Alderley Edge


At first encounter - walking from the pay and display car park by “The Wizard”, past a picnic area complete with trestle tables, to the signpost that marks the start of the “Wizard Walk” - the Edge seems appropriately tamed and domesticated. It’s a place for children to play among the trees, while their parents sit and ponder. But it’s not long before you come on a fenced area guarding the entrance to some abandoned mine workings, find yourself suddenly poised on the brink of a steep cliff, or struggling through boggy ground below the Holy Well. Maybe, just maybe, the Edge really is the mysterious and sometimes threatening place of Alan Garner’s early novels ...

Alderley Edge - the view from Stormy Point


The Edge itself is east of Alderley Edge village on the B5087. The National Trust car park is on the left just after “The Wizard”. The Edge is owned by the National Trust, whose Aldereley Edge: Getting There page has complete directions and a map.

More information about the Edge and its history can be found at the Manchester Museum’s AELPHER site. AELPHER? Alderley Edge Landscape Project: Heritage and Educational Resource. Of course.

Walks around the Edge


Alderley Edge - walking trail signs


There are a number of walks that take in locations that feature in Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath. You’ll find details at the bottom of this page of one that strays away from the Edge itself to take in Clinton Hill, Hooker Lane, Radnor Wood, and Hayman’s Quarry.

The National Trust publish a leaflet of 3 “Walks on Alderley Edge”, lasting from 45 minutes to and hour and a half. The Wizard Walk is clearly signposted as you leave the National Trust car park, and takes you to the Engine Vein, the Beacon, Stormy Point, and Goldenstone.

A longer Wizard’s Walk, that also takes in Saddlebole, the Holy Well, and the Wizard’s Well, can be found Michael Batty's Legends of Alderley Edge site. The site has details of two other walks, as well as information about the Edge and pictures of points of interest.

A walk to Radnor Wood



Walk-to-Radnor-Wood

From the National Trust car park by “The Wizard” [1], cross over the main road and turn right into Bradford Lane [2]. Turn left into Finlow Hill Lane [3], and when the lane turns left [4] carry straight on along the footpath past Clinton Hill [5].

Turn right on Slade Lane [6] down to the cross roads [7], then right on Hocker Lane, past Hayman’s Farm [8] to Radnor Wood [9].

Retrace your steps back to the footpath [10], and follow this up past the farm to Hayman’s Quarry [11] - noting the “Danger - Keep Out” signs. Follow the footpath back to Bradford Lane [12], and turn right on Bradford Lane back up to the main road.

You can download an illustrated Walk to Radnor Wood (PDF) by right-clicking the link and selecting “Save As ...”.