Macclesfield Wall Plaque

This morning on the way to pick up the newspaper I passed several of these wall plaques along a small part of the Middlewood Way near the centre of Macclesfield.This one in particular caught my attention as it shows the "108 Steps" which lead from Waters Green (by the rail station) up to St Michael's Church by the marketplace. No one knows exactly when the steps were created, but it is believed they date back to pre-1696 when the local newspaper, the Macclesfield Express, gave the cobbled 108 steps the simple nickname ‘The Steps’.

When visiting Macc we often walk up and/or down them; as a child my Editor liked racing her (older) brother up them - but always lost! Also, she tells me that if they started to count them when going up and lost count then they had to go back to the bottom and start again - no wonder she's always been slim :-)