Circumnavigating Poynton

Introduction – Lockdown 2, Walk 2

Staying local again, I decide to start and finish my walk in Stockport Borough, but walk predominantly in East Cheshire as I circle the village of Poynton, taking in farmland, woodland, pretty streams, some industrial archaeology, and the delightful Poynton Pool. The first half of the walk takes me along paths I’ve never walked before, whilst the second half is on familiar territory.

Travel time 10 minutes each way. This walk could be reached by train if that was encouraged, as it passes Poynton Station, just a couple of stops from Cheadle Hulme.

Walk time 3 hours

The walk is 7.5miles, quite easy going with a total ascent of 436ft., 133m. I encountered quite a lot of sheep, and a few road sections, but plenty of other spots where dogs can run free.

Weather – mainly sunny and pleasant with a light breeze.

OS Explorer Map 268.

Parking – There is an off road pull in on Woodford Road near Millhill Bridge, where the brook marks the Stockport – East Cheshire boundary.

Setting Off – the A555

I decide to complete the walk in an anti-clockwise direction, so the first section follows Woodford Road to a little way beyond Mill Hill Farm, where a path leads to the left across the fields to a bridge over the A555, this section of which has now been open for 2 years.

Continuing ahead, away from the road, I cross a few fields to eventually come out on a road by a primary school.

Manchester to Stoke Railway

At the end of the road, I turn right and cross the railway at Poynton Station.

Dereliction

Crossing the road and taking a left down Lostock Hall Road leads me to the now spooky and derelict Lostock Hall Farm.

Turning left, then an unsigned path right along a line of small trees I come to a chain link fence behind which is the former Woodford Aerospace site. No doubt this will soon all be housing, but the museum in the picture left provides a lasting memory, and the runway, pictured right, remains for now.

The muddy path now squeezes between the fence and Poynton Brook, before passing back under the railway (limbo skills may be needed – it’s no more than 4 feet high) and coming out on the A523.

Poynton Brook to Poynton Coppice

I follow the path opposite and continue with the brook always to my right, and housing to my left.

A sign points me towards Poynton High School, and eventually emerges on a road where I turn right to arrive at the hamlet of Wardsend. I turn left into the road to Poynton Coppice.

On reaching the tarmac road I follow it round to the left (rather than continuing on through the coppice to the Middlewood Way, which would be a nice extension to the walk).

After passing the Coppice Water Service Reservoir, I come to a road which I cross to Take another path across several fields with pleasant views.

Onward to Poynton Pool

I eventually reach Middlewood Road at its junction with Anson Road and cross over to take the track up onto Davenport Golf Course. I walk down between the 15th fairway and the practice area – it’s all strangely quiet!

Through a gate I walk on, and come to this farm tunnel below Prince’s Incline.

I climb up onto the Incline and turn down hill.

The longer of two inclines on the Poynton Collieries railway system, built to take coal from the pits in the area by road to either Stockport or to the Macclesfield Canal for onward transportation by narrowboat to Macclesfield and Bollington. 

At the bottom of the Incline I carry on down the road to meet the A523, where I turn right for 80 yards and join the path at the side of Poynton Pool, which is as photogenic as ever in the autumn sunshine.

Just before the car park a path off to the left takes me across the road and into a further path next to the stables.

The Last Stretch

I continue on, over a stream and past playtime at the kennels!

I recross the A555 at its bridge over Lady Brook, where the artists in residence have already been hard at work!

The path carries on to become Mill Hill Hollow and rejoins Woodford Road a couple of hundred yards from the car.

All in all, lots of interest as town and country meet and the impact of road, rail and air transport is very evident.

And Finally….

This is an absolutely stonking track from 2017. But you need to play it loud and be prepared to get up and dance!!