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If you've spent any time on the 
canals, you'll know there's 

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00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,920
often a railway running nearby. 
They were built to carry the 

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same goods. 
The canals were moving, but much

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faster, and they often 
contributed to the decline in 

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the canals because once trade 
was gone, their purpose was 

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gone. 
But just occasionally, the canal

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outlived the railway. 
The Macclesfield Canal, for 

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example, is still here, but the 
Macclesfield, Bollington and 

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Marple Railway is long gone. 
It's now a popular footpath and 

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cycle path, and it's what we'll 
be exploring on this episode of 

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00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:47,920
the Water Rd. 
The Middlewood Way, as the old 

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railway route is now known, is 
just a stone's throw from the 

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Macclesfield Canal for long 
stretches between Bollington and

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Marple, and there are loads of 
links between the two. 

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So you can walk part of the 
towpath, then use a footpath or 

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lane to get to Middlewood Way, 
walk part of that and make a 

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loop back again. 
It's amazing that at the same 

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time as having wide reaching 
views across to Manchester from 

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the Littlewood Way, you can also
hear the most amazing selection 

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of birds. 
Just in the last few seconds 

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I've heard a Wren, a Robin, a 
chiff chaff, a chaff inch, and 

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the distinctive tapping of a 
Greater Spotted Woodpecker. 

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So I'm on Middlewood Way and I'm
with Ed Pilkington and you're 

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one of the Rangers from Cheshire
East Council who looks after it.

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But of course it's really 
peaceful and quiet here now. 

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But it wasn't always like that, 
because this used to be a. 

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Railway, yes, I'll say it was a 
railway from 18, 69 to 1970, so 

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just over 100 years. 
And what? 

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Were they transporting on the 
railway mostly? 

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It was set up for the 
collieries, for the coal and 

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also for the cotton mills. 
So the industrialists at the 

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time, they lobbied Parliament so
that they could get the railway 

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on here. 
I mean, that's the sort of thing

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that the canal would have been 
carrying, but the railway would 

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have been much quicker. 
Yeah, well, funnily enough, the 

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canals, I think it was one of 
the last canals that was ever 

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built and that was built in. 
It was open in 1830 and then 

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you're looking at just under 40 
years later before the railway 

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came into existence and I think 
there was talk that the canal 

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was planned to actually be a 
railway. 

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It was built so late on, so got 
it nice and level. 

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There's not many locks in there 
until you get to Bosley and to 

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Marple, so it's a good straight 
run through. 

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So when they were building the 
railway then that obviously the 

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canal was already there. 
And if we look at Bollington, 

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the canal is on a massive, great
embankment. 

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Yeah, but the railway came 
through on a viaduct. 

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So why was that? 
What it was, the embankment was 

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built up for the canal which 
created a sort of wind block and

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in the park in between the the 
viaduct and the canal there was 

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a swampy area. 
And to get the canal embankment 

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set up they had to divert the 
river, the River Dean and they 

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diverted that through the rock 
strata. 

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So they canalised that and then 
when they looked to build the 

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railway line, they were thinking
it would be nice and cheap to 

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build an embankment. 
But unfortunately, the local 

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Board of Health said that that 
wouldn't be good for people's 

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health because of this swamp 
that was there, this marshy area

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which back in the time had 
mosquitoes, which would be 

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carrying different diseases 
which we're now immune to. 

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So they stated that they had to 
build a viaduct so it could 

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flush the air through that area 
and keep it clean and hygienic, 

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I suppose. 
Really. 

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00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,240
Yeah. 
And it's the most amazing 

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viaduct and it must have been 
such a transformation for 

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Bollington because it had 
already had that embankment 

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driven right through the middle 
of town and then a railway comes

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through as well. 
Yes, Yeah, that's it. 

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It's a beautiful viaduct, you 
know, it's local carriage 

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sandstone, so it looks 
absolutely beautiful through 

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there. 
I think there's 26 arches in 

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total there. 
And now we look back and we 

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think, oh, we're lucky to have 
that because the view from it up

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into the hill, something to 
speak, disrupt the white Nancy 

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and through Ballington itself 
are just absolutely spectacular.

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So it's it's lovely to have that
to walk along. 

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The railway closed in the 1970s.
Yes. 

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And then it was left just 
derelict for a while. 

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Left derelict, it was reopened 
as the walkway cycle way for 

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horse riders in 1985. 
So it was May 1985 when it was 

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reopened again and it was opened
up by David Bellamy. 

