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Start : From The Bridgend Centre 104 Palmerston St, Bollington, Macclesfield (SK10 5PW), England. Grid ref. SJ 935 779
(S/E) Start at the Bridgend Centre. Note the ‘Bee’ plaque at the top of the totem pole by the front door. Turn right on the pavement for a few steps, then cross the road (B5090) and proceed up Beeston Brow, the only strenuous section of the Trail. Before the summit of the hill, glance to the right for beautiful views across Bollington towards Kerridge Ridge and ‘White Nancy’, a folly built in the 19th Century by the Gaskell family. At the junction keep right into Green Lane.
Peeping through the trees on your right is Oak Bank Chimney. Look out for the Industrial Sculpture. After Green Lane Farm, with views of ‘Blaze Hill’ on your right, climb the stile on your left and follow the wall.
Climb over the next stile and then diagonally left (North-West), across a field to enter Long Lane. From here, enjoy the views across the Cheshire Plain towards Alderley Edge. Turn right and follow the road for around 300m to Long Lane Farm.
(1) Directly opposite is a footpath. Follow the enclosed track West to a stile and stone steps into an open field. Go downhill towards the Agricultural Remnant. The next bit can be very boggy, so go carefully. Keep to the left and then follow the gully to a stone path. Cross the first stile in front, over the next one and through a treelined path to a small gate next to Rushley Walls, and onto a gravel track. Follow this track to Sugar Lane.
Proceeding with caution, turn right and then sharp left over the stile into a field, keeping the fence and hedge on the right and then cross over another stile into a tunnel of trees, noting the Wildlife Sculpture. The path weaves around a building, belonging to ‘Lark Rise’. Follow the poplar-lined driveway onto Holehouse Lane.
(2) On turning left you will cross over the Macclesfield Canal at Bridge No.25. Don’t go down onto the towpath; continue along Holehouse Lane, then cross over the old railway cutting and past (or into!) the Windmill Pub.
(3) Almost immediately you will see another stile on the left. Crossing over, proceed up the slope following the boundary on your left. When this starts to curve away to the left, strike across the field to meet a stile in the corner. Head across the large field towards a house.
(4) Do not cross the waymarked stile directly ahead, but bear left to go over a stile onto a disused railway line. This is now the Lodge Farm and the Middlewood Way. Turn right, walk under the bridge and, after about 50 yards, follow the upward path on the left and then immediately right to the top of the cutting.
Continue until a stile takes you over the hedge. Ignoring the two paths running on either side of the hedge, follow the track ahead with the fence on your right. This track is marked Lodge Brow on the map. Keep an eye on the lovely views. On reaching the road (Sugar Lane) turn left.
When you meet the Canal Bridge (No.26), descend the slope onto the towpath. Turn right and you will soon see the majestic Clarence Mill.
Opposite the Mill, you’ll pass a signpost and gate that leads onto a track called Pleasuregate. Your route stays on the canal, but you might like to take a detour down this track and explore the tree-fringed recreation ground in the valley bottom.
(5) Cross the bridge and turn right to continue down Clarence Road, admiring the aqueduct rising above you on the right. Reaching Palmerston Street (B5090), turn left for a few steps, then head over the road at the crossing point and continue leftwards. If you like, go through the stone gateway on your right to take a turn around the Memorial Gardens before heading back out onto Palmerston Street and back to the Bridgend Centre. (S/E)
Tourist office
Moderate 
