Macclesfield Circular via The Dane Valley walk

28.9 km (18.0 mi), with 735m ascent/descent. For a longer or shorter walk see below Walk Options.

8 out of 10, with 7 ½ hours walking time.

Varied walk, through pastures and wooded valleys and along some ridges, with many fascinating views of the Cheshire Plain and across to the surrounding high moors and gritstone ridges in the westerly Dark Peak area.

Leave the town along a section of the Macclesfield Canal with its Roving Bridge and up along the Bollin River valley onto Ridge Hill and continue through rolling pastures and up onto Croker Hill, the ridge separating the pastoral landscapes of wooded valleys and grazing pastures of the westerly Peak District from the Cheshire Plain. After a short descent, you follow the Gritstone Trail up to and along the Wincle Minn (ridge) – or alternatively through the tight wooded Greasley Hollow part of the Shell Brook valley – to then follow an enchanting stretch of the Dane Valley upstream (shorter and longer options come into play around here) for lunch in Wincle.
From lunch, follow the Dane Valley at an elevated level further upstream towards the high moorlands, then return to Macclesfield up the tributary valleys of the Clough Brook and the Highmoor Brook, to scale up to the watershed to the Bollin Brook Valley. You follow a quiet lane along a ridge with more splendid views before descending through pastures and past one of the reservoirs feeding both Macclesfield and its canal. Pass through Langley village and go up one last rise: The Hollins, the hill overlooking Macclesfield.
The route bursts with bluebells in season in dells, glades and cloughs and on hillsides and verges.

Several walk options make for a variety of shorter, longer, higher and lower routes.

Bus Line 14 (Macclesfield – Langley, about hourly Mon-Fri, every two hours Sat) enables a start in Sutton Lane Ends (cut 3.1 km and 60m ascent). From Macclesfield, alight at the Church House stop in Sutton Lane Ends. Walk back for about 100m to a four-way road junction by the Church House Inn opposite on the left and pick up the directions on page 5 at the single asterisk *).
An Alternative Routing early on follows the Macclesfield Canal for a slightly longer stretch and then follows Hollin Lane, this is overall a little easier to walk.
An Alternative Routing in the morning avoids the rise up onto Croker Hill and its exposed ridge and follows the Rossen Clough instead. This cuts 800m distance and 70m ascent.
An Alternative Routing mid-morning descends into the scenic but mud-prone Greasley Hollow instead of following the very quiet tarmac lane along the exposed ridge of the Wincle Minn.
A pre-lunch Shortcut off the Greasley Hollow route direct to Wincle cuts out a scenic stretch up the Dane Valley to Danebridge. This cuts 2.4 km/1.5 mi and 20m ascent.
A pre-lunch Extension follows the Gritstone Trail all the way into the Dane Valley and turns upstream along the Dane Valley Way for a longer stretch. This adds 1.6 km/1.0 mi and 20m ascent.
Bus Line 14 (Macclesfield – Langley, about hourly Mon-Fri, every two hours Sat) enables a finish in Langley (cut 3.6 km/2.4 mi and 95m ascent). The last bus from Langley Church runs at 17.27 Mon-Fri and 18.17 Sat (as of 11/2020).

OS Explorer: 268 (Wilmslow, Macclesfield & Congleton) – just for the urban start – andOL24 (The Peak District – White Peak Area)
OS Landranger: 118 (Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield)

Macclesfield Station, map reference SJ 919 736, is 237 km northwest of Charing Cross, 133m above sea level and in Cheshire East. It is on the Stafford to Manchester branch line off the West Coast Main Line from London Euston. Travel time from London is from 101 minutes Mon-Sat, but 2 ¼ hours on Sundays.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: The walk is doable as a daywalk from London with a train no later than 09.20 hours.

Ye Olde King’s Head 30 Bradley Smithy, Gurnett, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0HB (01625 611 444). Located 2.4 km into the walk.
Sutton Hall Sutton Hall, Bullocks Lane, Sutton, Macclesfield, SK11 0HE (01260 253 211). A Brunning & Price pub restaurant in a historic Country House, located 2.8 km into the walk, along the Hollin Lane alternative.
Church House Inn Church Lane, Sutton, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0DS (01625 611 444). Located 3.2 km into the walk.

Wincle Beer Company Tolls Farm Barn, Dane Bridge, Wincle, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0QE (01260 227 777). Wincle Beer is located 17.2 km (10.7 mi) into the walk, on the banks of the Dane.
The Ship Inn Barlow Hill, Wincle, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0QE (01260 227 217). The Ship Inn is located 17.6 km (10.9 mi) into the walk. A 16^th century country pub in a picturesque village, on the border of the Peak District.

The Rose and Crown Buxton Road, Allgreave, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0BJ (01260 227 232). The Rose & Crown Inn is located 580m off-route, 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the end of the walk.
The Hanging Gate Inn Wincle Lane, Higher Sutton, Macclesfield SK11 0NG. The Hanging Gate is the highest pub in Cheshire and located 6.8 km (4.2 mi) from the end of the walk. Reopened on 12/4/2021 after years of closure, and dating from 1621, it enjoys spectacular views across the Cheshire Plain and its name is believed to be a combination of the Scandinavian "gata", meaning pathway, and the fact that Royal Macclesfield Forest poachers were hanged here.
The Leather’s Smithy Clarke Lane, Langley, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0NE (01260 252 313). The Leather’s Smithy is located 400m off-route, 4.9 km (3.1 mi) from the end of the walk. Open from noon daily. From the pub, turn right downhill along Clarke Lane and pick up the directions in 380m on page 11 in the text at the octuple asterisk ********).
St. Dunstan’s Inn Main Road, Langley, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 0BU (01260 252 615). St. Dunstan’s is located 3.7 km (2.3 mi) from the end of the walk.
The Dolphin 76 Windmill Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7HS (01625 616 179). The Dolphin is a freshly renovated Robinson’s pub and located 1.0 km from the end of the walk.
Numerous other options in Macclesfield; some of the ones on the route are mentioned in the pdf.

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Oct-21 Thomas G