Kingfisher walk at Quarry Bank
Meander through lush fields and acres of woodland where you will find huge redwood conifers, rare varieties of rhododendron and folly bridges, once used by the former owner Robert Hyde Greg to connect his home to the mill. If you are lucky, you may see a flash of blue as kingfishers dart over the water in their quest for small fish.
Total steps: 10
Total steps: 10
Start point
Quarry Bank Mill Yard, Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 4HP. Grid ref: SJ835830.
Step 1
From the mill yard, walk uphill towards the Apprentice House.
Step 2
Turn left just before the house, following the sign pointing to Styal village.
Step 3
Walk towards the village, at first with a wooden fence on your right. Cross a wide track (two gates), then go through the gates to the left of Styal Cross.
Step 4
Turn left towards Norcliffe Chapel. Do not go through the lych gates unless you wish to visit the chapel; instead take the field-side path and continue with the chapel on your right. Cross a wide track to enter the Chapel Woods and, after a few paces, take the first right-hand fork and continue downhill with a deep gully on your left.
Step 5
After 100 metres you'll see the steel bridge on your left. Do not cross it. After a further 100 metres, go down a flight of stone steps then bear right down further steps to cross the Chapel Bridge.
Step 6
Having crossed the bridge, walk uphill to a T-junction and turn right to the higher path. About 50 metres along this path, down to your left you can spot the overgrown Folly Bridge.
Step 7
After the Folly Bridge you will come to a sharp bend and you will see a giant redwood.
Step 8
Drop down the track, with its stepped sections, to an area planted with young oak trees. Soon you can see the River Bollin on your right.
Step 9
Ignore a turn on your left, instead continue ahead upstream and pass, but do not cross, Oxbow Bridge.
Step 10
Continue with the river on your right to a T-junction, turn right here and continue to Kingfisher Bridge. Cross the bridge and continue up the stepped stone path. At the top of the ascent, with the steel bridge ahead, turn right and eventually turn right again at the tarmac drive to return to your starting point at the mill yard.
End point
Quarry Bank Mill Yard, Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 4HP. Grid ref: SJ835830.
Trail map
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