Start : The Joshua Bradley (SK14 5EZ) Grid ref. SJ 944 929
(S/E) From The Joshua Bradley front entrance, cross the main road at the traffic island and turn left on Hyde Road. Pass the entrance to Longacre Farm, then turn right into Poleacre Lane.
(1) At the bottom of the road bear right at the no-entry sign, over a railway bridge. Turn immediately right onto a footpath, with the derelict Unity Mill on your left.
Beyond the mill, turn left (away from the railway) and walk down the field to a canal bridge. Cross the canal and turn left along the towpath. Follow the towpath for 400 yards until you are opposite a house on the far side; take an inconspicuous footpath on the right that leads down steps through the woodland.
On emerging by a kennels, swing left along a fenced path and then follow the driveway beyond, with the River Tame on your right. At a junction of paths, turn right past a wooden barrier.
(2) At the next junction, turn right again and cross the bridge over the river. Turn right and follow a broad track along the edge of the wood, with paddocks on your right. On emerging at Ivy Cottages, turn right. Walk through a small car park and turn left into Haughton Dale Local Nature Reserve.
(3) Follow the broad gravelled path alongside the river, passing a weir. At a fork, turn right and then right again, always keeping as close to the river as possible. Beyond a fence, the path runs alongside a meadow to a bench, then swings left to a gate where another path rejoins from the left.
(4) Keep on until you reach a bridge below a second weir, where you turn right to cross the river. Take the right-hand path and follow it up through the wood to the canal. Turn right along the towpath.
(5) Pass under bridge number 9, then at bridge 10 cross the canal again. Walk up the field as before, and swing right on meeting the railway to reach the drive to Unity Mill again. Turn left. Retrace your steps up Poleacre Lane, turning left at the main road to return to the Joshua Bradley. (S/E)
