Above: Clifford pictured on the path leading to the ruins of Errwood Hall in 1955.
Many thanks to Willow Publishing for allowing me to post a pdf version of Clifford Rathbone’s ‘Goyt Valley Story’ on the site. First published in 1955, the booklet contains a series of articles written by Clifford for the Macclesfield Express under his non-de-plume ‘The Stroller’.
In the foreword, Clifford explains: “There is something which appeals to me about a valley. Perhaps it is because we can be alone with nature; we can get away from the noise and bustle of workaday life.”
I posted a single chapter of the book on the website back in 2018 (click to view). This pdf contains all seven chapters of the original version, republished by Willow in 1984, as well as maps and the original black and white photos.
Click below to view a downloadable pdf of Clifford’s book.
View ‘Goyt Valley Story (1984 edition)’
The preface includes a wonderful poem by Clifford on Errwood in the Autumn:
A glowing face the moorland turns,
To meet the westering sun’s farewell
And ever where his radiance fell,
Blood red the withered bracken burns.
The wild fowl calling from the hill,
The wheeling plovers mournful plaint,
That from the upland echoes faint
The tinkle of some hidden rill.
No other sound than these to break,
The brooding silence over all,
Save that the distant waterfall
A murmur in the Vale doth make.
This is closer to Clifford’s original 1955 version of the same book (2nd edition, 4th reprint dated 1974).
Both wonderful and mysterious. My favourite place. Thank you very much for the pdf.