Cheshire was heavily forested in Tudor times. Timber-framed Little Moreton Hall sprouts from this wildwood rootstock; a storm-tossed oak structure frozen in time.
The National Trust nurtures this astonishingly crooked 16th-century manor. It stands amid the glorious Cheshire countryside below Mow Cop’s looming ridge; rippling farmland ripe for easy exploration. This pretty 4.5 mile loop, passing south of Little Moreton Hall, is just one of many walks in the area.
1. Farm to Pump
From the A34 entrance, turn right and cross the road to join the drive to Cuttleford Farm shop. Keep right of the farm, with South Cheshire Way (SCW) waymarkers guiding you beside fields to a lane. Turn left and continue on for 900m until you reach The Little Pump House on your left-hand side.
2. Brookside
Follow the waymarked path off the driveway entrance to meet a brookside path, and then head past a swathe of woodland to a farm track. Bend right to meet the main road beyond Rode Estate’s old mill.
3. Halfway point
After 400m, turn left on to a lane beside Odd Rode Church, and then walk to the brick bridge beyond Holehouse Farm. Turn right on the waymarked path above the stream, following the earth field track to the right of trees, ignoring the gate. Advance to a stile and climb it to join a pathway, flanked on either side by hedges. Go left past an old cottage to reach Congleton Road North.
4. Waterway walk
Cross to meet Station Road and head left for 800m to The Rising Sun. Beyond the pub, join a gently bending towpath, with the canal on your right, and amble to Bridge 86, just past the imposing Ramsdell Hall.
5. Kiss goodbye
Slip left before the bridge up through two kissing gates, and then turn left on the dirt road and look for yellow or SCW waymarkers to guide you back to Little Moreton Hall.
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