Approximate Location
OS Grid Reference: SJ 96218 71172
Latitude / Longitude: 53°14′15″N , 002°03′29″W
Picked up on Gaberlunzie’s magic horse at Pyethorne Wood, the travellers were whisked across Danes Moss and deposited on the edge of the Macclesfield Forest; a short distance from their rendezvous point with Cadellin on Shuttlingslow (Weirdstone, Chapter 19 – Gaberlunzie). They then camped in the open under the trees which “grew only a few feet apart… the sweeping branches came close to the ground“. During the night two playful fox cubs hid their tracks.
Macclesfield Forest was established as a hunting reserve during the mediaeval period. It was formerly owned by the earl of Chester and the English monarchy. The dense woodland to the north-west of Shuttlingslow was largely planted with conifers between the 1930s and 1950s. However, it is gradually being clear-felled and replaced with native trees by United Utilities, who also own the reservoirs which lie between the woodland and the town of Macclesfield.