Swettenham to Davenport Hall
... and back
On a fresh autumn or winter's day I love to get wrapped up and go for a walk. When time is limited this walk is perfect, providing lovely scenery, interesting conservation areas and excellent views. Plus the start / end of this walk is at a great country pub.
This route is a linear walk - taking about an hour to return to Swettenham village. Even though circular walks are preferable, in my opinion, this is great because of the differing perspectives offered by facing the north and the south of the Dane valley.
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| Swettenham |
The starting point is Swettenham village, to the east of Holmes Chapel. The Swettenham Arms is a lovely old country inn with a big carpark so we were comfortable parking here as we planned to enjoy their hospitality on our return.
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| Route shown in red |
Turning our back to the pub we headed out of the carpark and turned right along Swettenham Lane passing the old parish school on the left (now a family home). Quinta, a home on the right, is where Sir Bernard Lovell used to live, Swettenham is close to Jodrell Bank, where his famous radio telescope rises above the Cheshire plain.
Heading down the lane we passed through a white gate to the Davenport Hall estate which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with the River Dane twisting through the valley. Footpath signs indicate we are following the Dane Valley Way.
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| Dane Valley Way signpost |
To the left, after going through the gate, is Dane Edge a gold star conservation area where willows and beech trees line the sides of the river.
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| Conservation Area |
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| Gnarled tree bark |
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| Dane Edge |
Crossing the bridge you can see how the river has cut through the land in many twists and turns.
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| River Dane |
Heading up the hill on the south side of the river you can look across the valley and see the Cloud, a distinctive landmark hill to the east, if the weather is clear.
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| Looking south over the Dane valley |
On the left as you climb the hill are a set of pools where water tumbles from the higher pools down through all six pools to the bottom of the hill.
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| Tumbling pools |
At the top of the hill Davenport Hall can be seen to the right and the Dane Valley Way continues through the gate at the end of the gravel drive, heading south to Brereton Heath. At this point we decided to turn back and retrace our steps, it was Christmas Day and we were planning to visit family later in the day so the walk had to be cut short.
To make this more of a stretch it is easy to continue following the DVW, crossing over the A54 Holmes Chapel Road at the end of the lane and continuing down the facing lane, Davenport Park Lane, which takes you to Brereton Pool. There is a lovely wooded walk around the pool that could be included before returning to the Davenport Hall estate.
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| Site of Special Scientific Interest |
We walked to the end of the estate and a little way further along the lane before turning back and heading down hill again to the river. With the sun at our back the land was bathed in a lovely golden glow.
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| Look over there! |
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| Swettenham fields |
We returned to the Swettenham Arms and called in for a festive drink, served by staff wearing Santa hats of course!
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| Christmas at the Swettenham Arms |
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