Wednesday 19 August 2026 - An Evening Walk around Heaton Mersey with SWOG

Better late than never! For the first time this summer, Sue and I joined eight other members of Stockport Walking and Outdoors Group (SWOG) for a short evening walk. Just as well, this was their last evening walk before indoor Wednesday evening activities resume. I'm afraid Spunch events have edged these evening walks to the side this summer.

It turned out to be a slow amble of just 3.7 km, partly along the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT), and also past playing fields and up a long overgrown ginnel that we'd not visited before.

Before leaving the TPT we passed a comprehensive information board that someone has put a lot of effort into its composition. Click on the image/zoom in to read the text.

Next to the playing fields, Sue posed next to a strange little sculpture.

The group of ten managed to finish our amble before it got dark. Eight of us plus dog adjourned to The Crown, whilst Sue and I took a stroll up and down Didsbury Road to make up the distance to 5 km, before joining the others.

Here's our route, including the dogleg up Didsbury Road.

Earlier, 'Jump Heaven' in Hazel Grove had provided lots of fun for a five year old (with one tooth less than when we saw her last week) and her grandma, before we adjourned to Brookside Garden Centre for lunch.

Saturday 9 to Saturday 16 August - two parkruns, a picnic, a camp and a walk

With Wythenshawe parkrun being called off for a couple of weeks due to the invasion of a concert venue onto its course, Sue and I opted to enjoy the parkrun local to Sue's mother's residence in Solihull. Brueton parkrun is a well attended venue in a pleasant park.

490 participants slowly gathered at a congested start line. I started at the back as usual, but managed to overtake a few folk and finish in 30:57, position 319. Sue was much quicker. Full results are here.

At the finish

Warming down

After picking up Sue's mother, we headed to St Nicholas' Park in Warwick, where we got a good view of the flotilla of craft on the River Avon before heading for a picnic site for over twenty of Sue's relatives.

Just near our picnic spot was a lovely Golden Rain Tree.

A selection of posh dogs seemed to get on well.

The afternoon couldn't end without a group photo and a scattering of some of Richard's ashes, so he wasn't entirely absent from this annual event.

By Wednesday it was our turn again to host a granddaughter for the day. We took her to Sweet Knowl campsite near Peak Forest for her first experience of camping. The tent was easily set up, and it was easily moved from the spot below when a large group assembled nearby.

A shady spot under a tree brought relief from the sun on the hot day, and it was a good venue for colouring, and for farmyard fun. From time to time a couple of curious donkeys in a neighbouring field were given large clumps of grass from the campsite.

After a busy afternoon, and a change of clothing resulting from a water fight, grandad cooked sausages for dinner. The child preferred peppers and cucumber and houmous dip, together with lots of plums and other assorted produce gleaned from Hazel's allotment. We had nice neighbours. Janice and Alan were a retired couple in a campervan that would soon be taking them to northern Spain. The tent next door was of the 'Buckingham' variety - a palace compared with our small tent. A ten year old called Safiya made friends with our four year old.

 

After dinner, a request to go to bed, as she wanted to spend as nuch time as possible in the tent, which was a sort of secondary playground as opposed to being a place in which to sleep.

For a girl whose favourite colour is purple, my old sleeping bag was a resounding success!

Eventually we watched the sun go down over the Peak District on a lovely evening free from insects before adjourning for stories, and eventually sleep. The late night resulted in a sleep in until 6:45, which was appreciated by us all, as she normally wakes much earlier than that.

After the successful camping trip, granddaughter was handed over to more grandparents in Glossop and Sue and I had a relaxing day before heading to the Bells of Peover for the last of Andrew's short evening walks of the summer.

Andrew reminded us that the 'Bells' bore no reference to nearby church bells, but to the sirname of former owners. 

On our short walk, we passed a weir that is fed by an overgrown pond. Even here in the depths of rural Cheshire there is an industrial history to uncover.

Further on, we know we are on familiar ground when we pass this old cottage with a lovely front garden.

The evening light was glorious as we passed through a few fields on the way back to the Bells.

The Bells of Peover is proud of past glories.

We were soon rehydrating outside the pub, before Sue handed out produce from Hazel's allotment and we dispersed until next time.

Here's the pleasant 3km route.

To conclude this posting, a few pictures from today's parkrun at Burnage. I met Jan and Owen at the start, and Paul and Rufus joined us for the run. It's a fairly slow course with a few short inclines and some steps, but really very pleasand, following in part the Trans Pennine Trail beside the River Mersey.

I managed a respectable 31:54, with Paul just ahead, and Owen and Jan a few minutes behind. Here they are at the finish.

Full results are here.

Burnage RFC clubhouse provides coffees for £1.50, dispensed via a tank of hot water - add your own milk from a nearby table - and they have bacon butties etc ready to go, so very little waiting and queueing. Wythenshawe could learn from this. Owen's mum Jenny joined us, and I was pleased to be relieved of most of the runner beans etc that Sue had required me to dispose of.

Wednesday 18 June 2025 - A walk with SWOG from Nelson Pit

We started by a bridge over the Macclesfield Canal

What better to do on a midsummer's evening than go for a sunny stroll from Nelson Pit, near Poynton, with a group of 17 from Stockport Walking and Outdoors Group (SWOG)?

Sue was tired so stayed at home, but I returned to near where we have been quite a lot recently. In fact at points this walk encountered signs for the GM Ringway Stage 5 that we completed last week.

So for this posting I'll stick to just a few annotated photos. Anything more might just be superfluous waffle.

The path to Hilltop Farm

Heading east towards Lyme Park

I wonder what chemical turns this grass bright green

The Cage comes into view as we cross a huge freshly mown field

Kinder Scout lurks in the background

It really is a huge field above Elmerhurst Wood

Descending into Ryles Wood

Back at the Macclesfield Canal

Most of the others went to the Boars Head, but I pottered off back to Timperley.

Here's our route - 5.7km with 80 metres ascent, taking an hour and a half. A very pleasant summer's evening stroll.