SIGNPOST

Evidence Needed

Have you used Wardlow FP6? The pathruns north along the bottom of the northernsection of Cressbrook Dale in the PeakDistrict, past Peter's Stone, to join the A623at Wardlow Mires.   At this junction,Derbyshire County Council has recentlyinstalled a new footbridge west ofBrookside Farm and surfaced a path alongthe road verge so that walkerscan  safely  walk to the junction with theB6465. Unfortunately the definitive map isnot clear at this location, but a member ofthe Society believes that this is not thecorrect historic, legal route of the path,which should pass through the yard ofBrookside Farm before it joins the road.

This member intends to apply to the CountyCouncil for it to make a modification orderto recognise the path through BrooksideFarm as the correct definitive route. Theevidence which he needs to provide withthis application will probably includehistorical documents, but will be mainly theevidence of use of the path by walkers. Ifyou have used the route through BrooksideFarm in the past, he would be very gratefulif you could complete an evidence form,provided by the County Council, to describethe dates and frequency of your use andthe route taken.

If you would be able to help with this,please contact Rhoda Barnett by email:

mail@peakandnorthern.org.ukOr phone:Taylor House on 0161 480 3565

Volunteer Needed

The society has a network of eight PCs withMS Windows and Office installed. We'relooking for a volunteer with relevant skillsand experience to plan and manage aprogramme of upgrades to the software,and hopefully to take an active role in thefuture maintenance and development ofthe system. Expenses will be reimbursed.Please contact John Broadbent by email:johnbroadbent@ntlworld.comOr Phone:Taylor House on 0161 480 3565

Sad News

It is with deep regret that we report thedeath of Jack Robinson former Inspectorfor Oldham on Sunday 05 May 2013 aged90 years and David Williamson Captain RN(Retired) on 5th May 2013, aged 81 years.David was an active member of Peak andNorthern for many years and wasresponsible for scanning our archive of oldAnnual Reports which can be found on ourwebsite. More recently his advice ondrafting the Society's new Constitution wasinvaluable. His wise counsel will be sorelymissed.

Dates for your diary.

Saturday 23 November, is the date for ourHalf Year Meeting, which will be held at theBritannia Hotel Offerton.

Saturday 12 April 2014 is the date for nextyear’s AGM. Venue as above.

April 27th 2013 was quite a day for PNFS. The EGM voted unanimously for the newConstitution thereby giving Trustees the authority as well as the responsibility foreffectively managing the Society. In addition the Constitution is now based on the CharityCommission model which meets Charity Commision requirements much more closely thandid the previous constitution.

The EGM was then followed by the AGM which again voted unanimously for your newChairman, yours truly, and for the election of four additional Trustees. The completeTrustees Team is now in addition to myself: Rhoda Barnett, Bill Buckley, Paul Easthope,John Harker, David Morton, Terry Norris and Alistair Taylor.

Clarke Rogerson stood down as Chairman and was duly elected as President. Under thenew Constitution the President is not a Trustee but is able to “stand aside” from the dailymanagement of the Society, in a position to provide advice and guidance to the Trusteesas needed. I have assured Clarke that I will need all the advice and guidance I can get !

At this point I would like to say a big thank you to Clarke for the enormous contributionhe has made to PNFS as Chairman over the past five years. He has ensured that we arenow on a much sounder financial footing than when he took over and as a consequencewill be able to consider investment in additional resources to enable us to achieve greatergrowth and become more efficient.

Looking to the future , I firmly believe we need to increase our membership numberssteadily over the next few years, if we are to continue to be in a position to fulfil our roleof protecting footpaths throughout our area. To this end, we are “recruiting” aMembership Development officer to take on this responsibility.

Good news has been plentiful over the past few weeks. April 26th the day before the AGM,a walk to celebrate the Society's major contribution to the opening of Congleton 82 ,thefootpath over ‘The Cloud’ near Congleton, took place. Sixty people joined the walkincluding the Mayor of Congleton who gamely completed the walk including climbing overthe new ladder stile in her extremely smart trouser suit, see front cover photo.

