Monday 25 January 2021 - A Walk around West Sale and the Carrington Estate

Well, I've exhausted 'Haute Route' entries for a while, so it's back to the environs of Timperley. 

Yesterday would have been a perfect day for a visit to the Lake District, or even a recce for one of Jen Darling's walks in Cheshire or the Wirral. But whilst Sue worked from home, I followed the 'Stay at Home apart from exercise' rule and went on a 11 km jaunt from home, so some of the pictures may be familiar to any readers who are still with me.

The top picture is of Baguley Brook at the end of our road. Its level has returned to normal after last week's rain had doubled its width for a couple of days.

The usually muddy path alongside De Quincey Park was nicely frozen with a crisp white surface thanks to an overnight flurry of snow.

From the same spot, I looked back through the small sunlit park.

After Baguley Brook merges with Timperley Brook to form Sinderland Brook, the mud that blights this path throughout the winter was frozen over today, so I could pass through with dry feet, as opposed to taking my normal route through the park.

My route through Sale West takes me briefly to Firsway.

After that the Carrington Estate is entered, for a section along the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT), reached after the next three pictures, taken within the estate, where I discovered the spot where the parakeets that used to live by De Quincey have re-located.

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After fumbling with the paths and getting to a flooded section that turned me back (it's obvious from the route map shown below!), I gained the firm surface of the TPT and found my way home via the recycling centre and the Stamford Brook Estate.

On a day when the canal towpath would have been unacceptably crowded, this 11 km route offered the advantage (Covid-wise) of hardly encountering anyone on the paths.

It was a shame not to be able to venture somewhere a bit more scenic on such a lovely day - but that's life at present.

With very little variety to offer by way of postings like this one, I think I'll revert to an Alpine trip - perhaps the summer of 2005 - when it looks as if Sue wielded our digital camera and I recorded the trip on film, the prints from which I'm finding hard to locate.