Walks around Heaton Park

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Heaton Park Sunday Stollers 

The Sunday Strollers are different from other Ramblers / walking groups as the walks are short and  at a leisurly pace.  The group is ideal thefore for people who:

  • are new to walking.

  • don't want to walk long distance route marches.

  • don't want to spend all day walking.

  • want to explore Heaton Park 

If this sounds like the kind of walking group you are looking for we would like to invite you to the walks.  The walks take place on every SUNDAY at 11am and they meet outside the stable cafe.

However, if you want to take a walk through the park with fascinating features, fun places to visit and some great views there is an easy walking route along roadways and paths with gentle climbs and descents.

Start and finish: Heaton Park entrance on Bury Old Road.

Distance:

3 miles, with an extra mile if you visit Hazlitt Wood Pond.

Time:

21⁄2 hours. Allow extra time for visiting attractions and allow 45 minutes extra if you take the optional walk to Hazlitt Wood Pond.

Terrain:

Easy walking along roadways and paths with gentle climbs and descents. Additional options include walking on grass or following narrower tracks.

Family friendly:

Ideal for families, but keep children and dogs well supervised near water.

Accessibility:

Suggested route is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. Optional walk to Hazlitt Wood Pond is not suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Recommended footwear:

Comfortable footwear. Optional walk to HazlittWood Pond requires sturdy footwear.

 map

1

From the Metrolink tram stop, or bus stops, enter Heaton Park by the Bury Old Road entrance. Take the path to the left here (signposted for the Horticultural Centre and Football Pitches). Follow the path and look out for the first of several wonderful views across to the Pennines to your right. After a couple of hundred yards, you’ll come to the Horticultural Centre, a walled garden that was used to grow food for the occupants of Heaton Hall. Look inside for the wildlife garden and ornamental pond.

2

Continue along the path past the Bowling Greens, a world-class centre built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Follow the path as it bears right then take the path that runs alongside the road to the right. Follow the short path to your left to the Dower House,a stylish 18th century conversion of an old house, and now home to the Manchester Bee Keepers, with regular demonstrations and delicious honey on sale.

Retrace your steps to the main path, with a large children’s play area to your right, and go through the gate next to the cattle grid. Follow the path down towards the Hall.

3

As you approach the Hall, go along the path to your left (signposted for toilets). Here you have an option to extend your walk and go to Hazlitt Wood Pond, look for the point of departure from the main walk on your left (see inset). Follow the curve of the path round the  wooded hill and look for the path on your right and follow the steep but short walk up to the Temple. From this vantage point the view is superb! Built on the highest spot in the city of Manchester, the Temple was designed in the classical style by James Wyatt and may have been used as an observatory by Sir Thomas Egerton.

Down to Hazlitt Wood Pond

There’s a break in the path bank on your left opposite the toilets (see 3) near the Hall. Cross the grass here and head for the gate you can see ahead, with the telecommunications mast to your left. Go through the gate, past grazing horses and in 30 yards you will come to a fork in the path. Take the right path and follow the slope down through the trees. Climb over the stile and you’ll soon get to the lovely little lake known as the Hazlitt Wood Pond. It’s a beautiful, unspoiled and quiet area - and if you’re lucky you may even spot a kingfisher. Keep to the left of the pond on a stone path (a little overgrown) and walk around it with the fence to your left until you’re more or less opposite the starting point of the path. It goes left away from the pond here and leads you up through the woods alongside a delightful stream, and towards the park perimeter wall. When you get to the end of the path, slip through the narrow gap (designed to keep horses from passing through). Here you should turn left, following the main path back to the Hall (passing the path to the Pond) and turning left to re-join the main walk as it heads towards the Temple.

4

Retrace the path from the Temple and rejoin the main path until you reach the Orangery that adjoins the Hall. Originally, built for Lady Margaret, wife of the 2nd Earl of Wilton, it is now a popular setting for wedding parties and business functions. Look out for a small blue plaque to the right of the door, commemorating the 133,516 trainee aircrew who were stationed at Heaton Park during World War II.

In front of the Orangery there’s a delightful formal garden, and as you proceed along the back of Heaton Hall you can see a Ha-Ha, a low walled ditch designed to stop cattle grazing on the formal lawns and present a clear view from the house - now enjoyed by a pair of lead lions guarding the south side of the hall. Heaton Hall itself was designed in 1772 for Sir Thomas Egerton by James Wyatt, and now houses a collection of furniture, paintings and musical instruments.

5

Follow the path to the junction and bear right to the Farm Centre, originally the stables and coach house, and now home to the Stables Café and the offices - where the helpful staff can provide you with a wealth of information. The Animal Centre is here too - it’s a magnet for families with younger children, who can come face to face with all their farmyard favourites and some more exotic creatures!

6

Coming out of the Farm Centre, keep it to your right and continue towards the restored Western Pleasure Grounds - signposted for Dell Gardens. The path dips down through lovely woods alongside a stream, and comes out at a small children’s playground, where you should turn right along the main path. Look out for the boating lake on your left and then take the path on the left keeping the lake to your right. Here you will find swans and wildfowl on the twelve-acre lake.

Hungry or thirsty? There’s the opportunity here to drop in to the Lakeside Café where you can enjoy a cup of tea.

7

Follow the path to the Boat House where during the summer season you can hire a rowing boat. Near the Boat House you will see the tram track for the Heaton Park Tramway follow the path to your left alongside the tracks and visit the Heaton Park Tramway and Museum (see panel). After your visit re-trace your steps to rejoin the main walk.  Follow the path right around the lake and enjoy the scenic walk for about a mile through the woods and along the banks. As you approach the southern tip of the lake look out the sign on the left directing you to the Old Town Hall Colonnade - one of the park’s hidden treasures. This imposing structure was the entrance façade of the old Manchester Town Hall on King Street, and was brought to the park in 1912 when the town hall was demolished. Walk through the arch and look back to see it at its best, with its statues and inscriptions. Continue along the path under the colonnade to the junction.

8

You are now in the south west area of the park, which was the setting for a race course in the early 19th century (there’s a painting of a Heaton Park race day in the Hall). Turn right and look to your left across the wide open grass area to see the Papal Monument, a simple but striking rough standing stone which commemorates one of the park’s greatest days when the Pope visited the park in 1982. If you want a closer look, cut across the grass.

Retrace your steps, continuing towards the Hall and looking for the path signposted ‘Metrolink, Heaton Park’ to the finish on your left.