Sunday 8 February -Walmersley To Birtle

On what promised to be a dry day 12 ramblers met at Walmersley Post Office for a pleasant ramble around Walmersley and Birtle. We had the group photograph by the cars before we set off. We started walking up Walmersley Old Road, and turned right up Mill Lane passing Walmer Woods ( a new housing estate built on the site formally occupied by Tetrosyl). Then we circled behind it passing a farm with a large pile of carrots in the yard, a comment was made that there was a pile of carrots there last time we had passed that farm. We continued up the lane commenting on what a good job the builders had done creating a pond and stream on what was the lodge behind Tetrosyl, before passing under the M66 and turning right up White Carr Lane taking us up to Walmersley Golf Club. 

Once we reached the golf club we took a left over stile and continued climbing up the hill running along side the golf club, it was at this point I had to have a five minute sit down. Having had a rest and apologised to the rest of the group for holding them up and we continued up the hill to climb another stile and on to a bit of a flat walk before we started walking up Scotland Lane to the top of Cheeseden Valley, the path quickly became uneven and muddy. So the majority of us climbed up on the field and walked up there until descending back onto the path about 20 metres from a gate, Snipper Steve became a knight in shining armour helping one of three ladies who where not with our group to climb down to the path from the top of a stone wall. The other two decided to back track and come down where we had descended, Robert who didn’t want be outdone by Snipper Steve helped the other two ladies down on to the path. After we passed through the gate I pointed out a very narrow path descending 300 feet down into valley pointing out that this was the path we should have come up on a previous walk but I altered the route because of the weather.

We then started our decent down to the Pack Horse Inn at Birtle, where I had arranged use of their out door seating and toilet facilities on the proviso that some of us spent some money in there, but before we got there we passed the Valley View Tea Pod and the former Normandy Hotel which is now apartments. Given that we had nice comfortable seating and people where having a chat whilst some where drinking tea and coffee purchased at the pub, and others, well three of us decided on an Alcoholic Beverage (it would be rude not to) we had a pleasant 30 minute break.

Once we started moving again we crossed the road down a footpath and onto another lane that took us along passing the grounds of The Pavilion Restaurant and the former Church Inn pub which builders are fighting the locals to get permission to flatten and build houses on the land, before bringing us to the former Bircle school now houses and St John The Baptist Church, where I was asked why it was spelt Bircle and not Birtle. The answer being in the 1840s when the church and school house where built people pronounced it bir cul, Snipper Steve pointed out that his parents had renewed their vows in the church and I revealed that I had been Christened there. From there we meandered up Castle Hill road looking at some big houses that where probably farms when they where built, up to Walmersley golf  club where we took a left turn to take us through the chicken farm and continued to meander down the other side of Walmersley golf club from the side we had climbed up earlier. After passing over the M66 and down the lane that now had WGC to the right and Lowes Park Golf Club to the left we eventually came out in Walmersley, to walk down and over a bridge across Taylor & Nicks fishing lodge and up behind Walmersley Conservative Club to emerge on the rivers housing estate. It was a short walk along Mather road and down Trent drive to cross the The Tip (at least that’s what  it was called when I was a child, its more like a park without a play area now), and back to the cars.

Thanks to all

Photos – Aly   Backmarker – Robert

5.5 miles      average pace 1.8 miles per hour

628 feet ascent

if you wish to see a static view of the pics all in one go, then click here,’

Continuously running slide show below- you can see it in full screen in top left of the picture