Start/Finish: Kerridge Road,
Higher Hurdsfield. Distance: 5.8 miles (9.4 km). Difficulty: Mainly medium, one
short climb. Time: 2 to 2½ hours.
1. Walk along Kerridge Road, which passes a few houses on the right.
2. Shortly after the houses, take the bridleway which bears left away from the road.
3.
The bridleway eventually reaches Lower
Swanscoe Farm. Turn right to pass through a kissing gate just before the farm,
and follow the yellow footpath signs, to cross a field.
4.
The path soon reaches a gate to the
right. Pass through the gate, up some steps to another gate, to emerge onto a
lane.
5.
Turn left along the lane. The lane
bears round to the left, and there is a gate on the right.
6.
Pass through the gate, and follow the
yellow footpath signs across a field. At the end of the field, pass through a
gate to emerge onto a bridleway.
7.
Turn right along the bridleway, which
leads to Kerridge. Along the bridleway there is a gate, but you can cross the
stile to the right of the gate.
8.
Keep straight on when the bridleway is
joined by another from the right.
9.
Do not follow the bridleway when it
bears left past some houses, but continue in the same direction along a
footpath which passes between (and very close to) some houses. The footpath
emerges onto Higher Lane, where you will pass a row of old cottages on the
right.
10.
At the bottom of Higher Lane, turn
right along a road.
11.
After a short distance take the bridleway
to the left. This is signposted as a Private Road (to Beehive Cottage amongst
others). Follow the bridleway downhill. Bear left at the bottom of the lane (to
the left of Beehive Cottage), crossing the canal over a bridge.
12.
Turn right straight after the bridge,
down some steps and along the canal towpath. Continue along the canal towpath,
passing Adelphi Mill on the left. Eventually, Clarence Mill is reached (on the
right).
13.
Opposite Clarence Mill, take a sharp
turn to the left to follow a lane downhill to the main road.
14.
Turn left along the main road, to pass
under the canal bridge. Go straight on at the traffic lights, to continue along
Palmerston Street.
15.
After a church on the left, turn left
up Beeston Brow. This is a steep lane uphill past several houses. At the end of
the houses, Beeston Brow takes a sharp right turn, and a little further on
becomes Long Lane.
16.
Eventually, Long Lane becomes less
steep. Look out for a footpath on the right. Take this footpath, which heads
across fields, with fine views across Bollington.
17.
At the end of the footpath, and just
past a few buildings on the right, turn right down a lane.
18.
A short distance down the lane, take
the paved footpath downhill to the left. This footpath has a wooden handrail on
the right, which is useful as it is slippery in places.
19.
The footpath descends past some houses
on the left, where it becomes a lane. Continue straight on down past more
houses to the main road (Shrigley Road).
20.
Cross straight over the main road, into
a short cul-de-sac. At the end of the cul-de-sac, take the footpath that
continues straight on down hill.
21.
Follow the footpath across a field, and
then up to a road (Ingersley Road).
22.
Turn left along the road.
23.
Just past the Poachers Inn (well worth
a lunch stop), turn right along the bridleway. Follow the bridleway past a few
houses on the right, which then becomes a narrower path and leads down to a
lane.
24.
Turn left along the lane.
25.
After a short distance, turn sharp
right up a footpath. Follow the footpath through a few gates, then across a
field up to another gate.
26.
After passing through the gate, you
will be on Cow Lane. Walk down Cow Lane, past some houses.
27.
At the bottom of the lane, turn left up
a paved footpath up hill, at the right hand edge of a field.
28.
At the top of the hill, pass through a kissing gate
and turn right, along a footpath which has a low stone wall to the right.
29.
The footpath emerges onto a road (Redway). Bear
right along the raised pavement, with railings on the left, to follow the road
downhill.
30.
At the end of the railings, cross the road and
cross a stone stile over the wall on the left, to follow a paved footpath
across a field.
31.
After the paved footpath has passed through three
narrow gaps in walls, it passes behind a house. Turn right after the house,
descending to a lane.
32.
Turn left along the lane (Higher Lane), and retrace
your steps to follow the route back to Higher Hurdsfield.