It had been a late night (a very early morning actually) caused by playing at a wedding ceilidh in Kettleshulme the previous evening. I woke up and realised I needed to get out for a walk.
You know how it is.
I had only very recently had an email enquiring about walks from my mate Jon who just happens to be a very fine fellow – a backpacker, Challenger, cyclist, Ukelele player (ukelele-ist?) and all round good egg. Now Jon’s partner Emma is a very fine fiddler – in fact she was playing in the same ceilidh band as me the previous evening. They live in Northenden, just a couple of miles from JJ Towers.
After an early morning exchange of text messages The Battle Plan was finalised and put into action. I arranged to meet Jon at the end of his road and we would walk to Stockport on the banks of the River Mersey. The walk started well enough, it’s a route I’ve done before….but that didn’t stop me taking a wrong turning soon after our rendezvous.
Oh dear me no, I can get lost anywhere. Just ask around.
With the aid of a map we were soon back on track, following the swollen River Mersey - the cause of which were the recent heavy rains.
Jon, politely trying to look like he was happy for me to navigate
Cyclists and runners whizzed past us as we sauntered towards Stockport. The sound of the M60 traffic was a constant reminder that our ‘country walk’ was in fact a narrow artery of green through suburban south Manchester.
Jon had the foresight to grab a Ginster’s Pastie (cold, so he didn’t have to pay VAT) before we set out. I just had a banana and a bottle of water. There may have been a Mars Bar too, but I’m not admitting to that without a signed witness statement.
In the not too distant past The River Mersey was a liveless and polluted watercourse, poisoned by the untreated waste poured into it by industry….and the scroats who used to dump stolen cars into it. Today the river is much cleaner – chubb and trout have been caught, although the local cormorant population make successful angling difficult.
One that got away?
The weather was changeable – hot sunshine one minute, then heavy rain. Our waterproofs were on and off much of the walk.
We arrived in Stockport town centre just in time to miss the train back to Timperley. Luckily there is a decent Sunday bus service so we hopped onto the next bus and were back home in no time.
Thanks to Jon for his company – it’s good to have company on little jaunts like this.
Vital statistics: 15km, with not a lot of up….around 50m. Nice though.
How do you take a wrong turn following a river down hill? Was it while you was looking for the chocy bar! And YOU had a map!
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted to hear the River Mersey is in such good shape nowadays - I can remember it as it used to be in Warrington - foul smelling and full of pink foam!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to do that walk myself for a while. I've walked down by the Mersey a fair bit, but only the bit between Parrs Wood and Stockport, along with a couple of visits to Sale Water Park. Let me know if you fancy walking it again sometime!
ReplyDeleteAlan: Standards have to be maintained, I need to get misplaced at least once on a walk! Actually we were gassing too much before I realised that we had gone wrong.
ReplyDeleteLaura: The Mersey is nothing like it used to be - thankfully. It supports all manner of birdlife and it's river banks are very popular with walkers, runners and cyclists. It's a good place now.
Alistair: Had I not needed to be back for mid-afternoon I'd have called you to see if you fancied a beer! I'll definitely do the walk again soon, probably the next time I need something from Decathon. Or a pint.