Route description & photos

This is the "Marianne Variation" on Lockdown Walk 22! 

Start anywhere on Merebrook Road (SK11 8RH) - or nearby on the Weston.  Limited on-street parking available.  Walk to the top end of Merebrook Road and over onto Colville Road.  Cross Chester Road onto Maxfield Close and walk to the end (behind St Luke's Church).

Turn left into a long narrow ginnel, following this out onto Dalesford Crescent.  Bear right to walk towards Fallibroome Road, then right again, and left into Fallibroome Close.  Enter another ginnel to walk through to Camborne Avenue on the Greenside Estate.  At the end, turn right, right again, then left to exit onto Birtles Road.  Turn right to drop onto Priory Lane then turn left to walk past Macclesfield leisure Centre and Fallibroome School.

Enter the rugby club through the main gateway then walk around the right-hand perimeter of the main first-team pitch, opposite the clubhouse.  Look for an oppotunity to step over the fence onto the Alderley road.  There is an actual exit at the corner but this requires descending down a steep muddy path. 

Please note that the paths through the rugby club are not public rights of way.  This is private land owned by Macclesfield RUFC, and use of the paths is by kind permission of the rugby club.

Cross over and enter the new Kings School campus and walk to the left of the rugby pitches.  The path clings to the left perimeter of the playing field and emerges onto a drive.  Go directly across for the continuation of the footpath through a narrow snicket.

The path continues between fences before emerging at the main entrance to Prestbury Golf Club.  Bear slightly right to pick up the continuation of the path, which now passes across the golf course, initially on its right-hand boundary, before striking through the centre of the course.

Uphill to your right is a small summit known locally as "Dale Brow".  The is a trig point here if you wish to take an optional detour, but beware of golf balls - and golfers!

The public right of way through the golf course is well signposted, and follows a clear path.  Seemingly clearer and more substantial paths can be seen to the sides, but should be ignored, as they are for the golfers.  The path passes by a coupld of streams at the lowest point of the golf course, and this area can be flooded after a period of prolonged rainfall.  Should this be the case, backtrack a little and work your way around a causeway built for golf buggies and maintenance vehicles on the course.

The path through the course ends at a kissing gate onto Chelford Road.  Turn right here and follow the road down into Prestbury Village.

The village features several cafes, bars and restaurants, but the favourite at the time of writing with us - and seemingly with many other walkers and cyclists - is Henry's Cafe.  Enjoy a well-deserved bacon, sausage and mushroom butty, a courgette and lime cake and a hot chocolate here!  If closed, there is a Co-op on the other side of the road.

Walk through Prestbury village.  Look out for a ginnel on your right-hand side, between the church and the railway station.  This goes across to the main road on the other side of the railway, but cuts out quite a big corner.  Otherwise, stay on the main road and walk all the way around to your right.  Turn right onto the PROW opposite Bradlley Mount, to lead onto Tytherington Links.  Follow the path ahead but look out for a left turning to head through the centre of the golf course.  After this turning, the route across the course is then fairly well signposted.

It can be damp across the course after a period of wet weather.  Eventually the path emerges onto Dorchester Way (North).  Turn left for a few yards, then cross the road into a footpath entering into the residential estate.

Stay on the footpath until it reaches a kind of T-junction.  Turn right here.

The path follows a brook and emerges onto another residential road.  Another path goes off to the right, which we follow down to Dorchester Way (South).

Cross over Dorchester Way and take the very substantial path along the right-hand side of Tytherington Wood.

The path continues in a consistent direction between the rear boundaries of residential properties on the right, and the widening, deepening Tytherington Wood to your left.

As the railway line comes into view through the trees ahead, take the left turning down to the footbridge at the bottom of the wood.  Cross this then climb up the steps on the other side.  Turn right to head towards the Bollin Valley.

This leads out onto a scenic path high above the Bollin Valley, and heads in a direction towards Macclesfield.  You will see lots of lower paths down to your right, and options to join them, but it is recommended to stay on the top path for the best views.

As you head back into the woods, look for a stairway heading down beside a metal green fence.  Head down to the Bollin Valley Way and turn right under the railway viaduct.

Walk a short distance back towards Prestbury on the Bollin Valley Way, but then turn right to cross the large wooden footbridge.  Beside this footbridge is a pipe.  this used to be the crossing method before the bridge was built at the end of the 1980s!  In the mid 1980s, this used to be my route to school, and I would carry my pushbike over this pipe every morning.  The metal spikes weren't there then of course!

After the footbridge, keep left and walk up the ramp towards Abbey Road.  Continue to the end of Abbey Road and straight over into the cemetery if it is open.  (If it is not open, then turn right and walk up Westminster Road, and then sharp left as it continues into Bollinbrook Road).

Walk along the cemetery roads, staying fairly close to the Westminster Road boundary.  At the far end, there is a gate exit onto Bollinbrook Road.  Turn left and continue up to the T-junction with Prestbury Road.

Turn right into Prestbury Road and walk a few yards until a path an cut-through appears on your left.  This takes you through to Wren Close.  Turn left again into another ginnel that goes through to the peanut-shaped Bittern Grove!  Walk out of Bittern Grove and bear left onto The Whitfield, leading out onto Victoria Road.

If possible, cross straight over Victoria Road and into Macclesfield Cricket Club.  Turn sharp right to follow the vehicle road around the cricket pitch towards the scoreboard.  Just after the scoreboard, turn left onto another paths that follows beside a fence.  Towards the end of this path, look to cut across to your right to get through an open gate onto The Uplands.  This gate seems to be always open at the time of writing, but this is not a guarantee that it will be so.  If locked, the alternative is back up Victoria Road, left onto Pavilion Way and then left again onto a cyclepath that cuts through to Chester Road.

Exit the Uplands onto Chester Road, then cross straight over the roundabout onto Ivy Road.  After a few yards, turn right into Merebrook Close.  Turn left at the top of Merebrook Close to follow the ginnel through to Merebrook Road, at which point the circular route is complete.