Sunday Walk Report 24 April 2022

Seven of us set off from Clough House car park, near Macclesfield Forest, on a bright but fresh morning. Ascending through fields and quiet lanes, we detoured very slightly to visit the simple church, near Chapel House Farm. A short distance further on, a forest clearing, with ready cut tree stump seats provided our coffee stop, where we admired the valley below . A welcome descent led us to to Ridgegate Reservoir and lunch – where fishing cormorants were spotted. More attractive leafy paths routed us to Trentabank reservoir, a mini sculpture trail and some outdoor singers at the visitor centre. Next came the main objective of the day – Shuttlingsloe (known as the Cheshire Matterhorn), A superb short and steep burst of open hillside took us to a windy 506m summit with full circle views of the Roaches, Jodrell Bank, the Cheshire Plains and in the far reaching distance, the Wrekin. Several group photos later, we set off on a two tier descent (sedate to jogging) back down to the valley and cars. An attractive and varied 8.5 mileish round in this less visited part of the Peak for the Club. Thanks for the chat and company.
Ali