Bosley walk to Hawkslee and abandoned Mareknowles farm

This is a walk over Bosley Minn starting at the Bosley reservoir Dam.

Start Point: Bosley Dam where there is parking for around 8-10 cars.

Refreshments: Nil😒

This walk is over Bosley Minn and down into the valley on the far side, past Mareknowles Abandoned farm, in April the southern slopes by the farm may be covered in wild daffodils. We have been told that before the farm was abandoned the two daughters used to hike weekly across to the Macclesfield road, hitch into Macclesfield and then get the bus back to Bosley with their shopping before carrying it back to the farm. This is mostly on farm tracks, and across fields. The eastern part of the walk into the valley is along steep slopes into the valley and can get a bit hard to follow, there may be cattle in the fields before the climb back out of the valley, which is up a fairly short but extremely steep, this is a challenging

Bosley Reservoir from Bosley Minn

Leaving the car at the Dam, head down the road until the bend at the bottom, and then turn left up the private road towards Minshull, before arriving at the buildings the path is directed off the road to head along a footpath through a garden before rejoining the main track through the rest of the farm buildings. Continue uphill through gates, this part does have some surface mud from the farm and you may be escorted by the quite friendly dogs.

Mareknowles Farm

As the track crests a small rise the path drops straight ahead to a bridge in the gully stepping off the bridge and heading up to the next gate is regularly muddy so choose your path carefully, after the next gate it dries out, and follow the tree line up to the fields, through a gate and then turn left at the next gate (with signposts), follow the path along the side of the hill all the way as it bend s left and then arrives at a gate, a seat with a view and the road. Turn left on the road and continue up hill until there is a footpath sign on pointing right. I prefer to pass this and turn onto the track another 20 yards further up, but the path will cut the corner).

Follow the track all the way downhill until you reach the Abandoned Farm at Mareknowles. If you are lucky in Spring the slope to the right may be filled with daffodils. 

Once you have taken in the sight of the abandoned buildings pass through the kissing gate and follow the path along the edge of the slope until there is a gate on the right with a waymark, turn right here and again follow the path along the top of the slope above the brook (there is another path about 5 feet below this one running parallel. when the path opens onto a fern covered field, try to head across following the waymarks, if the ferns are up try to head straight ahead and to the left until the path starts going down into woodland. I like this woodland as it is very quite and just about every tree shows the signs of a difficult life.

At the end of the woodland there is a bridge that takes us into the field, climb up into the field, but not too far as we need to keep to the bottom and head back down to another bridge which takes us back across the brook to the path leading up a very steep slope to a kissing gate at the top. this kissing gate opens into fields, stay right until the third field where we are looking to exit the field to follow the path to the left of the farm, follow the way marks and diversion (where the track heads right head up the paths)

This path winds round until it meets Minn-End Lane at Hawkslee, head straight over the lane to a style and follow the path round the back of the buildings to another style and then straight along the field to the footpath sign where we head diagonally across to the corner.

Continue out of the field through some mud (over decking and into fields beyond). In the next field is where we turned to head around the hill, head back to Bosley dam via the same route that came up the hill.

This is a lovely walk that is often very quiet once you are on the eastern side of Bosley Minn, although this particular one can be challenging.

OS route link: bosley-hawkslee-and-mareknowles?lat=53.186929&lon=-2.104229&zoom=13.9501&style=Standard&type=2d&overlays=&placesCategory=

Rudyard and Horton 5 mile loop

This is a loop walk starting at Rudyard Lake and passing through the Village of Horton and fields before returning to Rudyard Lake. There is a more established walk around the lake, but this one is a bit more energetic and avoids most of the crowds. 

Distance: 5.46 miles (from the Station Car Park).

Refreshments and Toilets available at Rudyard Dam, also Rudyard Hotel.

There are some quite challenging styles on this route, including one which is fairly new and is probably one of the least access able styles I have seen. This route is on roads, farm tracks and fields.

There are a couple of busy car parks in this area, the station car park and roadside are free, the Rudyard Lake car park is not free.

Rudyard Station

We started this walk at the station car park located south of Rudyard road by the railway bridge, other parking is available in the area.

Heading out of the station down the access road, turn left onto Rudyard Road and follow this past the garage up to the round about., turning onto Camrose Hill there is a footpath sign pointing along a track heading uphill. Just before the farm continue onto the waymarked route through the wall and as the field widens, follow the left edge towards the church at Horton continuing downhill.

Horton Church

Arriving at the road climb uphill into the village, it is worth pausing here for a look at the church before returning to the route and just after the vicarage a footpath appears on the right follow this to cut the corner off the main roads, before turning right on rejoining the roads. At the T-junction turn left heading towards the village hall keeping on the roads before picking up the lane heading past the hall.

Once pas the hall a path leads off across the fields, follow this path over some unhelpful styles as it bends right keep a deer park and woods on the left. The path turns left over a style that was designed for a giant (going around the style and heading up the bank may be a better option).

Continue along the path, until it meets a track, turn right and head towards Taylors Barn Farm and follow this track until it turns sharp left at the bottom of the hill, heading straight forward across the foot bridge. Head straight up the right side of the field and then through some gates (through the house's parking area to the road. We will head up this road until it turns sharply right at a junction, where we will leave it to head down Reacliffe road towards Rudyard Lake.

At the lower part of the hill, pick up the footpath on the right and follow this until it meets Lake Road, where another path appears on the left to head down to the Rudyard Lake Cafe and visitors parking.

We returned back to the car via the path that leads down the dam and follows the canal feeder to the road and then left back towards the carpark, though other possibilities are to head back via Rudyard Hotel, where refreshments are also available, or continue over the dam to the old rail path that leads back to the carpark.

OS Map: Rudyard and Horton