GM Ringway Day 4

Stage 6 Strines to Marple

Distance: 8 miles

Weather: warm and windy

Willow warbler, goats, bunnies, curlew, swallows.

At the end of yesterday's walk, I discovered the sides of my legs were covered in angry red rashes where I'd brushed against some plants, so today was wearing knee length socks to try and prevent more contact. I never wear shorts while out walking but was surprised it was so bad through my trousers. At least it wasn't as hot today.

We bought joint tram and train tickets, which was slightly more expensive than getting them separately but meant we didn't have to worry about which train back to catch. There wasn't quite enough time to get brunch in Manchester, so we bought Co-Op meal deals at the station before getting the train out to Strines. The gap between the train and the platform is especially big here, quite the jump down, but it is a pretty station and very proud of its connection to The Railway Children, the nearby tunnel and viaduct being the inspiration for the story.

Leaving the station we walked up a steep cobbled lane into Brook Bottom, passing the Fox Inn (which was open and serving nice-looking lunches) and up the hillside, up and along a pretty byway, and up into woodland, emerging out on to a heath with a trig point at 327m.

We followed a green lane edged with dry stone walls over Mellor Moor, stopping for a windswept lunch and a meet and greet with a friendly but nervous alsatian dog. There was a short section of road walking and then lanes and rocky paths down into the wooded valley and along a very pretty river with little bridges and the viaduct.

Coming up some steep steps and crossing the road, we were on to the Peak Forest canal towpath again, with narrow boats and a million geese, before heading into Marple beside the flight of locks to the station. At the station there was much confusion about when (if) the train would be arriving due to a points failure at the next station out but all was well as the train just arriving from Manchester turned around and headed back to town.

GM Ringway Day 3

Stage 5 Middlewood to Strines

Distance: 8 miles on official route, 12 in total

Weather: very warm

Skylarks, buzzards, bunnies, deer

We took the train back to Middlewood station and carried on along the lane through the woods, where there were lots of flies and cyclists, turning off to join the Macclesfield Canal towpath and into Lyme Park. It was hot and sunny, with skylarks singing above and grasshoppers chirping around us. We stopped at the visitor centre and then sweated walked up in front of the house and over the grassy hill by The Cage tower.

Leaving the park we had to cross the very busy road and then up into a hilly wood of holly and rhododendrons  until we reached the level ground of the Peak Forest canal towpath. This is part of the E2 European long distance path, from Ireland to the South of France but we thought we'd leave the other 3000 miles for another day. We did decide to extend today's walk by an hour to avoid the rush-hour trams from Manchester, so stayed on the canal side path for a while longer before taking a wooded path with many many steps down to the River Goyt and back up (with some additional up) the other side of the valley following the Goyt Way and the Midshires Way to Strines railway station.

GM Ringway Day 2

Stages 3 & 4 Didsbury to Middlewood

Distance: 14 miles

Nuthatch, long tailed tits, swifts, buzzards, parakeet, thrushes, fox, squirrels

Insect bites: a few

Dogs: a million

We got the tram to Didsbury and followed the path along the tramlines, detouring into the village to have breakfast, and joined back up with the route along busy roads lined with nice houses. We got a bit lost in the leisure centre car park but found a footpath through some woods near to the entrance to the golf course and followed that until we met up with the track. It was very warm and humid, and quite nice to be under trees. Coming out of the woods into parkland at Bramhall Hall we had a sit down on a bench by a big pond. Bramhall Hall is being renovated at the moment and was covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting, and the grounds were covered in children having a school day out and dogwalkers with a million dogs.

The path goes through parkland, woodland and grassy meadows before crossing a busy road and entering Poynton Park. It was definitely clouding over and becoming even more humid, we had a sit down and ordered our train tickets for the way home. From the park we walked through farmland with lots of sheep and big fancy houses. The last bit of the days walk was along a narrow wiggly road that has no pavement to Middlewood Railway station, which is basically a platform in the middle of a wood. We stood in the shade under the bridge and waited for the train, listening to some confused kids on bikes up on the path above us who had called their parents for directions.

