6. The Tameside Trail (2002)

Length : 40 miles

Started : 14 April 2002

Finished : September 2002

Companions : (in full) Mike Bethel (in part) Linda Mehta

Guide : Tameside MBC

So now we're into the new millennium and another four year gap to explain.

After the disappointing turnouts for the Irwell Valley Way I decided not to try and organise another for the Group in 1999. That September there was a fraught planning meeting where members clashed over the group subscription and accountability within the Group and once again personal jealousies played a part. Although it just about remained civilised and a compromise of sorts was reached the main result was that people started drifting away from the Group. After a run of poor turnouts I decided to retire from putting any more events on the programme and mentioned this to Barry in 2000. He talked me out of it but it was clear that some effort was needed to revive the Group so I set up a modest little website to advertise it. In the meantime the guy who'd replaced me as leader stepped down and the one who replaced him went berserk when he found out about the website. This isn't the place to speculate on his motives but it was obvious I would have to lock horns with him to make any progress. I decided to call it quits and Julie and I left the Group in November. I believe from Barry and others that the Group dwindled away to nothing over the next couple of years so that's a vindication of sorts.

A week or so later I spotted an advert in the window of Campcraft in Bolton for a group called Bolton Outdoor Group. This offered a good range of events probably more suited to our taste than a lot of the Christian events plus it was more local so we quickly signed up. We received a good welcome and I made some modest contributions to their programme in the summer of 2001 albeit constrained by the foot and mouth epidemic. The fulcrum of the Group was a girl called Susan and in September she asked me if I would take over as Secretary as the current one was standing down. I agreed but what I didn't know was that she was already involved in a fierce row behind the scenes with two other members about incidents that occurred on a trip to the Edinburgh festival. The matter escalated when the other committee members proved reluctant to take sides and by the time I took up the post in February 2002 she had decided to quit the Group altogether and took some of her acolytes with her.

Although Susan's departure left a big hole there seemed at the time to be a good resolve to carry on without her and it also meant there was plenty of space for my ideas on the Programme. I duly moved on to another LMDP, the Tameside Trail which had interested me from when I used to work for Tameside prior to 1994.

The transport arrangements for this one were very difficult and took a while to sort out. Stage One was the 12 mile stretch from Broadbottom to Gorton. I had two takers, Mike and Linda, and we met up at Godley station for the train to Broadbottom. It was a reasonable day and contained a good mix of scenery from moorland edge to river valley as far as Reddish Vale. Then we hit the border with Manchester and it was gritted teeth for the last couple of miles along urban roads through a dense residential area. Just for good measure it started raining heavily then it was two buses and a further mile's road walk back to the car.

That was the end of Linda's involvement with this one but Mike turned up again for Stage 2 the 14 mile stretch to Bardsley which took place on the same day that the Soham girls disappeared. Thankfully the urban area was soon left behind and much of the walk followed the course of the river Medlock.

Mike was again the only taker for the final stage which was by far the best scenically, running up to the monument at Hartshead Pike then skirting the Dark Peak before the final descent back into Broadbottom. I shook Mike's hand at the end of the walk, the first person to walk the whole length of an LMDP with me since that other Michael so many years ago.