Tegg's Nose, Cheshire

by Veronica

This morning I have been up Tegg's Nose! That sounds fairly disgusting but it was a delightful experience.

The very name Tegg's Nose ensnares the imagination and the first time I heard it I had to know what this was all about. There is something about Tegg's Nose Country Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire which draws me there when I need some space, some peace, some thinking time. It is an easy climb, a family walk and can be used as a start of several walks around the wonderful Macclesfield Forest.

So what is Tegg's Nose? Tegg's Nose is a hill to the East of Macclesfield in Cheshire. It does not qualify as a mountain, too short and has a high peak of 1246 feet . It is to the West of the England's Peak District. A Tegg is the Old English word for a sheep aged older than a lamb but younger than a fully grown sheep . The name has a Saxon / Viking sound to me. A Naze ( Nose ) is a promontory, a high land that juts out into the landscape. Hence Tegg's Nose takes its name, a sheep promontory.

Today I took some photos along my walk.

Believe it or not, I live just a few miles from here. How blessed am I !

an opening stone
an opening stone
Veronica's own

The quarry was for millstone grit, Cheshire stone and the long walking trail through Cheshire is called the Gritstone Trail. It was opened in 1978.

Entry to Tegg's Nose
Entry to Tegg's Nose
Veronica's Picture

25th August 2015 mid morning

We drove up to Tegg's Nose through winding mountain roads and as I drove I could sense myself start to unwind after a hectic time recently. There are so many shades of green that a paint palette couldn't even begin to capture them .

As I approached the car park, I saw this sign. This boded well as I like nothing better than to finish a good walk with a cup of tea.

The Walk Up and Down

On the walk the first thing I noticed today was the heather. The purple is always beautiful on the hill side but today the different shades, leaning back and enjoying the warm sun, unusual for North West England, today the shades of heather were just spectacular. Every shade of purple regally vying together for our attention. As you can see the variation of shades in the lovely sunshine and air was just stunning.

Nature just knows how to put shades of colour of together to perfection.

paler heather
paler heather
Veronica's own photo
a bank of dark heather
a bank of dark heather
Veronica's own picture

Along the way

Along the walk, and up the steps, the sheep were grazing peacefully and the steps do make this steep slope very passable for even the most vulnerable walkers.

Steps up the slope
Steps up the slope
Veronica's own photo
Sheep safely graze
Sheep safely graze
Veronica's own

Foraging

Whinberries, a delicious, small, wild blueberry grow naturally on Tegg's Nose slopes. They are freely available to forage for and pick and we pick them and make cordials, jams, jellies and pies. 

Many have already been picked but there were still a few thousand left !

Whinberries
Whinberries
Veronica's own photo

Industry

Apart from sheep farming on the Nose, it was once also a site of the quarrying industry. Information boards give details of the history and there is a small display of machinery as a tribute to the harsh life and work those men endured. They quarried for Millstone Grit.

Information board
Information board
Veronica's own photo
The machine display
The machine display
Veronica's own

Further along

There are several reminders of where we are along the way.  The views are just beautiful. Once again the shades of green are soothing and resplendent in the weak sunshine. My favourite viewpoint of all is below, just off the path, a little alcove amongst the trees. In my opinion, this is God's county.

My favourite view
My favourite view
Veronica's own

The Top

As we approached the top,  these are the sights that met us. I love the cool breeze in my face and blowing my hair. I find it exhilarating and empowering. The air is quite special and taking in great gulps of air is very refreshing. I love the viewing board which tells us what everything is on the skyline.

Spot the heather along the way.

local stone
local stone
Veronica's own
The viewing board
The viewing board
Veronica's own
local stone
local stone
Veronica's own
near the top
near the top
Veronica's own photo

The view from the top

Although not a high climb, the view is stunning from the top. In the far ground the dark Welsh mountains are quite visible. World famous telescope Jodrell bank is also there on the Cheshire Plain in the middle ground.

