Easter Weekend - Day 1

Distance: 14.5 miles
Ascent: 500m
Weather: quite bright, pleasant
Mud: plentiful
Tunnels: many
Ducks: fancy

We caught a convenient (although slightly stinky) train to Stockport and then walked through the town centre trying to follow the signs for the Trans Pennine Trail. After a bit of a detour to view Sainsburys car park, we crossed the motorway and the joined the path alongside the river Goyt.

A buzzard was flying overhead and we saw long tailed tits and robin. The wildlife count was pretty good today, but we have had several issues so far with things like rucksack straps breaking, holey shoes and a dodgy charger. The Midshires Way ends in town too but isn't quite so well signed. As the paths part ways the small signs are more noticeable.

Coming into Vernon Park we saw jays, a scruffy looking kestrel and a bumble bee. The garlic is now up, carpeting green underneath the trees and beginning to smell, there was lots of slippy mud under the trees too. And also not under the trees. The path follows the edge of the river, where there were lots of mallards, mandarin ducks mf and also a kingfisher. There was more mud through woodland, ok apart from when the path went down hill steeply, then it was quite slipsome.

Leaving the park's woods we joined the Alan Newton Way (past the sewage treatment works - our noses have had quite the treat today) which we followed to Chadwick Chapel park, where there was a hill. The route has apparently been gradually ascending all day but this was quite a noticeable up. In the woodland we saw a nuthatch and emerging into farm land there were a couple of fieldfares.

Along the Peak Forest Canal we heard a buzzard overhead and a woodpecker nearby, and saw some coots, tufted ducks, cormorant, Canada geese, swans, moorhen, grey wagtail,  and a warbler of some kind. We had lunch by the aquaduct near Marple, which is currently being repaired. There was more work being done on the canal farther along, well needed judging by the amount of canal wall that is in the canal rather than alongside it. We left the canal and followed the Goyt Way for a while back next to the river.

A green lane that was unsuitable for motor vehicles led us onwards and upwards into Derbyshire. We crossed New Mills Golf Course, ringing the bell as requested, and then followed the lanes to the Pack Horse Inn.