More good news from a lady in Derbyshire who is not (yet) a member of Peak andNorthern but who has already raised in excess of £1200 for the Society. Fiona Cordenran the London Marathon in memory of her late father who was a very keen hill walkerand who loved footpaths. Fiona wanted to donate her sponsorship monies to anorganisation that had practical impact on the preservation of footpaths, and chose us. Shebelieves that her father would be delighted at her choice. If you would like to make adonation to Fiona and her good cause, you can do so either direct to Taylor House or viaour website. (

The official opening of the new bridge near the Jumbles Reservoir took place May 7th .This bridge has been financed by P&N and has enabled Bolton MBC to open up thefootpath to the West Pennine Moors. Full details can be found on our website (

Finally, in our constant quest for new members we will be present with our “MarqueeStand” at the following events this year:-

June 23rd Derbyshire County ShowJune 30th Marple Locks FestivalJuly 27th Leek and District ShowJuly 31st Nantwich ShowAug.24th Poynton ShowSept.14th Hodder Valley Show

Come and visit us, bring a friend, they are bound to join when they see what a good jobwe do !!

In addition we still need some volunteers to help man the stalls and recruit new members,so if you would like to help, please email me at johnbroadbent@ntlworld.com.

All in all, exciting times and I am certain many more to come.

John Broadbent

There was much to celebrate and sixty people joined David Bratt as he led the walk upto The Cloud which enjoys spectacular views over Cheshire. For many years it has notbeen possible to walk directly to the Bridestones, a protected ancient monument, southof the Cloud. But now thanks to a lot of hard work by the late Adrian Littleton, whosefamily joined us on the day, Alan Soper and the rest of the PNFS team, plus the smallmatter of £15,000 that the society spent on legal fees, all walkers are now able to enjoythe route using Congleton 82.

As you will see from the photos the sun was out to help us celebrate this huge successwhich the society is rightly proud of. June Mabon did a sterling job in ensuring the presswere in attendance and we received good publicity in the Congleton Chronicle and RolySmith covered the story in the Manchester Evening News.

We also had the pleasure of walking the newly diverted Rushton Spencer 52 which nowavoids what John Read described as The newroute takes a line across fields and through a small wooded area en route to theBridestones.

Kimberworth FP17

The landowner challenged use, by erecting signs, several years ago. I and my oppositenumber in Rotherham Ramblers pressed for a Definitive Map Modification Order to add itto the Definitive Map & Statement. The order was published in 2010 and led to a publicinquiry (PI) in March 2011 due to the landowner's objection. I gave evidence at the PI asdid another PNFS member. The inspector confirmed the Order but the path had becomeunusable due to under/overgrowth. A work day was organised recently which Iparticipated in, we cleared the path and built steps (see below for before during and afterphotos) under the guidance of staff from Groundwork Dearne Valley. Rotherham MBCalso erected new signposts at either end.

The picture above shows Sheffield City Councillor Peter Price and myself with a copy ofhis booklet ‘The Sheffield Way’. It's a 45 mile route around Sheffield which uses thefootpath.

John Harker

Kimberworth 17 was a non-definitive pathuntil 2011, despite the fact that localpeople had used it for many decades forleisure and getting to work in the DonValley which the path overlooks. The pathis part of 3 different recreational walks:Sheffield Way (pioneered in 1986 byCouncillor Peter Price),Rotherham Ring Route (pioneered byRotherham R.A.)Rowbotham's Round RotherhamRun (pioneered by the RotherhamHarriers & Athletics Club).

Other Footpath News

Congratulation go to Eileen Leonard

For getting three new paths added to thedefinitive map. Some years ago Eileenmade a claim to have three paths added tothe Cheshire definitive map. She had all butforgotten her claim when Chesire East BCwrote to inform her that they had made aDeed of Dedication to create the claimedpaths. The new Poynton with Worth 95 runsNE from Anglesey Drive (SJ 9235 8484) for340 metres to Towers Road (SJ 92488515). Two shorter paths, Poynton withWorth 96 & 97, are spur paths off FP95. Ifyou would like further information pleasecontact Cheshire East Borough Council,Westfileds, Middlewich Road, Sandbach,CW11 1HZ.