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Oh, well, that that was 
fantastic. 

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But yeah, it must have lain 
redundant for probably less than

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15 years because it was taking 
them a couple of years 

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00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:10,480
contractors to build it, put 
fencing in and do the surfacing 

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00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,480
work, build steps so that people
could get up onto the top paths 

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00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,040
and things like that. 
So probably about 13 years it 

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00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,840
lay lay redundant. 
And I gather that when they were

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00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,120
putting the plans together to 
turn it into the cycle path, 

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that they actually wanted to 
knock the viaduct down. 

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Yes, there's talk of knocking 
viaduct down, but luckily the 

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local residents of Bonington, 
they got reports in to just make

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sure that it was structurally 
sound. 

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I think that's what happened and
then it was kept, which is 

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00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,560
fantastic. 
So today it's an amazingly well 

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00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,680
used path, isn't it? 
I mean, there are cyclists, 

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there are runners, there are 
walkers, there are horses as. 

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Well, yes, that's it. 
We get all the different user 

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00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:52,920
groups coming on. 
So yeah, like you say, the horse

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riders, walkers, cyclists coming
along here and we get about half

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a million visitors. 
One of the things I like about 

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00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,840
it most is that there are so 
many access points you can get 

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00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:07,000
on and off Middlewood Way in 
literally dozens of places, 

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00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,960
can't you? 
And then there are little paths 

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00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,920
or lanes that lead up to the 
canal, which means that you can 

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00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,760
do numerous different loops. 
Yeah, it's fantastic. 

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Most of the bridges, you've got 
access points from the middle 

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way and you can either join them
up with using the roads or the 

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00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,400
footpath network around and 
about. 

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And the footpath network has 
sort of like come about from the

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people using walking to and from
farms going to different coal 

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pits that would have been around
and about. 

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So all these footpaths join up 
the two areas and it makes it 

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fantastic walking for people to 
make circular walks of any 

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distance that they really 
choose. 

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00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,320
And you mentioned all the coal 
mines and everything, because 

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nowadays it's a really beautiful
rural area. 

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Back in the day, it would have 
been totally different. 

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Wouldn't it? 
Yeah, it'd be absolutely 

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00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,240
unbelievable with the amount of 
industry round and about and a 

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really good place to go and have
a look. 

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I think they've got a model from
the 1930s of what Poynton used 

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00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,480
to look like at the Anson Engine
Museum, so that is absolutely 

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00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:06,360
superb. 
If you can get a chance to go 

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00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:08,080
and have a look at that. 
That's probably about half a 

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00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,760
mile from High Poynton Lyme Rd, 
so it's well worth having a look

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00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,960
at that to see what it must have
looked like back then. 

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And also at the Nelson Pitt 
Visitor Centre, there's a sort 

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00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,320
of sculpture, isn't there, that 
has marked on it, Although I 

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00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,520
think there's 74 coal mines in 
the area, which is a remarkable.

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Unbelievable. 
All all laid down in the 

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Carboniferous era, which I think
was 280 to 350 million years 

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00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,360
ago. 
It's hard to comprehend that. 

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It's such a long length of time 
and no wonder there's so much 

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coal. 
But that was thrust up to create

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the Pennines, which is US moving
away from America as we sort of 

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00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,240
like crumpled up. 
And then that's why it's exposed

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00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,000
here and then exposed on the 
other side of the Pennines as 

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00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:53,600
well. 
That's why you got lines of 

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00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,960
calories down to Stoke on Trent 
from Poynton and then Derby 

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Nottingham area calories on that
side as well. 

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So up to date then. 
You're one of the Rangers. 

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So what does your job entail? 
All. 

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Sorts of things, maintaining 
paths, maintaining the hedges. 

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00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,120
So we do hedge laying along the 
boundaries. 

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00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,120
So that improves the wildlife 
aspect. 

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Also doing the tree work, look 
at thinning the trees, coppicing

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the trees and all of those given
different age structure and 

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height structure to the trees 
along the Middlewood way. 

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00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,840
So all different habitats for 
all the different sort of 

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00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,280
creatures sort of nest in there.
So a lot of the birds will nest 

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00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,159
low to the ground. 
So having coppice trees is 

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00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:38,919
really important and small 
mammals as well and it brings in

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00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,840
when we open up the areas, 
brambles will start to come in 

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00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:45,120
and that's great for different 
birds like bull finches, which 

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00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,160
are very rare nowadays. 
So if we've got areas of 

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00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,280
Bramble, it is a good thing 
because it creates nice nesting 

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00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,560
habitats for them and plenty of 
food for them to feed on as 

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00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:56,880
well. 
And I heard a a woodpecker as I 

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00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:58,160
was walking up here this 
morning. 

