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Walk Details
Appley Bridge circular.
Group: Stockport
Date: Saturday 16 May 2009
Start gridref: SD523092
Start time: 10:15am
Grade: Moderate
Distance: 12 miles
Longer description: Appley Bridge. Start next to canal bridge on B5375, near station, and on same side as the station. (35 mins from Pyramid), or train from Piccadilly.
NOTE!!! The parking area next to the canal has been fenced off since I was last there. There is plenty of roadside parking immediately to the South of the canal on Appley Lane, as well as on the station approach road.
The start time in the programme is 10:00 am. However, the train from Piccadilly arrives at 10:10, so we will delay the start until 10:15 to allow those travelling by train to join us.
We start by heading South-West until we reach Ashurst's Beacon with good views in all directions. The site was once part of a chain of signalling beacons. Initially it formed part of a group of beacons in place, though unused, during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585. The present structure dates from around 1800 and was built for the Napoleonic war. From here we head North to the Leeds & Liverpool canal. The canal attracts many anglers, although it is thought nothing bigger than 3 inches has ever been caught there. Crossing the canal we walk parallel to it towards Parbold. Before reaching Parbold we head North towards Hunter's Hill and Harrock hill, the site of a ruined windmill. The windmill, thought to have been destroyed by fire in 1880, was sited to catch the full wind from the Lancashire plain. It was a squat, sturdy tower, with a cellar dug into the sandstone bedrock that allowed carts to be driven in for ease of loading. We then head, generally South, eventually crossing the A5209 and along Fairy Glen. This is one of the most beautiful spots in the area, and a biological heritage site full of dense woodland and wildlife, with a stream running to the River Douglas. There should still be quite a few Bluebells. We then reach Appley Lane just North of where we started, and back to the car park. The walk is 12 miles, although there are no serious hills.
Optional refreshment after at the Old Station Inn, which appropriately is right next to the station!
Contact name: John Tinsley
Contact phone: 07960 665 103
* Dogs are permitted on this walk
* This is a car-free walk
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sunrise 05:15
sunset 20:37
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Information about the organising Group
Stockport Group
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Phone: 07794 715265
Website: http:/ / www.stockportramblers.org.uk
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General Note
Most walks listed here are intended primarily for Ramblers' Association members. Non-members are welcome to join us as guests on two or three walks, though if you walk with a group regularly you will be expected to join the Ramblers.
Please make sure that you are fit enough to undertake the walk you intend to join. If you're unsure of your fitness level, try a short and easy walk first: it's much better to find a walk a little too slow and easy than to make yourself miserable and exhausted.
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