The mist rolled in across the fields until we could see only a few yards and then it began to go dark. Ideal conditions indeed for Gawsworth's mysterious ghost. Mary Fitton, who was Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth I, was disgraced when she bore a child and her ghost has been seen gliding through the church. But is she the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets and did the bard ever visit Gawsworth? If you meet the ghost you must ask her!
LOCATION: Three miles south west of Macclesfield.
START: Turn left off A536, half mile beyond Gawsworth, to Harrington Arms and park before the church or in layby
Grid ref: SJ888697 Postcode: SK119RJ
DISTANCE: 7 miles
GRADE: Easy
TIME: 3.5 hours
MAP: Explorer - Wilmslow & Macclesfield Landranger 118
NOTE: www.gawsworthhall.com
REFRESHMENTS: Harrington Arms & Fools Nook
EN ROUTE: North Rode, Macclesfield Canal
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News