A chilly start to Wednesday 20th August 2025 (the need for gloves was mentioned!) for the 4 mile walk led by Jill Jones in the Swythamley and Heaton area. 19 walkers headed back along the road we had driven on, to reach Swthamley Park Rd, and started our uphill walk towrads Gun Moor at a steady pace. We passed by Shaw Wood on our right, and further along came to an area known as New Zealand, with a farm of that name.
We continued along then reached the entry path onto Gunn Moor Nature Reserve, surrounded by purple flowering heather. This land , including Gun Hill, has an ancient history of being a hunting area, together with the forests around Macclesfield and Leek, of the Earls of Chester. In 2019 the moor became available to buy, and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust later raised funds from its members to buy it outright and pay off the original loans used in the purchase. In 2022 they acquired additional land , Gun Moor Meadow. This whole site is a very important home to many flora and fauna species, which are hopefully re establishing here.
We eventually reached the trig point to take in the all around views over Cheshire and beyond, whilest having a drinks break. Dropping down onto a footpath, and after having a group photo, we had the amazing view of a pair of Red Kites circling and soaring high above us. We headed back towards New Zealand across fields and a few tricky stiles, back onto the original lane we started on. A really lovely walk, breezy at times, but we had warmed up !