The view from the top
The view from the top
Veronica's own

Down again to the cafe

It is a short climb and well worth it for that view.

Down again and there are more signs of where we are.

an old sign
an old sign
Veronica's own

Tegg's Nose Tea Rooms

Tegg's Nose Tea Rooms opened on Saturday, 4 days ago and guess what ! The owner is actually called Teg. How cool is that ! His name is Tegwyn, a lovely, traditional Welsh name and he has Tegg's Nose Tea Rooms.

Teg himself points out that he is just a one g Teg and not a sheep which had two G's!

These new Tea Rooms are perfect for when a walk is finished. Spotlessly clean and with homemade cakes, my husband said the Chocolate Brownies here are the very best he has ever tasted and we like our afternoon teas in our family. The tea was proper tea too not a Tea bag, proper tea. Teg and Laura are lovely and we hope they do well. They deserve to ! There is a lovely wall display about the area and also a log burning stove for when it is cold.

 

 

The Tea Rooms
The Tea Rooms
Veronica's own
Date and walnut slices
Date and walnut slices
Veronica's own

If you have an opportunity to visit Tegg's Nose then do so. It is a lovely place with walks of all difficulties and grades, the best scenery and a lovely cuppa at the end as a prize for your physical efforts.

A log burning stove
A log burning stove
Veronica's own
wall display of park
wall display of park
Veronica's own
another sign
another sign
Veronica's own
Very old wayside stone
Very old wayside stone

MACCLEFFIELD

I have added the photo above as I saw it today on my day out. I add it because it has a very very old spelling of Macclesfield from when back in the days that "s" was written as an "f " .

This stone must be so old.

Updated: 08/01/2016, Veronica
 
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Veronica on 09/02/2017

The steps in the picture are for going either up or down.

Millstone grit has had many industrial uses including, grinding stones for corn, road fillers and roofing materials.

DerdriuMarriner on 09/02/2017

Veronica, Thank you for the lovely pictures and walkabout! Are the railings on the steps for people going up or down? Is the heather pickable? What was millstone grit's prime use in the area?

Veronica on 08/02/2016

Spelling and scripts were not regulated then though and often depended on the literacy of the writer. .... which is yet another aspect of social history.

frankbeswick on 08/02/2016

interesting, as I have seen the f without the bar in eighteenth century texts. The script must have been changing.

Veronica on 08/02/2016

No I have found the newsprint of the Stamford Mercury in 1716 has the word Messenger as Meffenger .... two f ; and again in 1722, the Lord Chancellor was created Earl of Maccleffield.

Therefore, the spelling of Maccleffield was known.

frankbeswick on 08/02/2016

I have met writings in which the letter s is formed as an f from the sixteenth and early seventeenth century.However, they distinguished the two as the s had no bar on it, unlike the f, so I suspect that the engraver made a little mistake and it just had to stand.

Veronica on 08/01/2016

Picking whinberries today I saw the above wayside stone.

I have added the photo above as I saw it today on my day out. I add it because it has a very very old spelling of Macclesfield from when back in the days that "s" was written as an "f " .

This stone must be so old.

Veronica on 10/13/2015

Whinberries are very small and sweet, delicious. We pick them and use them in cordials, jams and crumbles.

frankbeswick on 10/12/2015

Billberry is one of six related species in the genus Vaccinium. Whinberry is the same species as bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillis, but may be a distinct variety within the species. Variety is a classification level equivalent to a subspecies, but unlike a subspecies, which is often localized to an area, it is widespread. Blackberry has even more variety, for there are scores of localized varieties in the one species.

Veronica on 10/12/2015

TY for telling me . Because you did, I caught it on BBC iplayer and it showed Tegg's Nose at its finest. It did though refer to whinberries as bilberries though and wild whinberries are actually a smaller version of the bilberry which is in its turn a smaller version of the blueberry.


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