White Nancy

(S/E) From the hotel, follow the drive out to the road. Turn right and walk along Jackson Lane to the Bull’s Head.

(1) Turn left into Redway Lane. Before the pavement rises above the road with railings, cross to a stone stile on the right and follow a stone-paved path across the field. Pass a stone squeeze stile and continue along the paved path between houses. At a stone slab by the gates of Meadow Cottage, the easy continuation is to turn right then left and follow the cobbled Higher Lane past a row of cottages (rejoining the described route beyond Endon House at step 10) but an entertaining alternative is to turn left and follow an intriguing path that passes behind the cottages and through gardens (including a passageway through a ruined building) before climbing to Windmill Lane.

(2) Turn right along the lane past Clayton’s Tower, an ornamental chimney. At the entrance to Macclesfield Stone Quarries, turn left then left again and go down a steep stepped path following the old tramway incline under the bridge. On regaining Higher Lane, turn left. When the track divides, take the right-hand fork, which leads slightly downhill through the trees. 

When you emerge into fields, go through a gate on your left and walk along the bank to a kissing gate into a farm drive. Turn left and follow the metalled driveway until you meet Kerridge Road.

(3) Turn left and walk up to the junction of Windmill Lane and Lidgett's Lane (detour briefly left to view a roadside kiln on the right). Go straight over into the track beyond a stile and gate. Follow the path up the hillside past an old barn on the right and above an old quarry overgrown with trees. After a stone squeeze stile and hand-gate, continue along the wall to reach the crest of the ridge at a kissing gate by a junction of paths. 

(4) Go through the gate and continue along the path between the fence (left) and wall (right) along the ridge top. A kissing gate leads into a grassy field to a second and then a third, before emerging at White Nancy.  The direct pitched path down the slope beyond the landmark is somewhat uneven; a slightly easier alternative with steps and level sections leads through the woods on the left.

(5) Either way, when you meet a concrete driveway, turn left and follow it downhill through the trees to Redway Lane. Turn right and walk down the elevated pavement to the junction with Jackson Lane by the Bull’s Head. Turn right to return to Hollin House.(S/E)

Several stiles. Two short but steep and uneven climbs and descents (one optional).

A stepped footpath follows a section of the Rally Road, a former tramway used to carry stone from the quarries on Kerridge to a wharf on the Macclesfield Canal. The tramway was constructed in the 1830s and was in use until the 1860s. The incline passes under Windmill Lane via Victoria Bridge, dated May 24th 1837 (the birthday of Queen Victoria in the year she was crowned).

Clarence Mill (built in various phases from 1834) is a former cotton-spinning mill on the Macclesfield Canal. The earliest steam-powered mill in Bollington, it was built by the Swindells family, who dominated the local cotton spinning industry and also built the later Adelphi Mill. The prominent tower on the front of the building is a former water tower and incorporates a staircase.

Bridge 29 is a roving bridge. These bridges, a speciality of the Macclesfield Canal, occur where the towpath changes sides, the spiral ramp allowing the towing horse to switch from one bank to the other without having to be unhitched from the boat.

The Middlewood Way is a combined footpath, cycling and horse-riding route that follows the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple railway for 11 miles. It forms part of National Cycle Network Route 55 from Ironbridge to Preston.

Tegg’s Nose is a country park operated by the Cheshire East Ranger Service. The quarried hilltop offers superb views over Macclesfield Forest to Shutlingsloe and includes historical exhibits explaining the processes and traditions involved in extracting the hard local stone known as Chatsworth Grit. There is a visitor centre and café with public toilets next to the car park.

The attractive slab paths running along the base of the Kerridge hill were built to provide access to the quarries to workers living in the nearby villages.