For my second visit to 'The Dream', a sculpture beside the M62 near junction 7, I was joined again by Keith and Carol, and by Paul S.
My first visit was on 17 January 2018, on which I reported in detail in connection with the 2009 sculpture.
Beyond Cranshaw Hall, a good path next to the A557 leads past an overgrown field path to the loopline that leads due north to pass under the motorway.
Today, the verges next to the A557 were laden with flora.
The disused railway (loopline) led all the way to the coal mining debris/spoil heap on which the sculpture has been constructed.
We paused here for coffee/tea/brownies, together with various other visitors on this fine, humid, overcast day.
Some active forestry work has closed some of the paths, but hopefully the relatively new (hilly) parkrun route will survive to welcome both residents and tourists in the not too distant future. Just 40 minutes from 'home', this is an obvious target for the Wythenshawe tourists, once that activity gets going again.
A field path led us deceptively away from the planned route, to this view back across a field, before entering tight woodland instead of the easy stroll down School Lane.
Across the A570, we passed a garden that is absolutely laden with flowers.
Around here there's lots of unwelcome Ragwort. Keith usually volunteers to clear that and other invasive species, but that activity has for some reason not yet been released from Lockdown .
Before reaching Pex Hill, a view across the fields revealed The Dream, poking out in the distance to the right of Keith's head.
Pex Hill is a small park based on an old quarry. It serves as a training ground for aspirant climbers from Liverpool, despite a plethora of warning signs.
Lots of vertical walls and hand and foot placements are smudged with chalk, and can you spot the climbers?.
Continuing problems with Garmin's websites have led me to download the route to Anquet OMN, which I still haven't mastered. It's shown below by way of a series of light blue blobs. We went anti-clockwise around the 13 km route, taking about 3 hours including our break at The Dream.
The obvious route back from Pex Hill was blocked by construction work, so we had to walk around three sides of a square to get back to the cars. (Click on the image for a better version.)
As an aside, I'm jealous of Keith's forthcoming 'Walker's Haute Route' trip. If it's any help, my report on a walk from Zermatt to Tasch a couple of years ago is here. If the Europaweg Hütte in Täschalp is shut for the season, a 500 metre ascent would take him up to Täschhütte.
As regards the suspension bridge, this posting offers an explanation as to why the bridge should have been extended since my last visit. The path beyond the bridge does look a bit susceptible to rockfall!
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