We parked at the Egerton Arms in Astbury on a still but very misty day.  At 8.45am we were off on the day’s walk of  9½ miles which was not only longer than our usual distance but also included a long uphill stretch to the top of Mow Cop.  The first part of the walk took us in front of the Astbury church, built from sandstone and of the finest in Cheshire, then down a footpath through a row of cottages and into the fields immediately behind the cottages.  The previous day had been very warm and after a clear night the long grass was thick with dew.  Within a few hundred yards one of our group was already complaining that the water had penetrated through her boots and she had wet feet.  Wet feet and where to go as the visibility was down to about 80 yards and we were in a large field with little idea of the right direction to the next stile.  After setting off across the field we changed tack and kept to the field boundary.  This turned out to be a good idea and within a few hundred yards we reached the stile.  The next fields were much drier and with no birds to be seen we were moving unusually quickly and soon reached the Macclesfield canal.  Turning to the right we walked along the canal towpath before leaving the canal at the third bridge.  Now walking along quiet roads we wondered if the sun was going to break through or if the day was going to be hard slog with no views and little wildlife to be seen.  After crossing the Manchester to Crewe railway lines the road gave way to a rough track and we were now going uphill.  Entering a wood the uphill path became even steeper and the mist much thicker.  Twenty minutes later and deeply out of breath we left the wood behind and entered a field with only a gentle uphill slope and good walking on short turf.  In the adjacent field we saw signs of  an old road or rail track which was a reminder that Mow Cop had been an important mining area.  The millstone grit mined was used to make Querns (hand mills), earthenware, and used for road building. (Locally manufactured Querns date back at least to the Iron Age)  Coal quarried was carried down a tramway built in 1807 to supply the Congleton area and with the later construction of the Macclesfield canal transport became even easier, but in 1886 the pits were all closed.  Reaching the top of Mow Cop we passed by the Old Man O’Mow, which is a 65 foot stone pillar resulting from the quarrying of the stone all around it, and then passed Mow Cop castle built in 1746 as a summerhouse for Randle Wilbraham of Rhode Hall and purchased in 1937 by the National Trust.  Entering Mow Cop village our next stop was at the Post Office and General Store where three our group purchased Chocolate and Orange Muffins to be eaten on the return part of our walk.  On leaving the Post Office we came to the Primitive Methodist memorial church built in 1841 and wondered at the thought that in 1907 100,000  people celebrated the centenary of their meeting with a Camp Meeting at Mow Cop.  Walking down Station Road eating our Muffins we passed the Cheshire View pub but the name was not appropriate today as the sun had still not broken through and the view only stretched a few hundred yards. At the bottom of the hill we crossed the Manchester/Crewe rail lines and came to the T-junction opposite the ornate gates to Ramsdell Hall.  Here we turned to the right and walked along the road until we met the footpath immediately past a large house at Old House Green.  This footpath led us across the ields to reach Little Moreton Hall where the first building was an old timbered barn and then the hall itself.  The building of the hall was started by Sir Richard de Moreton in the middle of the 15th century and the hall was presented to the National Trust in 1938. From the moat around the hall Mrs Mallard and her brood of 12 recently hatched chicks emerged for a short stroll in the sunshine as the weather had changed at last and the sun had finally broken through.  Leaving Little Moreton Hall behind we turned right on the A34 road and then used a footpath to our left to cross over to Chance Hall Lane.  Turning right on this lane we were now using the back roads and footpaths on our way back to Astbury.  The sign at Acumlow Hall farm for Turkeys and Chickens was a reminder that lunch was not too far in the future and with few birds to be seen our walking pace was brisk.  This was until we passed Brownlow where  leaving the roads we joined a track with good flora in the hedge banks and some excellent close views of male and female Yellowhammers.  On reaching Bent Lane a right hand turn and another ten minutes walking brought us back to our cars at the Edgerton Arms pub.  The Edgerton Arms has always been one of our favourite pubs and the food today was as good as usual.  We had taken 4¼ hours to cover 9½ miles with a good stretch of uphill walking and felt that we thoroughly deserved our lunch.

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