22/12/13 - Driving home for Christmas

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine - Sep 2008, Walk 12
Geocaches - 3 Found.  1 TB took.  2 TBs dropped
Distance - 4.8 Miles

Alderley Edge at EveryTrail


It's the most wonderful time of the year.  I am on taxi duty to go and fetch our Mancunian student and bring her back for Xmas.  I have the iPod loaded with "Now that's what I call Xmas" to get her in the mood.  Elf is primed on the Sky Planner.

To make the most of the journey, I need to complete a pre-collection walk in the area.  Decide to relive former glories and walk from Alderley Edge.  Pass the familiar sights on the drive (Jodrell Bank, Various Pubs).  Arrive at the Edge and see the world's greatest nightclub (Brasingamens) is being rebuilt.  I once saw Nicky Butt in there, although he denied it.  Drive past the Alderley Edge Hotel (Brandies more expensive than the rooms, officially the best breakfast in Britain) and park up at the Wizard of the Edge Car Park.

And this place is famous for its legends.  All to do with a farmer from Mobberley taking milk white mare to market.  But what is the walking like?

Gets off to a pretty good start

From the amount of cars in the car park, its obvious that the whole of Cheshire are out for an afternoon walk.  This makes getting the first couple of micros a muggle impossibility.

I have to go off-piste and seriously downhill to get the first find of the day and a TB swap.  I do find the entrance to one of the famous copper mines.

The Tunnel

But what goes down must go back up.  There are a series of confusing paths, so in the end, I just take the quickest route... straight up a dry waterfall.  I emerge, quite breathless, in front of families taking photos of the views.

I watched the Manchester Commonwealth Games closing ceremony from here

Move along to the Beacon and Castle Rock - which is an earth cache.  Unfortunately, to get the info required, I need to be at the bottom of it, rather than the top.  Still, I get the views.

Afternoon of the long shadows

Cross the Macclesfield Road and into a bit of National Trust Land.

At least I know where I am

Then I am walking through houses.  These are not usual houses, these are the guarded and gated footballers houses that you read about in the Daily Mail.  This is the place where they buy a perfectly good house, knock it down and build something else in it's place.

The most offending example is Moat Cottage.  It was obvious in the field what had happened, but who was the culprit?  If I had an iPhone, I would have known it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  Instead, I had to wait till I got home for the google.  I would have also known that Posh and Becks lived down the same road.

Maybe Santa will be kind.

There is a cache trail along this way but some are missing and I am muggled by a bloke who is training his dog with a tennis racket.  He just keeps following me.  This means that I only get another two.  One of those involves me pretending to me on the phone and ducking down behind a tree when he is not looking.

Eventually, I reach Bradford Road.

Cobbles

One more DNF.  I had a proper hunt for it as well.  So disappointing numbers on the caches - perfect weather, distance and walk for my needs.

Arrive in Didsbury with 30 minutes to spare.  I stretch out a cup of coffee until Ellie clocks off from Boots.

She says that she is tired and I expect the usual winding down of the seat when we hit the M6.  However, the Xmas music is well received.  And she sings all the way home... including a unaccompanied solo to the instrumental version of "Last Christmas".

Now Elf has been watched and the Mappiman Family is 4 again, I can officially declare Christmas open.