The highest point in Cheshire is Shining Tor (559m), and has been since 1974, when it erupted from the ground in a fiery burst.
Kidding. In 1974, Cheshire had its boundaries redrawn and Black Hill (582m) was lost to West Yorkshire, cos Yorkshire is dead small and needs more land.
Being a Cheshire boy who likes hiking, it’s only natural that I would want to reach the top of Cheshire (a famously flat county) to literally look down on all other Cestrians who figuratively look down on others from within their Bentleys and mansions.
And off the soap box I step.
After a few days of moderate weather that suggested spring might actually be springing, Aimee, Sam and I joined Brendan in the Peak District for a spot of Ethel Bagging.
And guess what.
It was effing miserable. Typical conditions for The Walking And Talking Society. Doesn’t Aimee look up for it?
In the words of Peter Kay, it wasn’t raining hard but it was that fine stuff that soaks you right through. Misty. Murky. Muddy.
Today we would be exploring the Goyt Valley. We parked by Errwood Reservoir and headed up the hill and through the woods towards our first destination.
I suppose when the trees lack leaves, this weather adds to the gloomy vibe.
Soon, out of the trees appeared the Ruins of Errwood Hall.
Once a magnificent Victorian country mansion, now just a pile of bricks that offer just a memory of a glorious past. It was demolished in 1934 by the Stockport Water Corporation to make way for the sort-of nearby Fernilee Reservoir, despite being nowhere near the water. It’s likely the company knocked it down because they couldn’t afford to maintain it – a sad ending for a beautiful mansion in the woods that only stood for 91 years.
Today, people come to see the last ghostly fragments of the Hall as it’s slowly consumed by nature.
I find places like this sad but fascinating. I like imagining myself transported back a hundred years. This pile of bricks would have been a home, with horse-drawn carriages, elegant paintings, and grand feasts. The people walking these floors would be wearing waistcoats, top hats and long dresses. Today, the people walking these floors had raincoats and wet faces.
Errwood Hall is no longer standing – and I’ll tell you what else it isn’t – an ETHEL. So it was time to head into the hills.
Foxlow Edge – Height: 452m.
Today’s route was a circular one that would tick off four Ethels and allow us a stop at the Cat and Fiddle Inn, the second-highest public house in England.
The first Ethel to bag was Foxlow Edge. This is about a half-hour’s hike from Errwood Hall which takes you through mud…
…across brooks…
…and up a steep, wooded path.
Aimee, who had finally bought hiking boots to replace her Vans, had a lot of fun slipping and tripping up this path. She said she wasn’t used to having such massive feet…
We left the tree line and entered open moorland; the incline reducing significantly. Now it was just a casual walk to the highest point of the hill. Foxlow Edge provides a great vantage point to enjoy beautiful views of Errwood Reservoir and the surrounding countryside.
Not today, my friends.
There’s no trig point at Foxlow Edge, so you’ve got to judge for yourself where the highest point is. We chose a section of grass and took the obligatory selfies.
That done, we headed back into the mist. Fortunately, the conditions up to now hadn’t been too bad. It was spitting but it wasn’t too windy, even atop Foxlow Edge. However, as we hiked higher we became more exposed.
For a section, we used the road to climb, but soon we had to swap the tarmac for muddy path, as we approached our next Ethel.
Cat’s Tor – Height: 519m
If you just want to bag Cat’s Tor, you can park your car at Pym Chair car park and it’s just a 15 minute walk to the summit, which is marked by one solitary pebble.
Such grandeur.
The wind was now biting and the light rain was lashing our faces. I seemed to have aged about 20 years on this ridge alone.
Shining Tor – Height: 559m
It’s just a 2km walk from Cat’s Tor to the top of Cheshire, with muddy trail replaced by flagstones.
But still, it was arduous. Our waterproof clothing was starting to give up and water was soaking through, but I was fuelled by a fire in my soul – only Shining Tor stood between our team and the Cat and Fiddle. I could smell the ale and burning logs.
30 minutes of walking later we arrived at Cheshire’s highest point.
With no views to enjoy, we crouched at the wall to shelter from the wind. You could feel the temperature difference.
After a 15 minute snack break (saving room for pub grub, of course), we posed for a T.W.A.T.S. picture at the trig point…
…before heading on to the pub.
It took 30 minutes to get to the Cat and Fiddle, but oh how warming it was to soul when it emerged out of the cloud.
The Cat and Fiddle Inn was built in 1813 and for over 200 years has served as a respite for weary hikers and road users. I used to come here as a kid, and I remember the car park was always full of motorbikes. It closed in 2015, but reopened as a distillery bar and shop, but all I wanted was a pint.
Oh.
Looking through to the bar section from the shop section, I could see it was absolutely teeming with nobody.
So, nowadays you have to book a table at the Cat and Fiddle, preferably 24 hours in advance. WTF. All we could do was purchase hot chocolates from the shop and stand there, dripping. Thankfully, there was a fire, and after seeing our annoyance and disappointment at not being allowed in the empty bar, the staff didn’t begrudge Sam sitting on the floor to try and warm up.
With cooked food unavailable to us, I asked for a pork pie, and they said they hadn’t ordered any in. Honestly, I have such fond memories of this place. I have been bigging it up to Brendan for months and I felt like an idiot.
We spent 40 minutes in the shop, huddling around the fire. I swapped my raincoat for my spare, and Sam kindly offered Aimee her own spare coat, as Aimee’s coat and hoody underneath were soaked. Stepping outside into the cold, whipping wind was a bit depressing, especially after such a visit.
The lesson I take from this visit is the Cat and Fiddle, once a warm refuge on the baron moorlands, is no longer a hiker-friendly pub. What a shame. I get that it’s now a distillery and they’re targeting a different type of customer, but SURELY they’ve got to have a space for hikers and travellers.
In summary, you’re best avoiding the Cat and Fiddle entirely and heading to the nearby Peak View Tea Rooms, open Thursday-Sunday, 10am-5pm.
Anyway, back onto the moors we go. Yaaayyy…
I’m not sure if something has hit that bus stop sign, or if the wind blew it over. With the storms we’ve had recently, I reckon the latter.
Whetstone Ridge – Height: 547m
It’s a simple walk from the Cat and Fiddle shop to the summit of Whetstone Ridge. We simply walked along a track until a fence appears on the left hand side. Here, we left the path and disappeared into the misty moorland.
There’s no path to the summit, and at the summit there is no marker. You simply have to find the highest blade of grass you can, avoiding the boggy potholes. In the middle of nothing, we chose a spot we thought looked highest.
You can see the delight in our faces.
A log was sticking out of the ground and Brendan decided to use this as his trig point.
Usually he likes to climb upon trig points, but this time he decided to accidentally snap it.
After this heinous act of vandalism, we headed back on ourselves, past the shop and into the Goyt Valley. The cars were calling, but we diverted from the path to pass through the old Goytsclough quarry on the way.
By God, this path was muddy. We all at one point or another went foot deep.
For the first time in hours, we could see the Errwood reservoir in the distance.
I feel like I say this a lot, but I’ll say it again: it seemed the mist was clearing as we were heading for home.
After half an hour of descending through mud, woods and over this very wobbly “bridge”…
…we arrived at the remnants of the quarry, which had some nice little waterfalls.
From there, it’s a simple walk along the road to the car park. Four Ethels bagged, two outfits worn, one ruin visited, and I don’t think we could have picked a better day for it!
#VidOnTour 