GM Ringway – Stage 4: Bramhall to Middlewood

Stage 4: Distance: 8.61 miles; Walking Time: 3 hours 15 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Hiking With Company (Finally!)

Is Stage 4 Really ‘Moderate’?

Stage 4 is the last of the easy hikes for a while, maybe for the remainder of the trail. The official website has it down as a “Moderate” hike, but I’m not sure why as it was a pretty flat and easy walk. 

This was my favourite walk so far – maybe because I had company, or maybe due to the picturesque scenery. But I would recommend this as a hike on its own, even if you’re not doing the full trail.

Bramhall Park and Happy Valley Delights

It starts by repeating the last mile and a half of Stage 3, but I didn’t mind as it meant a trip back through the lovely Bramhall Park. After passing Bramhall Hall and heading out of the park, the trail heads into Happy Valley Nature Reserve – a very nice part of the walk which meanders past streams, over stiles and through a couple of fields. 

Trekking Pole Trials

I used trekking poles for the first time during this walk, which helped me get down from a few of the stiles – I am only 5ft 2 so any help down from even a small height is very welcome! I’ll be posting more about using the poles in my next post, as when I got home I realised I didn’t quite use them right on this one – a few YouTube videos were watched to perfect my technique.

Lunch at Poynton Pool

Shortly after leaving the Nature Reserve the route heads around Poynton Pool, a lovely little lake where we saw a few cygnets with their mum, plenty of ducks and a few doggos. There are plenty of benches around the lake, so we took advantage of the seat and stopped for a quick break for both lunch and my feet.

After feeling hydrated and refuelled we left the lake area and headed into some nice woodland, via a little bit of road walking. The walk was pretty uneventful up to this point, and had been pretty dry despite rain being forecast for the entire day. Both of those things changed quite quickly when we headed into a field. 

Cow Encounters, Bricks and Barbed Wire

As we entered the field, about 20 cows were blocking the exact route we needed to take. As someone who grew up in the countryside, I was used to walking through cow-filled fields when I was younger, but turns out I’m not as brave as I was as a teenager – and neither was my friend. We tried to figure out an alternative route, but as we didn’t fancy walking back the last mile we’d just done, we had to continue on. 

Rather than walk straight through the herd, we decided to take the long way around the field toward what looked like another exit gate. And, of course, that’s when the heavens opened – perfect timing as we were making our way through a cow-pat-filled field. 

When we reached the gate we realised it wasn’t in fact a gate, and the only exit meant heading close to the cows. My friend had other ideas and climbed over the barbed wire fence to avoid Daisy and her mates, but as I mentioned I’m only 5ft 2 and had no chance of making it over! So as I headed to the exit gate I was protected by my friend walking safely on the other side of the fence with a brick she’d picked up – just in case I’d offended the locals and they decided to charge!

I made it out safely – never in doubt – and we finished off the last mile or so with no more drama. 

Final Thoughts on Stage 4

This was a really nice walk, and doing it with company made the time pass a lot quicker. While I probably won’t have company for every leg of the Ringway, I’ll definitely be inviting friends along when I can — even if they make me face down cows alone!

Next up: poles, stiles, and my first “moderately challenging” leg.