Manchester Green Trail Day 1

Central Park to Queens Park

Distance 16 miles

Cloudy, drizzle turning to rain

After a hasty tram exit, we walked through Moston Vale (which is actually nicer than it looks from the tram window), Broadhurst Park and Boggart Hole Clough. 

Then Dam Head Park, Plant Hill Park, Tweedle Common and Heaton Park. Had a stop for coffee and cake at the lakeside cafe.  We then went through Blackley Forest, Herristone Park, Crumpsall Park to Harpurhey Ponds and finished in Queens Park.

Today's walk had pretty much all aspects that you might expect from a walk through a big city. Manchester has a surprising amount of green spaces, many former industrial areas, former landfills or  water treatment places, but some are country parks of old halls and gardens.

Tame Valley Way Day 2 Stalybridge to Denshaw

 Distance

Weather: cold but dry, snow later

Got the little bus through the Saddleworth villages to Stalybridge, which was rather an uncomfortable ride but interesting to see new sides of local places. Had breakfast in Stalybridge and set off walking along the canal.

Saw woodpecker, nuthatch, dippers and a heron.

The end of the walk through Delph and Denshaw was, as expected, very wet underfoot. The Tame River continues up to the reservoir above Denshaw on the map but there is no footpath and the trail ends in the village. We followed another unnamed tributary towards Brushes Clough where it started snowing and into Shaw. 

Tame Valley Way Day 1 - Stockport to Stalybridge

Distance

Weather: overcast

Teal, nuthatches, parakeet, little grebe, many squirrels, bullfinch, dippers.

Bench with an abandoned book on improving your chess game.