Charlesworth to Delph

Weather today: Warm Sunny

Daily Miles Covered: 12.00

Total Miles Covered: 470.80

Things of Interest: Falcon tunnel

Personal Comments: Another warm start to the day. It was a day for map reading all day, we had to head to through Greater Manchester area, via paths, bridleways, and canals. It's an area full of heritage from an industrial age when coal was king. Railways were built to tranport coal to woolen mills, the canals were also built to transport everything including coal over the Pennines. We left Charlesworth to find The Hudderfields Canal 5 miles away which would eventually take us to Uppermill. Gradually by way of paths and minor roads, we found ourselves in Mottram in Longendale, trying to cross the busy A57, it makes you glad that you're not working anymore when you see all the traffic that is around.
Over the road, sanity returned as we climbed towards Matley and on to Millbrook. A young man pointed us in the right direction to the canal, and from there on it was plain sailing!. Towards Mossley we suddenly came across the Falcon Tunnel it followed the canal for 2oomts. or so it was relic of a time gone by, pitch black, if you have fear of damp dark places, don't go there. Back in sunshine we continued on the towpath to Greenfield and then to Uppermill for lunch. Afterwards we found something called the Delph Donkey, a disused railway to take us all the way to Delph. It was a victim of the times when Dr Beeching swung his axe sometime in the early '60s. The late Queen Mother apparently rode on it once, and slept on it in a quiet siding. Once in Delph, a quiet village, we phoned Ross, and he was there in no time. Phil had arranged for us to stay the night in Shaw, at Rob and Ruths place, longstanding friends of his. Ruth welcomed us with a beer how nice is that.