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00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,880
Yeah, we've got woods that come 
off the Middlewood way. 

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00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:03,720
If we can leave standing 
Deadwood, that is absolutely 

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00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,040
fantastic. 
It's such an important habitat, 

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00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,520
but they will tend to be more in
the woodland areas which are off

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the middle and way, or in areas 
up the banks of the middle and 

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00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,360
way where it's just safe for 
them to stay standing. 

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00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,520
And today you've got a work 
party going on, yes. 

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00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,160
It's fantastic. 
We've got the Rothendale Trust, 

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00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,680
they come out once a month and 
they will come and help us with 

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00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:27,800
whatever work we're doing. 
So they're absolutely a lovely 

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00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,440
group, They're great for us, 
it's great for them and whatever

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00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,880
work we're doing, they will come
and help us with it. 

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So a lot of the work today 
they're doing in path work, 

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00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:40,800
they're stripping back where the
vegetation is encroached. 

175
00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,600
So like the turf is encroached 
over time. 

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00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:48,040
I'm always amazed at at what 
they do and what they achieve. 

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00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,760
It's it's lovely for us. 
Some people may have Down 

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00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:55,080
syndrome, some may have learned 
difficulties and for them to 

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00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:59,000
come out and help us, it's great
and you see their confidence 

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00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,080
build and it's lovely for 
members of the public to come 

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00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:03,720
along and see what they're doing
and show their appreciation 

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00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:07,000
because it's so good for their 
confidence and just self esteem.

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00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,760
It's absolutely brilliant, I 
love it. 

184
00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,280
So I've got Adam here and Joshua
from the Ross Andale Trust. 

185
00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:19,800
So just tell me what you're 
doing here today. 

186
00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:25,640
Today is doing well for stone 
short walkers down your bikers. 

187
00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:32,920
Well, we're picking out the AV 
over there by taking them out 

188
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:38,400
with a spade and making them 
with the rake. 

189
00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,160
And you're making the path 
better basically, aren't you? 

190
00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,480
Yes, you're making it as wide as
possible. 

191
00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,560
And I gather you, you come here 
and do work like this quite 

192
00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,320
regularly, don't you? 
Yes, I do. 

193
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,120
Yeah, love it all week. 
Me walking, yes, walking for 

194
00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:58,680
outwards for hours walk. 
Nice weather doing struggling 

195
00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:03,840
digging in like all that, nice 
cotton, all that. 

196
00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:05,840
And it looks as though you 
really enjoy it. 

197
00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:06,760
You haven't enjoyed it? 
Yeah. 

198
00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:16,000
Yeah, I really enjoy it. 
And a little bird told me that 

199
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,640
you're a wood Carver. 
Is that right? 

200
00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,320
Yes, that's right. 
Yeah, with the chainsaw. 

201
00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,200
So do chainsaw carvings around 
about at Nelson Pitt. 

202
00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,800
That's one of mine around the 
door frame there and that 

203
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,600
carving there. 
We involved the local school 

204
00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,440
children and they came and did 
projects about the different 

205
00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,160
animals around there and 
researched them and understood 

206
00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,600
about the different animal that 
was associated with their school

207
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,000
and now it's now on the 
sculpture. 

208
00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,080
So the Middlewood way really is 
part of the community then? 

209
00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,760
I think so. 
I think I'm really pleased with 

210
00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:50,080
how the community are involved, 
how they get together, how many 

211
00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,200
people know each other, walk 
with each other, meet each 

212
00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,760
other, go out for drinks 
together, you know, and it's all

213
00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,720
because they meet on the middle 
way. 

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00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,240
Well, if you want to explore the
Middle Wood Way, there's a handy

215
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,520
map you can download from the 
Cheshire East Council website. 

216
00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,520
It shows all the links between 
the path and the Macclesfield 

217
00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,280
Canal. 
And that's all from here on the 

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00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,680
Middlewood Way. 
The Water Rd is produced and 

219
00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:31,280
presented by me, Adam Porter. 
If you haven't already followed 

220
00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,680
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221
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222
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00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:44,040
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Thank you for listening to The 

224
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:44,880
Water Rd.