Adventures on your Doorstep

I've been taking it easy this weekend staying at home and avoiding the traditional bank holiday traffic jams. I was still in need of some sort of an outdoor fix so Chris and I dusted our bikes off in the hope of finding some adventures close to home.

The Trans-Pennine Trail runs close to where we live so we started by heading west towards Carrington Moss. The area is ideally suited to cycling and walking because of the network of paths that criss-cross the varied habitats. There is woodland, heath, open grassland and marshy areas with ponds.

Close to Altrincham we found the towpath of the Bridgwater Canal, which soon led us to grand estate of Dunham Massey. The grounds cover nearly 200 acres most of which pasture-woodland with ancient oak trees and fallow deer.

After weaving our way through the exclusive suburbs of Hale and Bowdon we crossed the River Bollin, gatecrashed a mini 'Crufts' dog training event then hurried away through dense woodland near the M56 motorway.

After winding our way along Cheshire's narrow country lanes we arrived at the sleepy village of Rostherene. The churchyard that overlooks Rostherne Mere made for a perfect place to catch our breath and take in the view across the lake. All of the excitement had developed quite a thirst so we then headed for Tatton Park for a welcome coffee stop.

All too soon we were seeing the last of the rolling Cheshire countryside as we trundled over Bucklow Hill and made good our escape back to our urban comfort-zone that is south Manchester.