Manchester is full of nice surprises, but some of them keep shyly out of sight. Walking along the A560 through Woodley it's not obvious that there's a different world beneath your feet, yet here lies the Peak Forest Canal. Once teasels with their round spiky heads were used as combs to make cloth soft and fluffy. Then wire brushes were invented and made in Haughton Dale wireworks. But now the River Tame is a Nature Reserve, with ancient woodland cloaking the steep-sided valley, while the Peak Forest Canal loops round the hillside high above.
LOCATION: South-east Manchester
START: A560, Woodley shopping precinct carpark, toilets
Grid ref: SJ933921 Postcode: SK6 1RJ
DISTANCE: 4 miles
GRADE: Easy
TIME: 2 hours
MAP: Explorer - Manchester & Salford Landranger 109
REFRESHMENTS: Woodley or pack a flask
EN ROUTE: Trans Pennine Trail, Gibralter
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News