4 to 7 June 2026 - Four Runs

Thursday 4 June - Spunch Sale

With Sue at a spa day with Jenny, this was a solo effort for me, shown above, happily smiling before the start at Trafford Metroviks, a large sports ground hidden away between Glebelands Road and the River Mersey.

I set off soon after 5pm on a quick loop using good paths beside the river between Sale and Stretford.

No more pictures were taken until the end, after an annoying navigational mishap shortly after meeting Alison Pearson, who was enjoying her inaugural Spunch with running club friends.

Michelle was her usual jolly self at Control, where I contrived to sign in with fewer points than any of the other two hour (120) participants.

Click on the image for a better version

My route is shown below. The green 'start' marker should be next to the red finishing one (I forgot to turn on the recording until five minutes after starting). The long erroneous diversion to Moss Lane at the bottom of my route rewarded me with 30 penalty points and at least four missed Spunch points, so I should have scored at least 670 but for that error.

Never mind, there was cake at the end, and a huge chicken burger, and Sue turned up to encourage me.

Saturday 6 June - Wythenshawe parkrun #669

After a wet start, the sun nearly appeared for 368 runners over the 5km course. Sue and I both took it easy, Sue finishing in 27:46 (position 147) and me in 44:13 (position 348).

RD Andy addresses the masses

Splish splosh!

Steve Thurston, volunteer marshal at 'Far Bridge'

Backmarkers approaching Far Bridge

A hard earned finish...

We lingered in the Courtyard Café at length, during which time Paul and Jeanette were persuaded to join us on the next event.

Saturday 6 June - Spunch - Woodbank and Goyt

We assembled soon after 11:30 at the Strawberry Gardens pub in Offerton, where I think in bygone days we used to adjourn for liquid refreshments from Dave and Robert Kitto's nearby business, Dartmouth Performance Clothing Limited. At the time a competitor of Sprayway. I still use their balaclava.

Today, Paul and Jeanette had nipped home for supplies, Rufus had emerged from a parkrun sulk, and Alistair Pooler turned up to loosen up for a marathon around Coniston Water that would see him having to rise the following morning at around 4am.

The sun came out and despite a bit of teething trouble with the Maprun app, and a failure to pay through SiEntries ('never mind'), Paul and Jeanette at least got one of their phones with the app on it working for most of the two hour duration of our run/walk around Woodbank and the Goyt valley.

It was muddy in places and point 47 had us flummoxed for a while, but with no serious mishaps we had an enjoyable outing and failed to match the last place that I had managed in Sale two days earlier..

The pictures speak for themselves.

We finished after visiting 36 Spunch points in the allocated two hours, with a couple of minites in hand. My planned route was achieved, with one short cut that allowed us to avoid a last minute rush.

The results for the two hour (120) participants are shown above - we were very happy with our result that included novices and a geriatric.

Here's the Garmin Connect version of our route, which basically comprised three anti clockwise loops.

Sunday 7 June - Wythenshawe Community Run

Whilst Alistair was running around Coniston's marathon course in just under seven hours, I popped along to Wythenshawe for the 5km Community Run. I stayed at the back as usual, and enjoyed a long chat with Tom Lavin.

My quickest 5km of the week, albeit in a modest time of 38:29.

Friday = Isabella Day (25)

Another lovely day with Izzie, who continues to love playing with the old Duplo house.

A beautiful, warm sunny morning drew us to a walk to Walton Park, where the big slide is now being attempted, whilst I enjoyed a Walton Perks coffee.

There's a new plaque in the park to commemorate those involved in the crash landing of a Wellington bomber in the park on 3 August 1943.

The plaque seems already to have been unveiled.

The Information Board, however, is still draped in bubble wrap.

Izzie wanted to go home on the tram again - you may recall we did that last week in order to avoid the worst of the rain - so we wandered up to Marsland Bridge and Brooklands Station. Some nice ladies took a photo for us.

I think it's fair to say that Isabella loved the short tram ride, after which she was in a good mood for lunch > nap > playing > going home.

It's a sunny view today looking along the canal from Timperley Bridge to Marsland Bridge.

The two year old spent ages neatly lining up her family...

Then Sue and I went to Shropshire for the weekend.

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.

Saturday 9 January 2021 - Social Distancing in Sale (or not)

On today's sunny afternoon, I ventured out, fully masked throughout. I must be paranoid; there is no pandemic crisis; the people of Sale are quite happy to walk in crowds along the canal towpath. No worries in Trafford, then...

Unbelievable. Now you know why I refuse to go anywhere near the crowded towpath

Sunday 3 January 2021 - A Walk in West Sale

On a sunny winter's day, Sue left the house at 6 am to spend the morning supervising Covid vaccinations. When she returned, we enjoyed a 9 km stroll from home, passing through Carrington Moss and West Sale, where Sue is pictured above in the meadows next to the Racecourse Estate.

There are lots of similar outings available from home, which is just as well given the current 'Stay at Home' mantra. We are trying to avoid crowded areas such as the canal towpaths and our local National Trust hotspots (Dunham, Tatton and Styal).

Take care and stay safe, everyone.

Kayaking on the Bridgewater Canal

 

I was happy enough to go canoeing with Sue and Jenny last week, but when it came to sitting in a puddle in a kayak for a couple of hours, I was happy to leave them to it.

 

However, when I could just about see the tips of their paddles through our study window, I decided to pop out and say hello. As I suspected, they were immersed in puddles, but they looked happy enough until it became apparent that my visit was driven more by voyeurism than by a desire to supply refreshments.

 

 

The next photo was supplied by Jenny (thank you), taken before they adjourned to Jenny's house to hang their knickers out to dry.

 

 

As with the canoes, these kayaks were hired from the people who operate from the space under the bridge next to the King's Ransom in Sale.