An exciting route from the fringes of the White Peak to the fringes of the Dark Peak, namely from the historic Spa Town of Buxton in Derbyshire to the historic Silk Town of Macclesfield in Cheshire.
You leave Buxton along the gritstone arm of the Wye River through parks and the suburb of Burbage to rise steeply to the moorlands that form the British watershed between North Sea and Irish Sea, i.e.: between Wye and Goyt. Descend into the lonely Upper Goyt Valley and rise up again through woodlands and more empty moors to the ridge that forms the County Boundary with Cheshire.
An out-and-back to the fantastic viewpoint of Shining Tor, Cheshire’s highest top, follows, before a steep descent along a road and over rolling pastures in the Clough Brook and Tor Brook valleys.
From Bottom-of-the-Oven, a meandering route leads through parts of the enchanting Macclesfield Forest, past the isolated Forest Chapel, then along ancient packhorse routes up to the formerly heavily quarried Tegg’s Nose, now a Country Park with several fine viewpoints. A steep descent into Macclesfield finishes the route.
Return by bus (faster) or train. The bus line also offers multiple ways of reducing the length of the walk.
The first half of the walk of the walk, once out of Buxton, is very lonely and exposed; in bad weather consider taking the bus to The Cat & Fiddle to cut out most of the moorland bits.
Bus Line 58 (five buses on Sundays), offers various stops on - or close to - the route to either shorten the walk by cutting out a stretch at the start or by finishing the route early. See the route map for the location of the stops.
A - Burbage, Level Lane stop, 2.9 km into the walk: cuts out the start out of Buxton’s centre to the fringe of the town. Continue in the direction of travel and in 20m turn left up along Macclesfield Old Road and pick up the text at the asterisk *) on page 5.
B – Cat & Fiddle PH stop, 550m off route, 11.3 km into the walk. Continue in the direction of travel and in 270m fork right off the road along a gravel track. In another 270m fork left downhill along another gravel track towards the Peak View Restaurant & Tea Room. Pick up the text at the triple asterisk ***) on page 7. But if you first like to ascend Shining Tor on an out-and-back, follow the route map and various signposts.
C – Walker Barn stop (cut 4.9 km), the last stop outwith Macclesfield (and without shelter or signpost): from Teggs’ Nose Country Park’s visitor centre and tea room, turn right along Buxton Old Road instead of turning left and follow the road to the A537 by Walker Barn. The bus will stop at any safe spot. Just make yourself visible early enough, as it will approach at a fair speed.
D – Macclesfield, opposite Cundiff Close stop (cut 1.0 km), close to the first pub in Macclesfield and cutting the last urban bits to the station.
Lunch: Peak View Restaurant & Tea Room Open 10.00-17.00, 11.1 km (6.9 mi) into the walk. The Bar at The Cat & Fiddle Open 11.00-18.00, 11.3 km (7.0 mi) into the walk. The Stanley Arms in Bottom-of-the-Oven seems to have closed down.
Tea: Tegg’s Nose Tea Room (5.8 km from the end of the walk). The Dolphin (1 km from the end and the first pub along the route in Macclesfield). Numerous options in Macclesfield; some of the ones on the route are mentioned in the pdf.
For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.389