Bollington Circular Walk 2

Grade: Easy
Distance: 5.6km/3 1/2 miles
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Map: OS Explorer 268
Terrain: Easy - steep climb at the start
Barriers: N/A
Toilets: Available 364 days a year between 9.30am and 4.30pm at the Start and End of the route.

The second in a series of circular walks around Bollington and Kerridge starting from the Rangers Office, Adlington Road (what3words: ///pushover.city.corkscrew). The routes vary in length highlighting points of interest and provide pleasant views of the countryside.

Early in the route you ascend to the top of the Bollington Viaduct The Viaduct has 23 arches straddling the Dean River valley. Plans to demolish the Viaduct in the early 1980’s were the subject of local protests. The Department of the Environment eventually agreed to save it.

You then join the Middlewood Way. Dr. David Bellamy opened the route in May 1985. At nearly 11 miles long it runs from Marple to Macclesfield. The majority of the trail lies within the Borough of Cheshire East and is managed by the Ranger Service. Originally a railway, it opened on 2 August 1869 and closed in 1970.

Within a week of opening the line ran an ‘excursion’ to Manchester from Macclesfield carrying 600 passengers. The 1st class fare from Macclesfield to Bollington was 4 old pennies (1½p), for a journey taking 7 minutes. Look out for the remains of Bollington Station. This was demolished in December 1971 just over 101 years after its opening.

It had extensive warehousing and shunting facilities. In 1912 a petrol-electric railcar was introduced to run a shuttle service between Bollington and Macclesfi eld, called the Bollington Bug, it ran ten services a day (3rd Class only), at a maximum speed of 40mph. It was withdrawn in 1935.The first accident on the line in 1875 happened at Bollington Station when a goods train collided with a furniture wagon that had become detached during shunting. The driver, Mr. Champion Lunn was killed instantly.

Another feature of the route is the Adelphi (Greek for brothers) Mill. This was built in 1851 as a cotton mill by brothers George and Martin Swindells. The Swindells family was a major force in transforming Bollington from an agricultural village of 1,200 people in 1801 to an industrial town of 4,600 people by 1851. Just past the mill you will notice a stone single storey building that now houses canoes. In Victorian times it was a stable, and during World War II a lookout post for the Home Guard.