4 Dec 24 Sandbach to Warmingham Leader: Keith, Length of walk: 13 miles, Driving Distance: 0 miles, Number walking: 11
Click here to see a map of the walk.
The last time the group walked to Warmingham was in February 2018, when Stephen found a circular route which required 15 miles to complete it. Although Stephen was not responsible for the weather, the walk did coincide with a blizzard as part of the celebrated Beast from the East.
For this walk the weather was kinder; it was cold, but rain fell only for a short time and caused no layering panic. It wasn’t so cold that the muddy ground became solid and soft, slippery mud was a feature whenever the walkers ventured into fields.
There was some hope that the Bear’s Paw would be a suitable location for a coffee stop but the leader ploughed on and allowed the group a rest outside a remote bungalow in Drury Lane. It was exactly the sort of place favoured by an escaped prisoner with an axe, but nothing untoward disturbed the walkers during their stay there.
In some places the mud was so sticky that it formed a mud shoe around the boots, but there was also standing water and long wet grass to remove the mud before the next deposit arrived.
A feature of the walk was the number of encounters with animal life of various sorts, also known as “wildlife”. This included festive reindeer, a buzzard with an injured wing, a flock of turkeys, coughing sheep, llamas, herons, a wooden horse and the bird population at Winterley Pool.
Another unusual sighting was a vehicle from the RAF Mountain Rescue team, which seemed unnecessary until the walkers saw some of the hills they had to climb on the so-called Cheshire Plain.
18 Dec 24 Haslington Leader: Bill & Ruth, Length of walk: 9.5 miles, Driving Distance: 4 miles, Number walking: 18
Click here to see a map of the walk.
The weather was cloudy all day and although the morning started with hats on, many of them disappeared as the walkers burned off their breakfasts. The sun made a brief appearance in the afternoon.
The walkers managed to squeeze their cars onto the car park by Bargain Booze in Haslington. Although it is owned by cash-strapped Cheshire East Council, who introduced charging to Sandbach car parks earlier this month, this car park is free so far. Ruth issued emergency rations of cake or mince pies to the hungry walkers, who gratefully stored them for the coffee stop or ate them immediately as a breakfast add-on.
The route crossed Crewe Golf Course then Hall o’ the Heath to Holmshaw Lane. After some quiet lanes the group reached the gates of Oakhanger Hall, where they stopped for coffee. They passed Oakhanger Hall admiring its large, planned pond and ignored the flooded hollows in the fields and the toxic slurry lagoon.
Walking over more fields led to the South Cheshire Way at Bridgehouse Farm at Hassall. The walkers with functioning memories spotted that they were following part of the route of the walk from a fortnight ago. They were relieved to see that the amount of mud had reduced, although not disappeared. The sheep that had appeared on the previous walk to be fluffy white creatures had morphed into muddy brown.
At Hassall Moss the route went down the ladder by Jacob’s Cottage (what shall we call this ladder?) and past Jubilee Villas. To answer the questions of which jubilee they were named after, Liz consulted her internet guru and revealed it to be George V whose 25th anniversary fell in 1935. After crossing the waste tip masquerading as Malkins Bank golf course, the group reached the Trent and Mersey canal.
A short walk along the towpath brought the group to the locks next to Sandbach bypass and lunch. Despite the temptation of an early return to Sandbach, everyone continued south across the fields to reach Moss Cottage and Haslington Hall, sporting a temporary roof, before returning to Bargain Booze. (For a brief history of Haslington Hall, check out this link.) Most of the party then crowded into The Hawk for a Christmas drink. Any hopes the customers had of a quiet drink disappeared as the walkers celebrated another enjoyable outing.
