Wednesday 16 April 2025 - GM Ringway Trail Stage 3 - Didsbury to Bramhall

Eight of us plus Rufus met at 11am in the rain in Didsbury. Sue, Rick and I were very early due to the unexpected efficiency of Manchester's Metrolink tram system, so we managed a quick coffee in the Levante Café before joining the others at Didsbury Village station, where we had finished Stage 2. 

I reported on Stage 2 here, and today we lost Jenny from that walk and we regained Rick, who had missed Stage 2 due to a hospital appointment but has walked that section in the meantime.

The GM Ringway website describes today's walk in 180 steps. I'll just provide an overview here.

Today's first snap was taken out of the rain in a tunnel lined with corrugated iron, after we had followed the path by the tram line past its terminus at East Didsbury.

After a short spell on the Trans Pennine Trail we headed alongside the River Mersey to Manchester Road, along which we sped over both a railway and the M60 motorway before entering the grounds of Abney Hall, now a conference centre. Paul went on a minor adventure across a river to a bin in which to deposit the contents of Rufus's bowels.

We continued in light drizzle to a bridge that Paul could have used.

The trail is clearly signposted as it passes next to a man-made waterfall.

We passed next to a pond in Abney Hall Park, where a heron was busy fishing and the drizzle diminished into just the odd spot of rain.

We were soon on roads again, in Cheadle village, where the war memorial is currently showered in a confetti of cherry blossom.

 

There are plenty of places to stop for a break in Cheadle, but we just walked on past St Mary's church which has unusual clock faces.

Soon the Ladybrook Valley is entered. We followed that beside Micker Brook, with Rufus leading the way as usual.

Foliage has very noticeably greened up in the last few days.

We continued merrily along the route, still clearly marked with roundels and larger markers on existing signposts. Through Brookfield Park to a point where the route is currently closed due to construction work. So we had to proceed to Cheadle Road and Old Wool Lane to regain our path.

Paths through an industrial estate led eventually to the Ladybrook Cycleway, alongside Micker Brook. We passed under the Seven Arches railway viaduct to reach open country.

 

Bramhall Park was in due course reached, where we strolled beside the ornamental ponds. We'd been here before, both on a walk with Paul and Jeanette (the latter's childhood was spent in this area) and on Bramhall Park's 666th parkrun.

A Canada goose has carelessly laid her eggs right next to the busy path.

We'd also seen a good number of Mandarin ducks as well as the usual herons, coots and moorhens, etc.

From here it should have been a straightforward walk to Bramhall railway station. I thought it a bit odd that the signposted route didn't fit with the description, but we proceeded merrily on, along a path through the pretty Happy Valley.

Then I realised: Stage 3 leaves Bramhall Park via the Hall/Visitor Centre to reach the station, and Stage 4 returns the same way to continue through the park to Happy Valley. So we retraced our steps and found a café, Valentino Café, that served five of us very quickly, enabling us to get to the station in plenty of time for the 15:31 train to Manchester, for which Viv, Steve and Roger were waiting on a bench, having declined a café visit..

 

We finished up walking 16km as compared with the predicted 12km. That was my fault. Our route is shown below in pink, if you can make it out (click on the image, and magnify), and the correct route is the one in blue, under which most of the pink route is hidden.

Anyway, thankfully the rain had stopped early on and I think we all enjoyed the outing. We plan to re-assemble at Bramhall on Friday 9 May. The most convenient trains may be 9:46 from Piccadilly, arriving in Bramhall at 10:03, then returning from Middlewood on the 15:18, arriving at Piccadilly 15:47.