A circular walk from the picturesque village of White Coppice, over Great Hill and through Tockholes and Withnell Plantations

• Distance - 12.4 kilometres 374 metres ascent
• Terrain - varied, mostly well used path, but open moor on Great Hill
• Map - OS Outdoor Leisure West Pennine Moors
• Refreshments - none en-route. Snacks and Drinks are sometimes available at weekends at White Coppice Cricket Club, where there may also be an ice-cream van, but they may pack up early !
• Car Parking - there is some roadside parking on the way up to the Cricket Club, and parking is permitted at the Cricket Club when there is no match on

 Click on this image to order the map for this walk direct from the Ordnance Survey

1. 619190 Walk in front of the Cricket Pavilion and take the bridge that crosses The Goit. Once over the bridge, turn left, walking below what looks like an old dam. By the end of this dam the path rises then we follow it to the right up the shoulder of the hill, rising relatively steeply at first, then levelling out. You shortly come across the ruins of an old building at Drinkwaters, where a bench provides some rest if necessary.
From here the conical rise of Great Hill can be seen about 3/4 of a mile away. The path takes you straight to the top of Great Hill, where a stone cross shaped wall provides some shelter on this otherwise exposed spot. Descending the far side of the hill, the path becomes less obvious, even non-existent in places. The best bet is to head towards the solitary farmhouse rather grandly known as Piccadilly, which can easily be seen from the hill ( When its not foggy..... ). At the farmhouse, turn left and left and follow the A675 downhill for a few hundred yards. Should you be tempted to dally on this main road, the massive amount of accident debris in the trees on the right might encourage you to get a move on !

2 - At the first footpath signpost on the right, take the path into Tockholes plantation with the stream on your left. (NB this is about 658199 and is several hundred yards before the first path shown on my os map - bought this year but last revised 1996).
Follow the path, (boggy in places !) until you come to a bridge and a paved track. Take the paved track, eventually exiting the plantation. The track eventually becomes a (very) minor road, and at 651217, take the short track on the left to the A675

3 - Cross the main road and take the path through the gate on the far side. Sticking to the fence on you left, you first go uphill, then downhill to a small footbridge. All this is marked on the map as a track, but you'll need some imagination. Three or four hundred yards from the bridge, you cross a linear depression which the map portrays as a crossing track - beware of nesting Grouse, which can give you quite a surprise !.
Carry on straight across, and again, descend to a footbridge, cross the bridge and walk a few yards to your left then walk uphill again with a fence on your right. This takes you up and round the back of the quarry. Keep the quarry fence close on your right, using the two stiles to pass through the curious triangular enclosure at the end of the quarry, then take the fairly derelict track on your left until you gain the minor road at 637219. Follow this pleasant leafy lane past the quarry entrance and take the signed footpath on the left immediately before the cottages. This path takes you uphill and then levels out again amidst a collection of semi-derelict dry stone walls.

 4 - 631210. take the fairly obvious track on the right between two stone walls and you shortly come to a surfaced minor road. Follow this downhill for a matter of yards, then go left into the Withnell Plantation. Here you go uphill for a very short distance and then the path doubles back on itself. Follow this single path through the plantation. (the OS map shows several paths departing from this, but I saw little evidence of this on the ground). This path takes us downhill through the trees and eventually brings us back to at track and bridge over ...The Goit.. Do not cross the bridge but take the fairly obvious path that goes along the hillside and through the trees some 50 or so yards to the left of The Goit.
At the point at which you reach 'The Sharrocks', the map suggests you have to cross the Goit by the footbridge, but I would carry on taking the fairly obvious path straight in front of you, which will take you back eventually to the bridge on the right that takes you in to White Coppice cricket ground.
If you've been very, very good and picked the right Sunday, , you can get an ice cream from the ice cream van, a tea or beer from the cricket pavilion, and watch last few overs of a game of cricket and you can't do that in the Alps or Yosemite !