Sometimes the threat is enough

It is often the case that a Society Inspectorreports a problem to the relevant HighwayAuthority only to become frustrated whenlittle or no action is taken for many months.We recently had two such cases where theInspector contacted our Courts & InquiriesTeam.

The team assess the issue and ifappropriate approve action. The next stepis a ‘ which often bringsa swift response. That was the case whenTony Brackenbury brought Chapel en leFrith 66 to John Harker where a trailer andother miscellaneous material often blockedthe path. John’s letter received theresponse that a s143 had been issued byDCC on the landowner. So far it looks as ifthis has been enough to prompt the ownerinto action rather than facing a ‘bill’ fromDCC who could have sent contractors toclear the path if action had not been taken.

Terry Norris had to take things a littlefurther when Pat Thomas reported Hyde127 as out of repair. The letter beforeaction did not bring a response and Terryduly issued a s56 Notice on Tameside. Theresponse to the notice confirmed that thepath was repairable at public expense andthe assurance that a contractor had beenappointed to carry out repair work. Thebefore and after pictures, below show thefinal outcome.

So the moral is: ‘don’t feel frustrated if yourreports don’t get results’, raise the matterwith the C&IO team who will assess theproblem.

Please note that all of our extant signposts, bridges, etc. can be seen withphotos and exact locations on www.pnfs.org.uk in the “Signpost Gallery”,thanks to the help of Mike Barnes.

When I wrote my contribution to the 2012 Annual Report in December 2012, five moresignposts were “nearly ready”. They are now in situ.

January - S435 was erected at Quarters Farm, Bradwell (GR SK172 793); S55 wasreposted, then re-erected at Hr. Harthill Farm, Rowarth, following a collision with atractor. Signposts 257, 159, 368, 249, 266, 301, 119 and 159 were “maintained”, withparticular help from Margaret and Bill Buckley on 159 at Rowarth.

February - S438 was erected at Sprotborough, Doncaster (GR SE531 014), becomingour most easterly signpost and our first in Doncaster. S439 was erected south of BowdenHall and just north of Chapel en le Frith, in memory of John Bailey, founder and Presidentof Chapel Rambling Club. Signposts 440, 441 and 442 were erected just north ofBreckhead, Chapel Milton with fine views of South Head en route to the permitted pathup the south ridge of South Head, which local farmers call “The Bernie Rothman MemorialFootpath”.

There were no new signposts in March, April and May but S443, 445, 448 and 449 arealmost ready to go up and I will report on these in the next Newsletter. We also agreedto assist the RA and Sheffield Co-op Ramblers with the refurbishment of three neglectedsignposts. S145 near Kettleshulme was also refurbished with help from Dave Brown.

As you know, we rely on donations to cover the cost of erecting new signposts and manymembers have financed signs together with plaques in remembrance of a relative , friend,or colleague who loved footpaths. The signposts are extremely well made and can be atasteful, quality memorial which will be maintained by us indefinitely. To ensure that wecover our costs we now ask for a donation of £300. If you would like to make a donationin this way please contact me on 0161 283 7824.

We currently have signposts available at four locations for those of you who would like amemorial, commemorative or celebratory plaque on one of them. They are near to LowerBallgreave Farm, Lamaload, Rainow; Quarters Farm, Bradwell; Breckhead, Chinley andHay Lee farm, Combs.

Our aim is to increase the spread of signposts into new and more distant parts of our areaas “silent ambassadors for PNFS” and these could increase the choices available fordonations.

My thanks go to those of you whose generous donations have been vital to this aspect ofthe society’s work and I also wish to thank John Adler, Tony Brackenbury, Mike Grangerand Terry Woodhouse for their continuing help.

