A postcard this morning bade me meet Tom Idle at Broomedge, mid-day, and prepare for a night at his place.  Some delay was caused at the start with the result that it was 10.45 when I left home.  I took the well known road through Atherton, Glazebury, Glazebrook to Warburton, then Heatley and the long climb through Broomedge, meeting on the Lymm road at 12.05pm.  We made an immediate start towards Great Budworth, as lunch was calling.  Near Arley, beyond High Legh, we stopped at an old-fashioned farmstead for lunch, afterwards making our way easily to Great Budworth.  In the village we bought some postcards, then sallied forth via Budworth Mere to Comberbach, the lanes to Little Legh and so on to Acton.

Crossing the main road, we climbed steeply to Acton Bridge, then Milton to Crowton, where we stopped at the church.  As it proved to be pretty modern, we soon came away, passing an old half timbered cottage with the following inscription above the doorway ‘TT 1687’.  At Norley we espied some blackberry bushes, and so numerous and large were the ripe fruit, that we abandoned the machines and picked three pounds of them in three quarters of an hour, not counting what we ate!  Afterwards it was too late to proceed, so we retraced our steps to Acton Bridge, where we knew of an excellent tea place.

After tea we were presented with a few roses and pears from the garden – in October!  We had to light up as we started back the same way.  Near Arley we missed our way, but were soon righted, and beyond High Legh, we mended a puncture in a downpour of rain.  Back to Broomedge, then the Altrincham road to Bucklow Hill, Altrincham, then the weary road towards Stretford.  Past Sale I skidded on the tramcar lines and went full length in a large puddle.  I myself was now a puddle, as I trundled through Stretford and the back streets of Manchester towards Tom’s house, still in the rain, where a change, supper and bed awaited me, as we arrived at 10pm.

68 miles, 11 hours