Taxal Edge, Goyt Valley And A Lost Phone

Introduction

Thursday was a lovely day for a walk,. Though the wind was strong up on the edge, it was blowing from the south.

As I set off, little did I anticipate the drama of a long day ahead.

Taxal is a 40 minute drive from Cheadle Hulme.

It took 3 hours to complete the 6 mile walk, plus 15 minutes for lunch, and another 4 hours to recover my phone afterwards!! More of that later. The walk has 1300 feet of ascent, so I took my time!

This is a super walk for taking the dog. There is a road section, but it’s a very minor road and I seaw no vehicles at all. There are a few sheep fields but the vast majority of the walk is suitable for dogs to be off lead.

I walked in an anticlockwise direction.

The walk is on OS Explorer Map OL24.

I parked in the big layby on Long Hill , A5004, just south of Whaley Bridge., postcode SK23 7BZ, What 3 Words ///train.spurted.hype

Taxal To Taxal Edge

From the car park, a path leads down to the River Goyt, with views through the trees across to Taxal Church.

The river was not as high as I expected as I crossed the footbridge.

As I ascended, mainly on a minor road, I stopped to greet a friendly donkey.

The views were quite magnificent as I rose into full sunshine on Taxal Moor.

At the top of the hill it was really windy, but I could now see the rocky outcrop of Taxal Edge up ahead.

I passed the farm and its flock of sheep at the bottom of the edge, and made my way up to Windgather Rocks.

The ascent is worth all the effort, with stunning views all around.

Taxal Edge To Fernilee Reservoir

The first part of the descent took me through the edge of Goyt Forest, delightfully bathed in sunlight.

Beyond the forest the views down and across the valley were gorgeous.

The path zigzags down through Mill Clough.

After passing the farm at Oldfield, the reservoir came into view, and its full to the brim now, following the recent rainfall.

It was lunchtime, and there’s a lovely bench overlooking the reservoir. I had to share my lunch.

The River Goyt

I crossed the dam, and dropped down the United Utilities road to the beautiful path along the river.

At the end of a field, the path rises above the level of the river and into Shallcross Wood, but not before one last photo opportunity.

The last third of a mile is a pleasant stroll back to the car.

As is normal, I decided to plug my phone in and charge it up as I drove home.

Phone….not in my pocket…..not in the boot,,,,,, not in the car. Panic!

I retraced my steps, elicited help from dog walkers walking up the valley, drove to the car park at the reservoir dam, walked down asking more walkers if they’d seen my phone, but none had. I couldn’t remember where exactly I’d taken that last photo. No sign of the phone. I’d given my home phone number to the first dog walker I’d seen so trudged off to drive home. Arriving home, no phone call from the dog walker, no answer when I rang my phone, so Cal and I tried “Find My Device” on the tablet. Success! There it is, flashing by the River Goyt. Mmmm, 20 past 3, can we get there before dark? Off we set through all the school traffic, when suddenly the phone disappeared from the screen on the tablet. Turning for home, one last try at ringing it, and lo and behold it was answered….. by Steve! Steve had found it on the trail, not far from the car park.

Steve lives in a camper van with his lovely dog Ned, and had settled for the night at the top of Long Hill / Goyt’s Lane high above the Goyt Valley reservoirs.

The cross country route via Kettleshulme was a bit hairy in the increasingly dark December afternoon, but, we found Steve and Ned, and thanked them hugely for the return of my phone, and saving this week’s blog!

And Finally….

I needed some music to relax after a longer than expected day.

This is Snocaps and “Hide”.