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.

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.

Wednesday 4 June 2025 - An Evening walk around Marple and Mellor with SWOG

It was a pleasure to join over 20 folk from SWOG (Stockport Walking and Outdoors Group) on a pleasant evening for a short stroll.

Starting from the car park by the Midland in Marple Bridge, we headed up the track and over towards Roman Lakes, passing the remains of Mellor Mill en route.

A steep climb that I more normally do in reverse on a bike took us up to Linnet Clough Scout Camp, and a wooden sculpture of Lord Baden-Powell.

There are several climbing frames and a go-kart track to keep the scouts busy. There were none in residence today.

Being quite high up here, we admired the views towards Greater Manchester.

Nice undulating paths lead us towards Mellor Church.

There are a couple of fields of vineyards here. An experiment. 'Marple Wine'?

I'd not been inside the church since Paul Brunn's funeral in 2012. Is it really that long ago!?

I usually pass this way by bike on a different track to the path we used tonight, so I wasn't familiar with some of the surroundings of the church. Apparently human activity here can be traced back for 10,000 years. The archaeological finds are recorded on information boards and in reconstructions.

Clearly in days past Campbell must have modelled for this sculpture.

The Round House demanded further investigation. Sue would have been quite happy to nod off for the night at this point.

That left us with a short stroll past a buttercup field of vines and then some very posh housing, back to Marple Bridge.

There's a working waterwheel in the town centre, and the Midland pub is right next to the River Goyt.

A pleasant 6.5km outing with 170 metres ascent, taking a leisurely couple of hours - a fine way to spend a summer's evening.

There may now be at least a week's hiatus in these diary entries due to a very full list of commitments as a result of which I'll find it easier to write up the walk reports in a week's time.