"A man is so in the way in the house!" observed one of the genteel maiden-ladies of Cranford, which the author Mrs Gaskell modelled on Knutsford. And perhaps as you walk up the main street you can still sense this refined matriarchy. Certainly Knutsford, which is named after King Canute, is holding back the tide of the 20th century, for along King Street the houses and hostelries long predate Mrs Gaskell. And in Tatton Park too the past remains, with Red and Fallow deer roaming beside a stately mere.
START: Tatton Park Knutsford Entrance, also roadside parking on Mereheath Lane
Grid ref: SJ751790 Postcode: WA166HS
DISTANCE: 3.5 miles
GRADE: Easy
TIME: 2 hours
MAP: Explorer - Wilmslow, Macclesfield Landranger 109 & 118
NOTE: Tatton Park open 10.0 till 7.0 High Season, 10 till 5 Low Season, closed Mondays during winter
REFRESHMENTS: Knutsford
EN ROUTE: Tatton Mere, Dog Wood
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News