Diggle, Delph & Dobcross: A walk in 3-D!

Yes, the sun DOES shine in Manchester (sometimes) and when it does there is nothing more glorious than seeing all the flowers in bloom, hearing the birds singing and feeling the hot sunshine beating down. We had company this weekend and took them on a walk around the Saddleworth villages, on the fringes of the Peak District National Park.

Less than 10 miles from Manchester city centre and only 20 minutes by train is a little slice of Yorkshire, with steep slopes of grassy moorland sprinkled with stone villages. Perhaps it is a ploy to confuse potential pillagers, but there are four villages in close proximity to one another, the names of which all start with the letter 'D': Diggle, Delph and Dobcross and Denshaw. During our 9-mile hike on Saturday we visited all but Denshaw and this map shows a rough outline of the route.

It was a varied walk along canal towpaths, up hillsides, along bridleways and even past a Roman fort.

First sight was a field of nesting lapwings, a species which has been declining rapidly in numbers lately. Further along we had to turn away from the canal when it reached the mouth of Standedge Tunnel, the longest tunnel on Britain's canal network (near point C on the map).

Further up the valley and the countryside felt wilder and more remote, with amazing views.

Crossing the highway at point D on the map, we spotted this derelict old pub begging for restoration.

Down a quiet lane and heading towards a pair of reservoirs, we found the Castleshaw Roman fort. Don't come expecting anything to rival Hadrian's Wall! This outpost relied on turf walls and the buildings were constructed from wood, so nothing is visible aside from the line of battlements the Romans dug for themselves over 1900 years ago.

In the photo above you can see the south gate clearly. The road between the Roman settlements in what are now Chester and York would have passed by.

It was a lovely stroll from the fort, along the reservoir dam and down towards the village of Delph following a series of streams, meadows and fishing ponds along the way.

Delph was the grandest of the towns we walked through and it would have been nice to linger except the hot sun was driving us towards the pub!

We found the perfect pub on the small village square in Dobcross, another postcard-perfect village. This is the view from Dobcross towards Uppermill and the gap in the moors called Pots & Pans.

From here it was downhill all the way along the shady canal back to the train station at Greenfield. Oh, and the trackside pub there since we conveniently missed the train to Manchester. A perfect end to a perfect day!