After Saturday’s SCCC Annual Lunch Sarah and I had taken a short walk along the Peak Forest Canal. We felt we needed some exercise after all the food we had eaten at the lunch. This was especially so with the announcement that the following days club ride was cancelled due to the inclement weather conditions.

This provided us with the unexpected opportunity to attend the Stockport Family Church morning service. However, having been deprived of a cycle ride I still felt a strong urge to get out in to the fresh air. We came across the Mottram Hill Trail and decided to journey to Broadbottom and give it a go.

The Trail starts from Lymefield Visitor Centre.

It then takes you through the Broad Mills Heritage Site.

This follows the Etherow Valley, another section, Etherow Park Nature Reserve in Stockport which we walked on New Years Day.

We continued to follow the River Etherow.

We left the valley bottom and climbed into Broadbottom, passing the War Memorial before continuing up to Harryfields.

There was quite a bit of snow in the valley, however higher up it was just a carpet of white.

Continuing past Hillend Cottages and through a field of horses.

From here the views are spectacular as you look out across Werneth Low, Harrop Edge and Hobson Moor. Quickly followed by views out over the Peak District.

By now it was quite cold and windy since we were no longer sheltered by the valley. However from the top we started to descend along the side of Glossopdale and back towards Broadbottom as we crossed Pingot Lane and on to Hague Road.

This was an excellent walk and one I would certainly like to repeat again in the summer months. We covered approximately 6 miles from start to finish, including a few wrong turns. Walking in the hills and looking out over snowed filled views is a fantastic way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon. Highly recommended!