Easter Weekend - Day 2

Distance: 20 miles
Ascent : 1000m
Weather : overcast
Types of mud: all of them, except glorious
Barely seen creatures : stoat, fox, big brown bird

After a very comfortable night and a fine breakfast, we were set off just before 10am. There was some early excitement of horse mud as we dropped down the hill into New Mills.  I won who got mud highest on trousers competition.

We wiggled though the village on the wiggly Sett Valley trail, then ignored some footpath closed signs to visit the hydro Station and accompanying industrial stonework that was very impressive along the gorge that led round to the Millennium walk way. This was also impressive, although a little bit gerty tummy inducing. Back on solid ground we tried to identify a bird, possibly a peregrine and visited the Swizzles factory, where there was a definite sugariness to the atmosphere.

We walked along the canal for a while, turning off in Disley and up a lane by a  church and onto the Gritstone Trail. As Rob later commented, it is less the gritstone trail and more mud. So. Much.. Mud.

After some mud, we already along a rocky lane to the east gate of lyme Park where there was a proper track and some red deer snoozing by a wall. The Parkland by the house was fairly busy, and we called in at the wheelwrights cafe for lunch.

After lunch we walked through the park and up onto the moors, seeing a curlew and tried to id some hills back towards home to the north but it was too cloudy. On Spondon hill we throught there was a bit heap of gravel but it was the lime stuff they use on fields.The moorland became sheep grazing land which became fields. All muddy. We veered around farms and lanes, through mud and more mud, some deep, some slippy, some deep and slippy and walked up on to White Nancy's Hill and followed the ridge, hoping it would be easier going.

Up on the higher ground, there were sheep fields, heavily pregnant but not quite lambing yet and into open moorlands  with kestrel and buzzards overhead. The views towards Croker Hill weren't making it seem any closer. We left the fields and joined a road just at the Teggs Nose visitor centre.

Time tea rooms shut: five
Time we arrived: five

We had a sit down and tepid tea on a picnic table near the car park and then walked to The Nose.

After looking off the edge of the Nose, we walked down the side of the Nose to the reservoir at the bottom of the Nose. Leaving the Gritstone Trail, we walked up the steepest road in the world through Macclesfield Forest and then up some more. Then down a green lane that actually was ok before arriving at the Stanley Arms. Here we have made ourselves at home and eaten an enormous amount of food.