Manchester Weekend Walkers lead public transport walks into fantastic countryside all year round.
Train-based walk
Leader: Martin, joining train at Stockport
Transport to Walk Start: 09.03 train from Manchester Piccadilly station (final destination Bristol Temple Meads - TBC).
Meet Point: Near the ticket barriers at Piccadilly Station. Alternatively, meet the group on the train or at Macclesfield Station. Drivers are advised to park at Stockport and join us on the train at 09:13, as there will be no direct transport link between the start and end points at the time we expect the walk to finish.
Suggested Ticket: Greater Manchester Wayfarer £16.90.
Waypoints: A537, Macclesfield Canal, B5470, Cliffe Farm, Cliff Lane, Gritstone Trail, Tegg's Nose, Langley, Macclesfield Forest, Shutlingsloe, Standing Stone, Broughsplace, Clough Brook, Torgate Farm, Peak View, Shining Tor, Cat's Tor, Pym Chair, Windgather Rocks, Taxal Edge, Taxal Moor, Taxal Moor Road, Taxal Beeches, Reddish Farm, Memorial Park.
Walk Start: Macclesfield Train Station at 09:30.
Return Services: From Whaley Bridge: x:03/04 & x:32/33 until 20:03, then x:31 between 20:31 and 22:31, then last train at 23:15.
Extra: Toilets at walk start and en route at Tegg's Nose and Peak View. Optional drinks at a pub in Whaley Bridge, possibly the Goyt Inn, at the end of walk.
This very challenging walk showcases the very best of Cheshire's highlands, as we ascend Tegg's Nose (380 metres above sea level), Shutlingsloe (506 metres, nicknamed the Cheshire Matterhorn), Shining Tor (559 metres, the highest point in modern day Cheshire) and Cat's Tor (519 metres, where the summit marks the county boundary).
The final section is perhaps the best as we complete the full exhilarating walk along the ridge that comprises Shining Tor, Cat's Tor, Pym Chair, Windgather Rocks and Taxal Edge, although the views throughout this walk should be spectacular).
Possible bailout points at Langley (where there is a two-hourly bus to Macclesfield) and on the A537 (hourly bus between Buxton and Macclesfield).
Please bring extra food, drinks and snacks to replace lost energy on what will be a long and hard day of walking. You should be able to purchase en route from the Tegg's Nose coffee shop. We will also stop at the Peak View tearoom after 12 miles. Please buy food or drink from them if you use the toilets here - this is the only toilet option in the last 16 miles of the walk.
Anyone intending to complete the full route will need a very high level of fitness as the distance and ascent here are both significant. If you bail out after 12 miles, you will still have completed 850 metres of ascent, so this can't be seen as an easy option.
The route is mostly on good paths, but expect the odd boggy area.
Sunset is 19:08 on this day, so please bring a torch in case it is gloomy when we finish. The pressures of fading daylight mean you need to be very fit to keep up a good pace throughout the 19.5 miles.
Shutlingsloe, Shining Tor and Cat's Tor are among the 31 'Ethels' summits in the Peak District that are more than 500 metres above sea level. They are named after Ethel Haythornthwaite, who campaigned vigorously for the Peak District to become the UK's first National Park in 1951. MWW aims to ascend all 31 of these Ethels.
