In Touch with Distant Places at Rossen Clough

A short circular walk through the hidden valley of Rossen Clough, and back via Croker Hill's well-known radio tower.

Distance 4 miles (6.4km)

Minimum time 2hrs 30min

Ascent/gradient 1,377ft (420m)

Level of difficulty Medium

Paths Sloping field paths and tracks, occasionally boggy, 15 stiles

Landscape Sheltered, part-wooded valley, open grassy ridges

Suggested map aqua3 OS Explorer OL24 White Peak

Start/finish SJ 938697

Dog friendliness On lead or close control on stock grazing areas

Parking Limited spaces on Hollin Lane, near Lowerhouse Farm

Public toilets None on route

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Directions
Background
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1 Walk up the narrow, sloping driveway almost opposite the entrance to Lowerhouse farm (within a few paces there's a half-hidden public bridleway sign) and continue on past Kinderfields Farm with the hilltop communications tower ahead. Ignore occasional turnings on the left, and instead carry on along the wide lane up the secluded valley bottom for almost ¾ mile (1.2km).

2 After crossing a cattle grid the rising lane approaches Civit Hills Farm. Go through the large gate on the left and, dropping down a little, walk across a rough field through scrub towards the far fence, with the farm above (right) and the brook below.

3 Go through a gate and on past a small open pond, then continue along the valley bottom following blue bridleway waymarks through successive gates. Keep the brook on your left and, resisting the urge to cross a footbridge to Lower Pethills, veer slightly uphill towards another gate and cross an open field to reach Higher Pethills Farm.

4 In the middle of the buildings turn left and walk down the main drive. As you approach the lane at the bottom turn right through a gate. Go straight ahead across a high grassy bank. At a gate, where the bridleway is indicated straight on, turn right for a footpath (yellow arrow) up a short sunken track. After swinging half left walk out across a field beside a line of hawthorn trees and via fence stiles cross two more open fields to reach the road at the top.

5 Turn right and walk along the verge for 160yds (146m), before turning right again on a rough farm track. Now follow the Gritstone Trail waymarks for several short field paths up to reach the telecommunications tower, making for the top left corner of the final field by Lingerds Farm.

6 Turn right and walk along the glorious ridge-top track for almost 1½ miles (2.4km), ignoring paths off to the left, and passing just to the left of the small summit known as Hill of Rossenclowes.

7 Finally the route drops down through an open field with a row of trees on your right. At the end go right, over an extraordinary stile/bridge across a wall, and down through a sloping field. Keep to the right of the shallow valley, towards Foxbank Farm below.

8 At the wall at the bottom go through a gate by a plantation for a grassy path around the right-hand side of the buildings, then drop down steeply to the stile in the far corner of the field (ahead) to return to the lane.

Croker Hill is a well-known sight for miles around, although at 1,318ft (402m) it's not in itself particularly high. The reason for its familiarity is a huge telecommunications tower that sits astride its open summit ridge, like a chunky lighthouse decorated with satellite dishes and antennae sweeping its gaze over the vast plains of northern Cheshire. The tower is 286ft (87m) high and relays radio and television signals across Cheshire and the North West. The engineers chose the location deliberately, since it represents the last of the Peak's westerly ridges, and beyond it the almost dead flat land extends across to the Mersey Basin and ultimately the Irish Sea. Dotted out in the plain you can make out historic Cheshire salt towns like Northwich and Middlewich, but if the weather is clear you may even be able to see the Shropshire Hills, or the Clywdian Range just over the North Wales border. To the south west lies the bulky spurs of The Cloud, near Congleton, and also Mow Cop, close to Kidsgrove, while looking northwards urban Manchester extends into the murky distance, with the Pennines beyond. Eastwards, and much closer at hand, is the rugged landscape of the Peak District, including the distinctive shapes of Tegg's Nose and Shutlingsloe.

The theme of communications is echoed by another unique man-made feature that is clearly visible, weather permitting, 8 miles (12.9km) west of Croker Hill. The massive white dish of Jodrell Bank's radio telescope peers up at the sky from its movable gantry, as it has done since it clicked into action in 1957. Over the succeeding years the Lovell Telescope, which measures 250ft (76m) in diameter, has been used by both the Americans and the Soviet Union to receive radio waves from deep space, and today the adjoining Science Centre offers a fascinating look at the workings of the solar system. Jodrell Bank boasts the largest planetarium outside London, plus the chance to relive the Apollo missions and discover what causes gravitational pull and the secrets of the mysterious nebulae.

All this and more you can contemplate as you stride across the wide open slopes of Croker Hill and Sutton Common, which despite being on the Gritstone Trail is not a particularly popular walking spot compared to Lyme Park or Macclesfield Forest. Gazing up at the heavens with probably only a few cows and the odd skylark for company you may be forgiven for wondering whether there's any other form of life out there...

Where to eat and drink

Both the Lamb Inn at nearby Sutton Lane Ends and Ryles Arms, just 500yds (457m) along the lane from the start of the walk, serve food at lunchtime and in the evening and are popular with visitors. The Ryles Arms is open all day at weekends and has recently undergone extensive refurbishment.

What to look for

For the second half of the walk you will be following the Gritstone Trail, a 35-mile (56km) route that runs through Cheshire from Kidsgrove in the south to Disley in the north. Croker Hill is one of its highest points, and in addition to its route being depicted on the Ordnance Survey Explorer map, the Gritstone Trail is also shown on the ground by yellow waymark discs with a 'G' in a footprint. It makes a stimulating two- or three-day outing, or a series of short circular walks.

While you're there

To the south west of Croker Hill the Gritstone Trail visits The Cloud, a small but shapely outcrop to the east of Congleton that is protected by the National Trust and offers fine views over the Cheshire Plain and Staffordshire. The hill contains a neolithic burial chamber known as the Bridestones. According to legend a giant king once stood with one foot on The Cloud and the other on Shutlingsloe, and as he stepped off The Cloud he left his shoe behind - which became the rocky summit.