Dave Morton

Signpost report

On Wed May 29th eleven of us took the Transpeak bus service from Buxton and met upwith another nine of us waiting for our arrival at Whatstandwell near Ambergate. Amongstthose waiting was Ruth Cozens, Geoffs partner for many years up until his tragic deathin 2012.

Our party of 20 then proceeded the mile or so to Signpost 416 donated jointly by Ruthand Geoff to celebrate 30 years of happy walking together. We then made our way viapleasant field paths, woodland and country lanes to the Malt Shovel pub at WirksworthMoor where a toast was given to Geoff’s memory and all the good deeds he did for PNFS.

The very agreeable weather by now was on the turn and rain became the order of theday but we resolutely strode on towards Shining Cliff woods where some of the partydecamped to nearby Ambergate due to time/transport constraints. The 10 of usremaining walked through the woods including a section of private territory for which wehad kindly been given written permission by local landowner Henry George.

Back at Whatstandwell ,having missed the 16.20 Transpeak bus, car share lifts reducedthe active party to just 4!! And we made Buxton just as the monsoon season arrived and,due to curious time tabling where bus in/train out are both timed at 18.29, suffered theinevitable and had to take refuge in the Railway pub where Geoff’s memory was againcelebrated. All in all a rewarding and eventful day - thanks to all who came for doing agood man proud.

David Bratt

Geoff Errington Tribute Walk

HS2 UpdateHS2 may seem a long way off, if not manyyears away, however events are movingalong in Staffordshire. Footpaths are beingidentified, and diversions are ready to gofor Phase 1 of HS2. Here is an update onprogress or the lack of it in Staffordshire.

Much has been happening recently on thepolitical and media fronts with respect toplans for high speed rail. Many words havebeen spoken about the value to theeconomy, the reasons for increasingpassenger capacity, the value or otherwiseof saving on journey times and theenvironmental impacts. I do not propose torehearse the arguments as I am sure youare heartily fed up with hearing them andanyway the situation is changing rapidly, sothat by the time you read this, my wordswill probably have limited relevance.

What I would like to do is let membersknow how we stand in relation to thecurrent situation with changes to rights ofway in Staffordshire, how we perceive theperformance of HS2 in relation to theirpromises to consult at all stages with usershas panned out and to remind you of thetime scales

The Hybrid Bill to give the legal frameworkfor the project to go ahead is expected togo before parliament this year. RoyalAssent should follow in 2015 and workshould commence on Phase 1 in 2017,taking the line from London to Birmingham,with the line to the north feeding pastLichfield to join the west coast main line atArmitage/Handsacre. This route is nowdecided and work has commenced on theexamining the detail of changes to thehighway infrastructure which will result.Despite making contact with HS2 personnel

at a Stafford Seminar and a Lichfield roadshow, local volunteers from the user groupshave not been approached and theproposed changes to the footpath networkin Staffordshire have been presented to theJoint Access Forum and reported on by theCounty Council without details having beensubmitted to the Peak & Northern FootpathSociety or to local volunteers. We areactively trying to remedy this situation.Fortunately, with help from others we haveobtained the maps and other details so weare aware of what is being proposed. Itdoes seem that HS2 are attempting to keeplocal activists at arms length until they areready to make orders.

Having observed the above, I can reportthat the proposals for Staffordshire as far asLichfield seem to bear out the statedintention to handle changes to the networksympathetically. Parts of some footpathswill inevitably disappear, but the questionof keeping the network connected withoutmaking diversions too devious has beenaddressed. Footbridges (which ain’t cheap)and underpasses are there in plenty. Of theeighteen paths we listed in Lichfield District,only a couple need a re-think andStaffordshire County Council has alreadyhighlighted these to HS2.

It is difficult to comment on theenvironmental impact of the constructionand the operational periods. Some areaswhere we love to walk will never be thesame again. Harry Scott and I walked inHints near Lichfield recently and tried tovisualise the post HS2 landscape. Thepicture was not a pretty one.

David Hewett

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