(S/E) From the rear of the pub, follow the fence on the right of the garden and out into Beaufort Close. Turn left. At the junction with Devonshire Road at the end of the road, turn left. Follow the road right at the next junction (Marlborough Avenue), then turn left at the next junction (Moss Lane).
(1) At the next T-junction (Mottram Road) cross and turn right. After 100 yards, turn left into Squirrels Jump. Take the path into the woods beyond the barrier at the end of the road. Climb the wooded slope gently, then descend slightly to a junction of paths.
(2) Turn right and climb a long flight of steps. Turn left at the top and shortly pass the Wizard’s Well on your right. After passing below a couple more rocky outcrops, turn right up stone steps and through gateposts then left to reach the top of Castle Rock. Follow the path beyond, with the wooded edge dropping away to your left and fields on your right. The path re-enters the trees and follows a wall on the right, turning right below the Armada Beacon. Bear left onto a lower path and follow it around the head of a wooded combe, crossing another path at the lowest point. Climb to emerge into the open area around Stormy Point.
(3) From Stormy Point, bear left and pass below the plaque recording the area’s gift to the National Trust. Descend past a clump of rocks to a saddle. Climb the ridge opposite; just to the left of the highest point, a waymark post indicates the way on. Descend to the bottom of the wood and bear left into a field. Follow the surfaced path down the right-hand side of the field, then continue out to the road.
(4) Take a few steps to the left, then turn right down the drive to Saddlebole Farm. Level with the house, turn left over a stile and bear right to a kissing gate. Follow the right-hand hedge to a stile into a road.
(5) Turn left, then right at the junction (Moss Road, signposted ‘Alderley Edge’). Follow the road for 600 yards, as it bends left then right. At No. 24, turn left into a driveway between hedges, signposted as a foot-path. Turn right in front of the house and join the footpath beyond. At the end, turn right along cobbled Duke Street. At the junction with Moss Road, turn left then left again into Moss Rose to return to the Drum & Monkey.(S/E)
