Medlock Vale - From City to Country

A linear walk along the Medlock valley from the city centre to the countryside, following canals and rivers, passing old mills and new developments, taking in a couple of parks, including one of the oldest public parks in the country. We will end the walk on a high atop Hartshead Pike, which affords fantastic views across Manchester and the Cheshire plain.

Starting out along the Ashton canal we will pass a number of Victorian mill and warehouse buildings, modern apartment developments and the Etihad Stadium, home to Manchester City Football Club. From here we will head into Philips Park, one of the oldest municipal parks in the country, having opened in 1846. In 1872 there was a major flood along the Medlock which washed away parts of Philips Park and Philips Park Cemetery, including many coffins, some 60 bodies were recovered downstream and reinterred. In the early 1900s Philips Park was home to an annual tulip festival, which brought crowds from far and wide to view the 1,000s of tulips which were planted around the park.

We will then continue up the valley into Clayton Vale, a formerly industrial area, which also included a smallpox hospital, but which has now been reclaimed and restored as a Local Nature Reserve. We will traverse a high escarpment overlooking Brookdale Golf Course before joining the disused Hollinwood branch of the Ashton canal, crossing the M60 and entering Daisy Nook Country Park.

Following the Fairbottom Branch canal from Daisy Nook we come to Park Bridge, where the remains of a former iron works can be found. From Park Bridge we start climbing out of the Medlock Valley to cross some fairly level ground, before the steep climb to the summit of Hartshead Pike and the Lantern Tower, which gives fantastic 360 degree views across Greater Manchester and the Cheshire plain in one direction and Saddleworth moors in the other.

From here we will drop down past the Hartshead Inn and on into the centre of Mossley through Mossley Park.

Please note: This is a linear walk, so you will need to use public transport either at the beginning or the end, even if you are driving. Mossley station has a free car park, so you could park there and get a train to Manchester Piccadilly for the start of the walk, or you could park in the city centre (Charles St multi storey is only £2 for the day) and get the train back at the end.

Picture Credits:

Ashton Canal and New Islington Wharf (Copyright David Dixon)  Used under the Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Philips Park (Copyright Gary Barber) Used under the Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Clayton Vale (Copyright David Dixon) Used under the Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Daisy Nook (Copyright John Slater) Used under the Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Park Bridge Ironworks (Copyright David Dixon) Used under the Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Hartshead Pike (Copyright G-Man) Used under the Wikimedia Commons licence

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