and the other half on the footpath alongside it. I thought the group around me were going at a normal, moderate pace but the view from a member of a smaller group whom we passed was:

“Hey, Onward Christian Soldiers, come back, you’re walking too fast.”

At the mast we took a descending track to the right (Uplands Rd).  headed “Compstall 2 miles” . It gave very clear view of the Cown Edge moors and Charlesworh on the left . At the bottom we stopped for a welcome lunch break at Etherow Country Park where the ducks were out in full force along the lake and where we left Quinton.

Next we walked on the road half way up a steep hill before at a sharp bend turning left to take a footpath climbing to Romiley and the canal , following it to Hatherlow, from where we walked to Upper Bredbury. Then where the open space starts, we took a footpath through the woods, negotiating a fallen tree from the storm and got down to the football field at Lower Bredbury, from where we walked along Stockport’s new footpath, a wide track through the electricity station area, leading to Pear Mill and the main road (A560) , where we left Dave. On the other side of the road we followed the track to Welkin Mill, then under the motorway and uphill through the woods to cross the Brinnington road and back into Reddish Vale park.

During the final stage of the walk, as lesser mortals, we had the sight of Duncan ahead quickly disappearing into the sunset in order for him to cycle back to Marple from the walk start and then back at the visitor centre Frank, a man on a mission, striding up the Reddish Vale road hill for more punishment, namely a return leg of a five mile walk from Didsbury to the start of my walk, which he had already done in the early morning.

In closing, I think we had quite a good day. The walk turned out to be merely 15 rather than the 17 miles I had thought earlier. Good luck for the Hundred, Frank, and happy walking,everybody!

Dave Wright

P.S. I got a lift home from John due to problems with the front derailleur on my bike - got it to sort of work since. - Duncan

Photos (mostly by Nicoletta Bobola)