Offa's Dyke to the Pennine Way Link Path 2025
Offa's Dyke to the Pennine Way Link Path 2025 via the Maelor Way, the South Cheshire Way, part of the Staffordshire Way and also part of the Pennine Odyssey.
We have a rough plan to join up some of our previous long distance walks ("joining the dots" as we call it) and walk from Lands End to John O'Groats. This years LDW aimed to link Offa's Dyke to the start of the Pennine Way at Edale.
It was a trip into the unknown for us as we had limited information on the paths and route we chose to take, there was no 'Trailblazer' Guide book for this one, and as far as I could see, no-one else had documented this anywhere as a suitable long distance route. Are all the 'ways' clear and free from obstructions, Is navigation going to be easy? are the distances and timescales I estimated correct? There was certainly some uncertainty before we set off.
There were of course other alternative link possibilities (North Cheshire and Staffordshire (as per the end to end book)), but the one I planned seemed the best for enjoyable nights out and decent places to stay, plus the limited information I had gave us the impression that it would be amongst pleasant scenery and countryside. So we decided to give it a go.
Our conclusion after the walk was as follows:
There are certainly some areas of good and enjoyable walking and we did enjoy some excellent nights out, but on the whole this is not a route I would choose to do again, nor to recommend anyone else who is considering walking a link between Offa's Dyke and the Pennine Way.
We didn't have it easy on this one - it was walked during a heatwave and then due to a family illness, I had to suspend the walk with two days to go, returning the following spring to wrap it up.
But the issues with this walk were encountered straight away in the Maelor Way, the paths we significantly overgrown and sometimes impassable in places, there was no evidence that this is used as a LDW and we didn't encounter another walker until 4 days into the walk. The Maelor Way and the South Cheshire Way are within extremely rural areas with cattle farming the predominant use - This is "cattle country" as we certainly found out. We were attacked by cattle on quite a few occasions and we were constantly on our guard as we walked from field to field. I think that we were a bit of a novelty, as these mainly young dairy cows seemed extremely inquisitive as we walked across their domain. But when you have 25 or more of these beasts hurtling towards you, you don't feel like hanging around to calm them down. I think you have to experience this to be able to understand the actual fear that these situations can cause. We resorted to clambering over fences to avoid herds only to find another group blocking our way
Anyway, after two separate warnings from very friendly land owners regarding the amount of cattle in the fields on our routes ahead, and we were told about the number of fatalities that had beset other folk walking in these areas, we adopted the approach that discretion would be the better part of valour and started following nearby country lanes to get to our destinations, walking the path when we felt it was safe to do so.
This was hard on the feet, but we were able to cover the miles quicker and in relative safety.
It wasn't all bad, things significantly improved on Days 5, 6 & 7, those were - Congleton to Leek, Leek to Buxton and Buxton to Edale. The best was the Peak District, which I guess was to be expected. Those three days can be really considered as excellent walking days. The most enjoyable nights out were in Congleton and Buxton with Whitchurch being pretty good too.
So to sum up - Not a classic long distance walk and certainly one I wouldn't do again, nor would I recommend it to others, but we have now walked the whole of the SWCP and linked it up all the way to Scotland, with only one section in Somerset to undertake - something we are both beginning to feel very proud of.
