There were nine ramblers who turned up at Rudyard station for the walk, from five different groups. There had been a beautiful sunrise, but a hard frost meant we were all well wrapped up. By the time we were climbing up the old Roman Road towards the top of Gunn Hill the warmth of the sun was coming through, and for our coffee break at the trig point we could still enjoy the sunshine and crystal clear views over the Cheshire plain, Croker Hill, Shutlingloe, the Roaches and Morridge Edge.

From there, we dropped towards Meerbrook before contouring northwards, then another stiff climb up and over to Gunn End where we had a lunch stop outside Swythamley village hall. Then a long steady drop down to the Dane and a short stretch along the feeder canal. It was evident that no sun had reached the valley as all the leaves underfoot were still crisp with frost.

Leaving the canal, we climbed up into Rushton Spencer and joined the disused railway line towards Rudyard. On reaching the Lake we could see the water level was recovering quite well before climbing again to follow the western shore past the sailing club. The Hotel tempted most of us in for tea and cake before the final half mile back to the cars. The varied 16-mile walk drew to an end as the darkness was beginning to thicken.