Distance: 20 Miles
Difficulty: Medium
Bike: Any sturdy bike is suitable
"Following the banks of the River Mersey along the Trans-Pennine Trail from Didsbury into Cheshire, around the picturesque Chorlton and Sale water parks, followed by a quick drink at the Visitors Centre at Sale water park before heading back to Didsbury.
Chorlton Water Park is a nice place to go to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and out into the (relatively) fresh air. Formerly farmland, the lake was built from the gravel pit created in building the M60 during the 1970’s. The Park is now a haven for wildlife and is a nationally important wintering site for water birds. You may see coots, moorhens, tufty ducks, geese, heron and possibly even kingfishers.
Sale Water Park is a 152-acre (62 ha) area of countryside and parkland including a 52-acre (21 ha) artificial lake in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. Opened in 1980 and owned by Trafford council, the water park lies in an area of the green belt running through the Mersey river valley between Sale and Stretford located between the river and the M60 Motorway. The lake was formed in the 1970s by the flooding of a gravel pit which had been excavated to provide material for the construction of an embankment to raise the motorway 34 feet (10 m) above the Mersey's floodplain.
Sale Water Park provides important recreational facilities and wildlife reserves, as well as forming part of the flood defences for this part of Trafford.
Additional equipment:
Helmet, water bottle, rain jacket - just in case, suncream - just in case!"