GM Ringway Day 1

Stages 1 & 2 Manchester to Didsbury

Distance 13 miles

Weather: warm

Whitethroat, heron, goldcrest, reed warbler

Squirrels: just 1

Insect bites: 1

The GM Ringway is a new 200 mile walk that goes around all the boroughs of Greater Manchester, in 20 stages. It actually passes not far from where we live, but we decided to follow the official route starting in the city centre but change things up a bit to avoid duplicating routes and join some of the stages together to make the walks a bit longer and reduce transport.

Using the tram we arrived in St Peters Square and headed towards Bridgewater Hall and on to the Bridgewater Canal towpath through Castlefield. The canal was lined with ox-eye daisies and campion flowers, and graffiti. We left the canal near Old Trafford football stadium and walked (via Tesco) to Old Trafford cricket ground, and through the streets to Longford Park where we stopped to meet the goats and chickens in Pets Corner. From here the walk is distinctly less urban - going through woodland and parkland of Moss Fields, Ivy Green and Chorlton Ees.

At Sale Water Park we decided against having icecreams (due to icecream disappointment when we were last here nine years ago...) and didnt make use of the plentiful benches,  but walked on to join the path alongside the River Mersey. The path follows the riverbank except for a short stretch thoough a golf course (where the right of way is a narrow fenced in path next to an overgrown hedge and stinging nettles) and then we were back on the river until we reached the Fletcher Moss botantical gardens (the cafe looks very fancy here) and into Didsbury.

RSPB Leighton Moss

Trains: Rochdale to Silverdale, changing at Preston/Lancaster 

We spent two days at RSPB Leighton Moss, staying for the starling murmerations at dusk. The reserve is only a short walk from the station, although we did go over to the coastal hides as well. There aren't any pavements or footpaths that join the sites which is a shame but the road isn't too busy and it was fine.

On day 2 we had time in Preston to walk around Avenham park down to the River Ribble, reminiscing about our Lancashire Way walks.

Cadair Idris

Distance 6.5 miles

Ascent 990m

The weather forecast had improved for Thursday so we decided to walk up Cadair Idris. 

We parked at the Dol Idris carpark, where the café is now only open weekends and started slowly up the steep stone steps. The steep stone steps continued up to a slate bridge that crosses the Nant Cadair and up into the clouds on to Mynydd Moel 863m. As we walked along the edge the clouds started clearing briefly giving us occasional views down across Llyn Cau and the hills beyond. A short rocky climb led up on to the top of Cadair Idris for cloudy photos, then it started to drizzle so we went into the shelter to have lunch. It started raining and the wind got up. Some other people came and went. There was some flask envy. The rain stopped and we headed out. 

After a bit of path confusion and some slippy rocks, we found the Minffordd Path and dropped down to Craig Cau and up around the sharp ridge above Llyn Cau. The skies cleared and we had great views. The steep stone steps took us down and around Craig Lwyd and Ystrad-gwyn alongside the stream and into the woodland with waterfalls, where we had a sit on a bench near the bottom and laughed at the small child moaning and puffing his way up from the visitor centre.

Ridge Walk to Diffwys

Distance 15 miles

Ascent 1,120m

 

From the cottage, we walked up the hillside through fields and along stonewalls, up past the sheep fort (not disturbing the occupants today) along to Bwlch Y Llan. After a short distance we left the clear path and headed up a very steep grassy, rocky path alongside a wall directly up on to the ridge to Bwlch Cwmmaria. 

An undulating walk in the clouds took us across the gap at Bwlch Y Rhiwgyr up to Diffwys at 750m the highest point of the day. The trig point sits precariously on a steep edge, shrouded in clouds. There was nowhere conveniently out of the wind to sit and have lunch so we headed down a bit. Here we met a chap (at 462m) who was walking the coastal path and had decided to take the hillier option today and had got lost. We walked down with him a while and gave him directions to Tal-y-Bont, then we left him to continue our walk the other way down along the grassy ridge of Braich to Uwch Mynydd. 

We stopped part way down for a not very sheltered but large lunch. A pleasant path led along the valley floor and into a wet cow track. Wet cow track eventually became dry cow track which became dry sheep track, then we passed through a farmyard with the smallest digger in the world and out on to a lane. We followed the lane around back into Barmouth and into the Last Inn for beers and dinner, hoping our feet didn't smell too much of cows.