Chadkirk and Goyt Hall Farm
Nature7.45 kmabout 2 hrs 15 minDifficulty: Moderate
The main route crosses stiles and fields and uses paths that can be very muddy, indistinct or overgrown, and there are often horses in the fields. Wear good walking shoes or boots. Part of the walk is on or across busy roads. The alternative from Goyt Hall Farm starts on a rough road, then follows tarmac roads. Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
A loop from Romiley Station, through Chadkirk and along the old track past Goyt Hall Farm, returning through Bredbury and along the Peak Forest Canal. Takes 2 to 2.5 hours. The fields after Goyt Hall Farm can be muddy and the paths are indistinct in places, so when the ground is wet use the shorter road alternative up Clapgate, described at stop 4.
Along the way
Romiley Station
From the station entrance, cross the road and go down Church Lane, to the right of the Romiley Arms. Carry on as the road slopes gently downhill and passes under the Peak Forest Canal.
Chadkirk Chapel
Keep to the road past Burymewick Cottages on the right and Chadkirk Chapel on the left, using the walkway on the right. At the gate at its end, turn right at the sign "To Stockport Centre 4 miles" and follow Vale Road to Otterspool Road (the A627). Turn left, then cross at the pelican crossing.
Otterspool Road and Bridleway 56
Just before the bridge over the River Goyt, follow the sign to Stockport Centre, Bridleway 56 and Stockport Hydro. Stay on this track past Stockport Hydro and Valley Cottages on your left, until you reach Goyt Hall Farm.
Goyt Hall Farm
With the farm on your left, carry straight on towards Lower Bredbury, ignoring the rough road (Clapgate) on your right. After about 100 yards, go through the gap beside a 7-bar gate on the right. Take the path diagonally across the field towards clumps of trees and cross the stile in the corner. Follow the path up the slope, head left to the pylon, and go through the gap in the top right-hand corner of the field. Cross a low stile and follow the path with a small brook on your left. There are many confusing paths here: keep right at the forks, of which two are major. The path goes through mixed woods to a fence by Highfield Cemetery. Pass through it and turn left to Goyt View, which leads into Highfield Avenue and up to Harrytown. Turn left. At Bredbury Precinct (The Rocks), turn right up Berrycroft to the traffic lights, then left onto George Lane. Past the Royal Mail Sorting Office on the left, take the Public Footpath on the right, marked Bredbury 41, which may be muddy and overgrown. It goes around a fence. Keep right and go down a slope across a field to the Peak Forest Canal. Alternative when the ground is wet: at the farm turn right onto Clapgate, which starts as a rough road and becomes tarmac through a housing estate. At the top, turn right onto Bredbury Green and after 200 yards you reach Barrack Hill, which can be very busy, so cross at the bollards to your right. Carry on past the Spread Eagle pub and take the road on the left, downhill towards the canal. Pass under the canal with care, as this road is used as a cut through. At Aldi on the left, turn right past the Duke of York and follow Stockport Road back to the station.
Peak Forest Canal
Turn right onto the towpath until you reach metal footbridge 13B. Cross it to reach the back of Romiley Swimming Pool. Cross the car park, turn left at the entrance, then right onto Dye Lane. At the end of the road, cross the car park on the right and turn left onto Stockport Road, which leads back to the station.
About this walk
Stockport Hydro, signed from the track, uses an Archimedes screw to generate electricity. An information board there tells you more about the scheme and the local history.
Goyt Hall is a half-timbered building put up by Randal Davenport around 1570. You pass the farm on your left.
The path is named Alan Newton Way, after Alan Newton from Stockport, who won bronze in the cycling team pursuit at the 1952 Olympic Games. It starts off cobbled, and has been tarmacked for some of its length. A later section is bordered by hawthorn bushes with vivid red berries towards the end of summer, and horses are normally kept in the fields on either side.
Other things to spot include the old brown stone building set back from Otterspool Road, which was once a pub, and Valley Cottages, with its kennels, cattery and animal grooming services. Further along, a small sign on a tree, sponsored by Almond Family Pubs, reads: "My doctor told me that walking would add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel 10 years older already."
Just after the canal tunnel at the start of the walk, there is a smallholding on the right, whose owner cuts and sells bags of wood for wood-burners. A couple of well decorated old caravans are usually visible from the road. On the way back along Dye Lane, look out for a house dated 1650 – 1976.
Based on the Friends of Romiley Station's booklet of walks.