D-Day Memorial Walk

In 1945, a ‘Flying Fortress’ plane crashed into Birchenough Hill, killing all five crew members. Years later, a party of American service personnel and family members of the deceased came to Wildboarclough to visit the site, and it is now marked with a memorial plaque.  

In order to mark D-Day, we have arranged a walk up to the Flying Fortress memorial (grid ref SJ 99460 67766). This will be a short and informal occasion, with a flag and wreath being left, followed by a minutes silence at 7pm. If anyone wishes to say anything, they are free to do so. We particularly hope that residents who welcomed those American visitors will attend this event.

There will be a bucket collection for Help for Hero’s.

Route: Start – bottom of Hall Lane/Clough Road junction carpark (200 yards from Crag Inn).
We will leave the carpark at 6pm to walk up Hall Lane to the A54. Anyone short of time and/or energy can meet us at the stile at the junction of Hall Lane and the A54 (Grid ref. SJ 991 682). We will leave at 6.25pm to start up the Birchenough quarry track to the memorial (about 20-30minutes). Booking isn't necessary. If you are interested please feel free to just show up at the start.

For keen walkers who wish to do a longer walk – the memorial is just off No 7: Tagsclough in the Wildboarclough Walks Guide (5.5 miles).

The walk is largely on the minor road, then track, followed by a short walk through heather. This is access land and dogs aren’t allowed. There is one stile.

The weather is currently shown as sunny and 17 degrees, so it should be a great evening, with fantastic views, in this little known part of Wildboarclough.

Parking: at start, plus Hall Lane (there aren’t restrictions).

After the walk, we will head back down Hall Lane. Those who wish to, can join us for a drink (and maybe a curry!) in the Crag Inn.

Notes from Event Organizer Caroline:

A few things:
* There has been a positive response to this event. In the event of you having difficulty parking, Amanda at Berry Bank Farm has kindly said that you can park there. Just in case you don’t know it, it is just off the A54 (SK11 0BG). Drive up Hall Lane, and turn right on the A54 – it’s a couple of hundred yards down on the right.
* I incorrectly mentioned that curry would be available at The Crag Inn on Thursday. The chef will be away, and the stand-in chef has made it ‘Pie Night’. Of course, other things are on offer.
* For anyone choosing to walk by another route to the crash site, we have put a temporary metal stake with an orange ribbon just off the quarry track. When you reach this point, leave the path, walk past the stake and up the hill. The memorial is about 50 feet from the quarry track.