Introduction
We have family coming to stay today, until Sunday, so I was up and out early to enjoy the warm sunshine, and the calm before the storm.
This walk starts near to Congleton, a 35 minute drive from Cheadle Hulme.
The walk is 8 miles with 1000feet of steady ascent after a flat start, ending with a steep descent from The Cloud.
It took 3 hours 30 minutes to complete, plus 30 minutes for lunch.
The walk isn’t great for dog walking, being mainly on pasture and minor roads.
I walked in an anticlockwise direction.
The walk is on OS Explorer Map 268.
I parked on Middle Lane, postcode CW12 3PTSK6 5JD, What 3 Words ///register.messaging.exacts
Trains And Boats
I set off on a track beside the West Coast main line. It was quiet, with only an occasional passing train and good views up to my ultimate destination, The Cloud.
At the end of the fields the path entered a copse before emerging on the Macclesfield Canal.
Timbersbrook
After leaving the canal, I crossed several fields before arriving at the pretty village of Timbersbrook.
On To The Cloud
The route rose steadily from here, over fields and tracks by Biddulph Common and Biddulph Park before joining a road, The Pines, and then turning north along Long Edge. Long Edge has magnificent views east to the Peak District – The Roaches, Three Shires Head, Bosley and Sutton Reservoirs, Sutton Mast, and Shutlingsloe.
At the end of Long Edge, a left turn soon led downhill to a path on the right at Bridestones. This path wends its way through a lovely small wood.
After the wood a rise up a still rather muddy field led to a long track to enter the National Trust property of The Cloud.
It was a little hazy in the sunshine, so no enormous distances could be seen, but it is nevertheless a spectacular viewpoint.
After a longer than normal lunch break, including a close sighting of a male wheatear on its passage to more northern breeding grounds, I set off through the woods on the western side of the hill.
I made good time downhill and was soon back at the car!
This is a varied walk which has lots of interest, and The Cloud itself is a fantastic place to visit. Very enjoyable.
And Finally…
Critical Thinking is a new album from The Manic Street Preachers that I’ve been listening to this week.
This track is Brushstrokes Of Reunion.
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