A good walk doesn’t always have to involve packing all manner of outdoor clothing UK, ascending and descending crags and scree slopes to knock another Monroe or Wainwright off your wish list. Sometimes there is nothing better than a gentle ramble through the countryside that is God’s own county Cheshire, along a disused old railway line stretching from Macclesfield to Marple, The Middlewood Way.

Using the former railway line, a natural track was created for walkers, cyclists and horse riders to enjoy an 11 mile (16km) “greenway” with information points along the way, featuring various references to the line itself and with great views over the Cheshire Plain. Running parallel to the Macclesfield Canal for a large proportion of the way, it offers lots of opportunities to either vary the walk itself or create lots of circular walks depending on the time you have allowed.

So if you don’t want to walk all the way to Marple, then onto Stockport, you can alter course and go into Lyme Park for example, and for those who want to make it a bit more strenuous head along the edge of Lyme Park and meet up with the Gritstone Trail to walk back towards Macclesfield. A downloadable guide and map are available from the Cheshire East website, and no doubt from the local Tourist Information centres.

Or if like me you want to try something a little more leisurely walk on and sample some of the various hostelries, or coffee shops that are available at various points along the way. After all the walking on the path is fairly straightforward and actually quite pleasant and that makes a nice change, a chance to really take your surroundings in without worrying about stepping off a ridge.

You still have to be prepared for whatever the British weather can throw at you so you do need some outdoor clothing UK walkers always know that, but with this walk you are never too far from civilisation and finding a hostelry or three to shelter in and wait for the weather to improve. So if you do need to update your gear you will always find bargains on the Outdoor Look website, you know it makes sense.