The Trail in Greater Manchester

Trafford

• Dunham Massey Hall (National Trust) An early Georgian house, Dunham Massey was extensively reworked in the early years of the 20th century. The result is one of Britain’s most sumptuous Edwardian interiors, housing exceptional collections of 18th Century walnut furniture, paintings and Huguenot silver, as well as extensive servants’ quarters. Here is one of the North West’s great plantsman’s gardens with richly planted borders and majestic trees, as well as an orangery and Victorian bark house. The garden is open all year round and has the largest winter garden in Britain. The ancient deer park contains a series of beautiful avenues and ponds and a working Elizabethan sawmill.
• Dunham Massey Brewing Company – Currently Trafford’s only craft brewery you can sample the beer at a number of local hostelries including The Swan with Two Nicks, or buy a bottle of conditioned real ale from the shop above the brewery.
• Red House Farm – Maize Maze, Farm Shop and Tea Rooms. Tea rooms open daily and Maize open from mid July until end September.
• The Rope & Anchor serves a gastropub style menu over 2 floors with extensive dining outside, all year round.
• Sale Water Park – the Mersey Valley Visitor Centre is located in the grounds of Sale Water Park. The 35 acres lake is surrounded by woodlands and meadows. The site has benches, picnic tables and a lakeside play farm.
• Ark Cafe – Located about 600 yards from the Trail adjacent to the Mersey Valley Visitors Centre. All our breads, cakes, cookies and soups are hand made at the Cafe. Open Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays.
• Trafford Watersports Centre – offering facilities for sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and canoeing.
• The Bike Barn – cycle rental and repair workshop between Sale and Chorlton Water in Manchester.
• Messing about on the Mersey – hire a bike from the Bike Barn at Sale cycle up the trail to Burnage Rugby Club, hire a canoe and paddle back down. We will return the bike to the start. Alternatively if you have your own bike a similar arrangement can be made. An hour up river and about 2.5hours back down.
• Jacksons Boat – alongside the River Mersey and a short walk from Sale Water Park. Good food served all day with a selection of real ales. Outside there is a large beer garden and children’s play area.
• Trafford Tourist Information Centre will help you find out about this vibrant mix of inner-city, leafy suburban and rural community.

Manchester

• Chorlton Water Park is a large lake surrounded by woodland with play area, picnic tables, canoeing, sailing and angling.
• Wythenshawe Hall – A dramatic timber-framed Tudor house set amid beautiful gardens and 270 acres of parkland.
• Manchester Visitor Information is the best one-stop service for visitors and tourist information in the city, handling nearly half a million enquiries a year.

Stockport

• Hat Museum – the UK’s first and only museum dedicated to the exciting world of hats and hat making. Situated within Wellington Mill the site has been transformed into a major new attraction, providing hands on facilitated sessions and hatting demonstrations.
• Stockport Air Raid Caves – Come and experience life as it was during a ‘black out’ in war torn Britain.
• Staircase House – An exciting attraction for all the family. Come and listen, smell and touch, peel back the bedclothes of the four poster bed, sit by the 18th Century dining table and try your hand at quill pen writing.
• Reddish Vale Country Park – Here you’ll find open countryside and woodland only 10 minutes from Stockport Town Centre. Supporting a Visitor Centre next to the old mill lodges that once formed part of an industrial complex, now providing a valuable habitat for wildlife.
• Stockport Story – The Museum houses a fascinating collection stretching back 10,000 years and it’s all FREE to explore! Delve into Stockport’s rich history and time travel from the past to the present day. With five galleries to visit, certainly a great day out for everyone.
• Stockport information centre; Air Raid Caves; Historic market; Stockport viaduct. This town is steeped in history and lies between the cosmopolitan city of Manchester and the beautiful countryside of Derbyshire.

Tameside

• Werneth Low Country Park – The country park extends for 80 hectares (200 acres) across the Northern and Western slopes of Werneth Low. This area is a haven for wildlife and an area where visitors can find peace and relaxation.
• Lymefield Visitor Centre – Located at Broadbottom in the Etherow Valley, the centre has displays about the local countryside, wildlife and local history and heritage. The Visitor Centre is the base for education trips to the area and a starting point for many local events.