With Sarah, Neil and Nicholl continuing to prepare for their St Cuthbert’s Way walk, after coming home from the Stalybridge cycle ride, we all met up for this little Errwood Hall walk.

Errwood Hall was once a magnificent country house that enjoyed some wonderful views over the picturesque Goyt Valley. Sadly, it is now just ruins.

We met at Errwood Hall car-park, then set off up the hill towards the hall.

Errwood Hall was built in the mid-1800s by the wealthy Grimshawe family from Manchester. It was once an imposing structure but is now just a pile of stones. That said, many of the structural walls of the old hall remain, along with upstanding door arches, and you can still make out the layout of the rooms within. There are also a few interesting secrets scattered around the main-building location – some now lost to memory. 

Samuel’s grandchildren were the last members of the family to live in the hall, which was later demolished in connection with the construction of the Fernilee Reservoir in 1934. It survived for less than 100 years.

Leaving the Hall, we continued up a drive.

Then through some gateposts.

On a hilltop a few hundred metres to the west of the hall ruins we found the family graveyard. This was restored by North West Water sometime in the 1980s.

After leaving the burial ground, we dropped down into a valley leading to a stream. Taking the steps down, we crossed over the bridge and then up the other side.

We picked up a path heading for Pym Chair.

This steadily climbed as it made its way up along the side of Foxlow Edge.

Just before reaching Pym Chair we came across St Joseph’s Shrine. This is a small circular stone building dedicated to a Spanish companion of Mrs Jessie Grimshawe. Interestingly, the shrine is still regularly used for private acts of devotion, intercession and remembrance.

From the shrine the walk then ascended a gentle slope to reach the summit of Foxlow Edge.

We then turned and began heading back to the start following the path along the top of Foxlow Edge.

There were some great views up at the top.

The sun was beginning to set and there was a sharp wind as we headed back down the hill.

Indeed, towards the end we were getting rather cold.

Eventually, we reached the bottom of the hill alongside Errwood Reservoir.

Finally, we followed the road the short distance back to the car park. Time to warm up!

Although the map below suggests we walked under two miles, this is inaccurate. In truth it was nearly double that. Along the way, we had visited some interesting places and enjoyed some stunning views.

You can follow our Errwood Hall route below: