Holiday apartment in Stockport: culture, canals and green paths
Accommodation in Stockport
In Stockport, Hat Works is the only museum in the United Kingdom dedicated to the hat industry, hats and headwear. On selected days, the museum offers guided tours of the factory floor. The Stockport Air Raid Shelters opened in 1939 and were the largest purpose-built civilian air-raid shelters in the country.
Culture and history
Staircase House is home to one of only three surviving Jacobean cage-post staircases in the country. Bramall Hall complements these historic sites as a Tudor manor house with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. The building is set in around 70 acres of parkland with woodland paths, streams and lakes.
The Avro Heritage Museum houses the only example of a Vulcan bomber painted entirely white. The museum also preserves the heritage of Alliott Verdon-Roe and his company A.V. Roe & Co (Avro). It offers guided tours that can be booked in advance for clubs and groups. The Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery regularly holds exhibitions in all four galleries and is Grade II* listed.
Historic connections are also visible along the waterways. Marple Aqueduct is designated as a Scheduled Monument in the Borough of Stockport. The Peak Forest Canal Conservation Area in the Borough of Stockport includes the section of canal through Woodley, Bredbury, Romiley, Marple and Strines.
Nature and paths
Etherow Country Park covers 240 acres of green space and offers a wide variety of plants and wildlife. The park has facilities for sailing, motorboating and fishing. Reddish Vale Country Park stretches across 161 hectares along the River Tame. It has walking, cycling and horse-riding paths that connect with the paths along the Goyt, Etherow, Saddleworth and Longdendale.
The Middlewood Way is an 11-mile route from Marple to Macclesfield. The route is mostly level and accessible to wheelchair users. Another distinctive landscape of paths and waterways is formed by the Marple Locks: they are a flight of 16 locks and are among the steepest lock flights in Great Britain. From Marple railway station, the towpath at the Marple Locks can be reached on foot in five minutes; it is open at all times.
The Chadkirk Country Estate includes a 60-acre farm and a 16th-century chapel in the Goyt Valley. Romiley railway station is a ten-minute walk from the Chadkirk Country Estate. The Mersey Valley Way is suitable for walking, using mobility aids and cycling.
Market and townscape
Stockport Market Place is the historic heart of the town and an important part of the town centre. Little and Great Underbanks are historic streets next to Stockport Market Place. Foodie Friday also gives the market a street-food event once a month, with local traders, craft ales and live music.
Museums and historic buildings stand alongside canals, parkland and longer paths in Stockport. Stockport is ten minutes south of Manchester city centre by train. Stockport's rail-connected districts include Marple, Reddish North, Rose Hill and Romiley; they are directly connected to Manchester city centre.
Further reading: Stockport, Bredbury
For the higher-level travel overview: North West England.
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