The walk began alongside Errwood Reservoir, just off the A5004 road north west of Buxton. The previous day's heavy rain had left the hills engulfed in low cloud. The bottom of the valley was fairly clear though - as shown in this view of Errwood Reservoir, looking north down the valley towards Whaley Bridge. The hamlet of Goyt's Bridge is now submerged underwater here.
The car park has information boards showing the facilities and the history of the area. This one gave details of Errwood Hall, our first destination on the walk.
To get there, we climbed westwards up a gentle track through woodland.
Now a ruin, Errwood Hall was built in the 19th Century as the family seat of the Grimshaw family. It was demolished in the 1930s.Here is an enlargement of the photo on the information board, showing what it once looked like.
As we approached the ruins, it was quickly evident that little is left, other than the foundations. This view shows the main entrance to the Hall, as it is now.
This view shows the south wall, viewed from what would have been the inside of the building.
Two useful links about Errwood Hall are as follows:
Furness Vale LHS
The Goyt Valley Site
Beyond the Hall, we continued our climb, heading northwest towards the viewpoint at Oldgate Nick. Looking back, the Goyt Valley was relatively clear.
Looking forwards though, we were rapidly approaching the mist. Cats Tor is visible on the left.
opEn route to the top, we passed the Spanish Shrine. This was built by the Grimshawe family in 1889 as a memorial to their governess, Delores de Bergrin
Inside are a shrine and mosaics.
Near the top of the climb, we joined the minor road up from the Errwood Reservoir. It was looking very bleak now, with poor visibility.
The gentle breeze was blowing low cloud in from the west. We had been hoping for some panoramic views up here - but at this stage, things didn't look very promising!
We passed a sign to "Windgather". At Pym's Chair we turned abruptly south along the ridge towards Shining Tor.
The rocks at Oldgate Nick were shrouded in heavy mist - so much so that we almost missed them altogether.
Way down below us, the the west, we got occasional glimpses of the valley beyond, but this is about as good as it got!
As we approached Shining Tor, there were subtle hints that the weather was improving. This is a view back along the ridge to the north.
We paused for a while at Shining Tor - the highest point in Cheshire. A few metres behind the camera is the Derbyshire border. Shutlingsloe Hill is just visible on the far left, with the main road from Buxton to Macclesfield down below us.
To the north, the view definitely seemed a little better.
A few more minutes and the view to the south was definitely improving. Shutlingsloe Hill (the pointed peak) was now relatively clear, with Macclesfield Forest on the right.
Moving on, we headed south towards the Cat & Fiddle. Here is another view of Shutlingsloe Hill, with Stake Farm on the right.
Finally, the Cat & Fiddle pub came into view - unmistakable, with that tall mast nearby.
From the main road, Shining Tor now looked clear and sunny, to the north.
To the west, the Cheshire Plain was just visible in the far distance.
We left the Cat & Fiddle in glorious sunshine, which was to continue for the rest of the walk.
We passed the end of the path to Cumberland Brook and Wildboarclough, our eventual destination. We were heading there via Three Shires Head.
We descended along Danebower Hollow to the A54 main road. This is the site of the former Danebower Quarries. A chimney related to the quarry is seen in this shot, looking south along the Dane Valley towards Three Shires Head.
Turning the camera to the east, here is a view of the old quarries.....
..and turning further north, a view up the Dane Valley towards Buxton.
Heading south down the Dane Valley, the valley briefly broadens out near Holt. This is a view looking northwards.
On the approach to Three Shires Head, the valley is steep and narrow again.
The falls and the bridge at Three Shires Head are a real gem. This is the view from the south.
Beyond Three Shires Head, the valley quickly widens out. We followed the path that curves round the south side of Cut-Thorn Hill to Cut-Thorn.
Beyond Cut-Thorn, we headed north east through the gap between Cut-Thorn Hill and Birchenough Hill towards Crag Hall. The Dane Valley was now quickly receding into the far distance.
Beyond the A54, we rapidly descended towards Wildboarclough through some beautiful woodland.
We passed Wildboarclough Church, an unusually squat building for a church.
Finally, we crossed the Clough Brook before turning south to the Crag Inn. A memorial to the 1989 flood disaster is embedded in the parapet of the bridge.
It was now very warm and sunny. So, a beautiful end to a very interesting day's ramble.
Many thanks again to the Sutton-in-Ashfield Ramblers for a great walk!
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