Manchester Nature Cycle with Map

This there-and-back route totals 50 km. Manchester is not very well-known for its green spaces, but we’re taking you to some of the few treasured parks and nature reserves the city has. You can hire a bike from Bee Active, Beryl, or Manchester Bikes. If you have your own bike and need parking, you can use Parkopedia or JustPark to help you out. If you need parking, booking at least 2-3 days in advance is advised.

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The Reddish Vale Country Park is quite a green corridor with a new butterfly park, five ponds, a few wetlands, and ancient woodlands. The imposing viaduct is the starkest reminder of the area’s industrial past of calico printing works. During the breeding season, you may spot some magnificent mating displays from the great crested grebe or water rail. If you are very lucky, you may see roe deer, mink and weasels.

Exit the park onto Mill Lane, National Cycle Route 6. At the intersection with Windmill Lane and Longford Road, turn left to stay on Mill Lane, then right onto Gorton Road, and left onto Longford Road West. Look to your right for an entry onto a pathway to turn sharp left onto Fallowfield Loop towards Highfield Country Park.

Highfield Country Park was once a clay extraction site used to manufacture building bricks. In the 70s, it was the site of Jackson’s brickwork, a clay pit children used as a play area and nicknamed “The Brickie.” The country park was once an area that was encouraged to be avoided. Today, after a rejuvenation project, it has become a much-loved park for locals. A favourite activity here is blackberry picking, a great idea if you’re feeling a bit nibbly. Throughout the rest of the nature reserve, see several species of trees, birds, and butterflies, maybe even a Manchester bee. The worker bee is the symbol of the city, which you may see scattered throughout, as it nods to the city made by the workers and its people.

Return to Fallowfield Loop and continue straight along the Fallowfield Loop pathway for about 2.2km. Turn sharp left, then right to ride along the houses on your left. Walk up the stairs and cross over Abbery Hey Lane. St the short red brick wall, go around it on the left to continue on the pathway and continue for another 2.2km.

When you reach the stream, turn left and follow the path for about 1.4km. When you reach the end of the pathway before the Alan Turing Bridge, turn right to go down the ramp and turn right. You may need to walk your bike along the ramp. Under the next bridge, turn right to walk up the stairs onto Joe Mercer Way. Keep right at the hollow, net-patterned, round building.

Turn left onto Alan Turing Way, which becomes Hulme Hall Lane. Continue for a few metres after passing the canal on your left, then turn left towards Vickers Street and turn right. Follow the curves of the road, then turn right onto Hulme Hall Lane to be on the opposite end. At the canal, turn left to go down the ramp and continue straight.

At the bridge of Old Church Street, go under it to climb the stairs to continue straight along this pathway. At the bridge just before the tower, a few metres away, turn right, then left onto Poplar Street. Turn left onto Victoria Street, left onto Albert Street West, and immediately right onto Hobson Street. Turn right onto Peel Street, which becomes Mill Lane.

After about 300 metres, walk your bike straight along Gullane Close for about 100 metres through the green to come out onto Gullane Close between rows of houses. You can ride through the rest of the green here as it is part of the Moston Fairway Nature Reserve.

From Gullane Close, turn left onto The Fairway, then right onto The Links, which leads you into another part of the Moston Fairway Nature Reserve at the curve of the road. From The Links, completing the curve, turn left onto The Fairway at the roundabout.

Moston Fairway Nature Reserve is best to see some wildflowers and birds. This Grade A Site of Biological importance has numerous habitats such as urban marsh and woodland. Even though the area is not much larger than a football pitch, there is almost no corner absent of a little creature from dragonflies, butterflies, frogs, and more in the summer. Hidden somewhere in the park is the “Witches Tree,” a willow struck by lightning; let us know if you find it!

After about 1km, turn left onto Nuthurst Road, then right to stay on Nuthurst Road. Turn right onto Moston Lane, just before the roundabout, turn left onto the pathway that takes you through Boggart Hole Clough. Follow the path that runs on the outer edge of the park.

If you don’t know, a boggart is an evil or mischievous spirit that can turn milk sour, make objects disappear, and make dogs unable to walk. The origins of the boggart are, in fact, local to Lancashire folklore. So, Boggart Hole Clough is a spooky name for an area meant for strolls and relaxation. A clough is a narrow ravine or steep-sided, wooded alley. This forest area has a history dating back to the Bronze Age, suggesting a rich spiritual connection. Boggarts, of course, enjoy hiding, and apparently, they enjoy hiding under bridges, muddy holes, and bushes. Which Boggart Hole Clough has plenty of. According to the folklore, it is also a very bad idea to give a boggart a name… But don’t worry, boggarts are just part of folklore and don’t really exist…

Did you hear that?

Continue along the path to the right of the boating lake. You will pass the Lakeside Cafe, where you can grab a bite and have a quick rest. Follow the pathway closest to the main road to exit onto Charlestown Road, turning left. Turn right onto Rochdale Road, left onto Middleton Old Road, then left again onto Old Market Street.

Old Market Street becomes Blackley New Road. Turn right onto Ellbourne Road, left onto Highcliffe Road, then immediately right into the Blackley Forest.

Feel free to ride around as you please and then “retrace your wheels” back to the start.

Blackley Forest was Manchester’s first community forest, planted by the Manchester Corporation to commemorate the Queen’s coronation in 1953 and the people who gave their lives in WWII. It is lovingly and slowly being restored to its optimal glory. Efforts are being made to improve the quality of the river and introduce fish and other wildlife soon. Much progress has already been made, and the forest is a delight to go through in any season, with winter snow, spring blooms, summer butterflies, and autumn leaves. Visit their website here if you’d like to volunteer or keep up to date with any events that might take place, as well as their operating hours.

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Resources:

If you enjoyed this route, see our Parks and History Cycle

Download the GPX file for this route.

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Information gathered from various sources, including Wikipedia