A Pennine stroll

Common sandpiper, Walkerwood Reservoir

The weather forecast offered the unappealing prospect of a cool day with a high pollen count so I decided to head for the hills. The only question was: which hills? I've not been to Stalybridge Country Park and the reservoirs beyond yet this year so I went thataway, courtesy of the train to Stalybridge and the 343 bus to Millbrook.

Robin, Stalybridge Country Park

I walked up Brushes Road and joined the path into the country park where the blackcaps, chiffchaffs and chaffinches were leading the chorus. Blackbirds, woodpigeons, robins and a mistle thrush rummaged about in the undergrowth while song thrushes sang from the treetops. I knew I was approaching Walkerwood Reservoir when the willow warblers joined in the chorus and a grey wagtail flitted from a puddle on the path ahead into a nearby tree.

Walkerwood Reservoir 

I had wondered if I hadn't perhaps overdressed. As I stood on the road across the dam at Walkerwood Reservoir and felt the wind trying to reach my kidneys I was reassured that I hadn't. It was one of those days where the light was bright and the clouds heavy and dark and the scenery looked all the more picturesque for it. A few Canada geese and mallards bobbed about on the reservoir and black-headed gulls floated by in the wind. Blackbirds, song thrushes, chiffchaffs and willow warblers sang in the trees around the reservoir and it was all very pleasant. 

Walkerwood Reservoir 

I'd been looking on the bank by the dam for any wagtails or waders and had no joy until I got to the end and a common sandpiper bobbed up and took noisy exception to me. All that noise didn't stop it from carrying on with its foraging, nor did it seem a lot bothered that it was coming my way and close in. Common sandpipers tend to be frustratingly distant figures in the landscape so it was nice to see one this close to for a change.

Common sandpiper, Walkerwood Reservoir
Nice to see the detailed patterns of the upperparts for once, from a distance this looks plain brown.

I carried on up Brushes Road, the hedgerows busy with goldfinches, greenfinches and great tits, the trees noisy with chiffchaffs, willow warblers and chaffinches. A treecreeper made a cameo appearance on a stunted oak before disappearing in plain sight. A little further on a jay quietly floated by in the trees. 

Walkerwood Reservoir 

As I approached Brushes Farm a kestrel passed low overhead. A mistle thrush that had been with the sheep in the field spotted it and rattled its way into the hawthorns by the path, where it then spotted me and gave me the evil eye until I had walked past.

Brushes Road

A few dunnocks and blackcaps added to the songscape as I took the ascent by Brushes Reservoir. I kept an optimistic ear open for wood warblers or redstarts but it wasn't happening today. You can't see much of the reservoir for trees for most of this stretch, a lot of the trees being stunted oaks with lots of holes in them so I wasn't being entirely unrealistic. 

Looking back along Brushes Road

I'd decided I'd walk up to the open country by the Swineshaw Reservoirs and give both my joints and my wind a bit of a workout. The walking underfoot was easy as it's a metalled road used by reservoir maintenance vehicles but they don't use it very often. As I got higher I started to notice the absence of jackdaws calling in the distance. 

That there Manchester city centre 

I broke out into open country and reached level ground. As I took a breather I took in the views. Looking down the valley Manchester city centre was a hazy blue mound of children's building blocks with clusters of columns sticking up in the middle. Up tops was a rolling green landscape punctuated by millstone grit walls and patches of purple rhododendrons.

By Brushes Road

Linnets and woodpigeons flew across the moors. Meadow pipits, skylarks and reed buntings sang on the open moor, willow warblers and wrens from the bushes and trees in the hollows, and curlews called from the tops. As I walked through the copse by the turnoff to Lower Swineshaw Reservoir I noticed a pair of small finches flitting about the low bushes to the left and took a very long time to recognise them as redpolls. I get to hear redpolls singing perhaps once a year but that's no real excuse for it. A couple of greenfinches twittered in the bushes, a blackcap sang in the trees.

A rather windswept meadow pipit, Upper Swineshaw Reservoir

Upper Swineshaw Reservoir

I reached Upper Swineshaw Reservoir and had a scan round. Linnets fussed about in the waterside vegetation and a grey wagtail fossicked about on the stones in the far corner. Half a dozen drake mallards dozed on the far bank.

Lower Swineshaw Reservoir

Lower Swineshaw Reservoir

Looking down onto Lower Swineshaw Reservoir woodpigeons, magpies and a wren flew about the treetops. I'd walked across to where the road becomes a rough bridleway crossing Swineshaw Brook when the first pair of stonechats of the day took exception to me.

Female stonechat, Upper Swineshaw Reservoir

It was excellent walking weather. I'd got this far and the maps reckoned it was only a couple of miles or so to Tintwistle by the Pennine Bridle Way so I decided to carry on and explore a bit of new territory. I walked through the gate and the path forked. Which was the bridleway? I chose the one going uphill, which turned out to be right. I chose well: the other path did a sharp uphill climb with a browsing bullock blocking the way halfway up.

Meadow pipit at the top of its parachute song, they sing on the way up then slowly spiral down to ground singing all the way.

Juvenile stonechat
The rather fussy background's a field of cotton grass.

Here on in for the next mile or so it was rolling moorland with linnets, mipits, skylarks and curlews with pairs of stonechats scolding from the wings and the occasional passing black-headed gull. A raven cronked its way over the tops.

First sight of the Derbyshire hills

Meadow pipit

Male stonechat

The descent towards the Derbyshire border along Ogden Brook brought a change in the birdlife. Blackbirds, wrens and willow warblers sang from the trees in the hollows and distant plantations. A few swifts flew low over grazing sheep and three oystercatchers flew high overhead. As I got lower I started meeting jackdaws, carrion crows and woodpigeons on the rough pasture.

Heading for Ogden Brook
The valley is the crease in the landscape running left to right across the picture.

Chiffchaff, Ogden Brook

Ogden Brook where the bridleway passes it on a tiny bridge is ridiculously picturesque.

Ogden Brook

Ogden Brook

Looking back at Ogden Brook
Everything left of the brook is Greater Manchester, to the right Derbyshire

The climb up on the other side coincided with the appearance of a mixed flock of crows, jackdaws and rooks feeding amongst the sheep. The curlews on the slopes weren't happy with the passing crows, a couple resorted to distraction displays to head them off from anything valuable. 

Curlew

Curlew

Pennine Bridle Way 

Chiffchaffs, blackbirds and willow warblers sang from a plantation lying like a ribbon on a hill and a buzzard called noisily as it flew in and settled in the treetops. Looking at the rough descent in parts I concluded this walk would be better starting at Tintwistle and concluding with the gentle descent into Millbrook.

Arnfield Reservoir 

I'd been seeing Arnside Reservoir, my target destination, for a while but the paths approach it by going uphill then doing a sharp turn before finally descending by Arnfield Farm then joining Arnfield Lane over the brook to the Northeast of the reservoir then I had to cut down Crossgate Lane to Manchester Road for the bus stops. Pied wagtails flitted about the dry stone walls, mallards dabbled in small pools and lapwings fussed about in damp fields. Family groups of pied wagtails and starlings foraged by Arnfield Brook as swallows hawked low over the water.

Arnfield Brook

Robin, Arnfield Lane
Start the walk with a robin, end the walk with a robin.

Half a dozen Canada geese cruised Arnfield Reservoir as I just missed the bus to Glossop. Luckily I only had five minutes to wait for the bus to Ashton-under-Lyne on the other side and thence home. On paper I'd walked about four miles, it felt slightly longer.

Arnside Lane