Alderley Edge And Highlees Wood

Introduction

We are off to see Hamilton (the musical) tonight, so I chose a local walk, safe in the knowledge of being home in plenty of time.

It’s a 15 minute drive from Cheadle Hulme to the village of Alderley Edge.

The weather was fine, with some spells of sunshine, better than forecast.

The walk is 6.5 miles long, and it took about 3 hours.

This isn’t a great walk for dogs, being predominantly on pasture or minor roads. Even the tracks had signs asking for dogs to be kept on leads.

I walked in an anticlockwise direction.

The walk is on OS Explorer Map 268.

I parked at the National Trust car park, postcode SK10 4UB, free to members. For non-members who wish to avoid the charges, there’s a fair amount of parking opportunities on the roads around the route.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

Alderley Edge To Highlees Wood

After crossing Macclesfield Road, I enjoyed the bright, yet damp view through the trees.

Opposite, the livestock was happily relaxing.

As I left the roads and crossed the open fields, a classic Cheshire view came into sight.

Another short road stretch led to Shawcross, and then I took a path alongside a wood, down towards a stream. And the sun came out.

Beyond the first copse, the path runs alongside a pretty valley.

Highlees Wood itself is a mix of pine on one side and beech on the other.

Highlees Wood To The North Cheshire Way

At Wrigley Road, I turned left, and started a long road section of the walk. The roads are quiet and attractive.

At Over Alderley, there is a lovely restored sign built into a building which is no longer a smithy!

From here, it would be nice to use the path across Hare Hill, but this is only open when the Hare Hill National Trust site is open. Today, I had to take the road until I met the North Cheshire Way.

Alderley Edge

This is a beautiful walk, starting with the stream which comes down from Hare Hill, and then winding down through the woods.

There are fine views to the north.

The path then turns south to climb the edge from the bottom of Waterfall Wood.

The path culminates in the splendid (after recent rains) waterfall!

From here, it’s a short walk back up past the mansion (still under construction after what seems like about 20 years!)to the carpark.

An excellent walk, mainly on familiar ground, though I’d never been through Highlees Wood before.

And Finally….

Green Day have a new album out, called Saviors (sic). This is “Dilemma”

4 Comments

  1. Matt H said:

    Will give that one a go this year Graham. Takes in some of one of my cycling routes. Can’t beat a view of the Lovell Telescope across the Cheshire Plain.

    25 January 2024
    • Graham Roberts said:

      Yeah, a very relaxing and interesting walk!

      25 January 2024
  2. Sara Harrison said:

    The sun was shining and as this one is nice and local we thought we’d give this a go today. Lovely walk on some familiar footpaths taking in some great views with such a clear sky today. We really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing and hope you enjoyed Hamilton.

    26 January 2024
    • Graham Roberts said:

      Pleased you followed my footsteps and enjoyed it.
      As regards Hamilton, I’m not a great fan of musicals, however, the energy and talent is enormous, and worth witnessing, and it’s an interesting history lesson!

      26 January 2024

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