Cycling, camping, a national trust property visit and of course a parkrun, those were the criteria when planning a little summer holiday adventure for Iona to enjoy.
It was an adventure into the unknown for Iona, when we left home to catch the train, she had no idea of where we were headed. My choice of direction had primarily been determined by the fact I could get some cheap train tickets for our journey to Manchester, thereafter I had no plan, no campsites booked, just a parkrun destination in mind, Lyme Park and a chance to explore the National Trust property thereafter.
So how did it turn out?
Watch the Video of our Adventure
Day One – Cycling from Manchester to Lyme Park
Arriving at Manchester Picadilly station we grabbed ourselves some lunch from Sainsbury’s before heading off on our bikes out of Manchester. There’s some good cycle paths to travel out and it was good to largely enjoy car-free cycling as we headed out the city. As we left outer edges of the urban sprawl of Manchester we joined the Middlewood Greenway to take us the last 2 miles to the campsite on the outskirts of Poynton. This was a last minute find on the train up which meant Iona avoided the threatened wild camp for the night. The campsite was mostly populated with static caravans but they have space for a few tents as well and it was a lovely location right by the canal, perfect for an evening walk.
Having cooked up our standard camping meal of Aldi Tortelloni, we took a stroll along the canal to the nearby we’d spotted as we cycled in to treat ourselves to a pudding. The promised cookie dough turned out to be just a cookie, not quite what we expected but it was a nice warming dessert.
Day Two – Lyme Park parkrun
An early start and a three mile steep ride through the Lyme Park estate to take us to the Lyme Park parkrun. A decidedly hilly trail, the first kilometre is all uphill, you are treated to some amazing views as a reward. The route includes “The Cage”, a tower built on the hill overlooking the estate in which the ladies could sit watching the men hunting deer. It’s very much a trail run with some quite rough ground to navigate, I loved it.
Post parkrun, we headed to the Timberyard Restaurant to enjoy some tasty breakfast rolls and Iona gave a hand with the parkrun token sorting.
Exploring Lyme Park National Trust
This year we’ve been trying to combine parkruns with National Trust property visits as we were bought NT membership for Christmas. Lyme Park has the big bonus of being a parkrun at an NT property so once refuelled from our breakfast, we headed up to the house. It’s worth noting, if you do the parkrun you get free entry to the grounds anyway. The house is imposing and from the moment you enter it is clear that the Legh family were keen to show off their wealth made from timber and mining. The ceilings in every room were ornate and some incredible carvings in the woodwork. You often get a bit of a children’s dressing up box when visiting NT properties, but here there was a dressing room with volunteers there to help young and old to dress up in period costumer and to wander the hall as if you the Lord and Lady of the manor, Iona loved it.
Once we’d toured the house it was time for cake in the tea room, a must on any NT visit, before heading out into the gardens. There’s a large mirror pool to really show off the house and the beautiful flowers and foliage meant both Iona and I couldn’t stop taking photos.
The final destination was the playground in the woodland behind the timber yard, a great way to finish our time at Lyme.
Remounting our bikes we headed back down the hill but continued down into Poynton to find some cake for after tea. Spotting a Greggs we decided to treat ourselves to a sausage roll to enjoy in the afternoon sun while watching a parade of vintage tractors driving down the high street as part of their country show that had been on.
Back at the campsite, more Tortelloni eaten, we went for another stroll along the canal in the other direction as the sun was setting creating some great photo opportunities.
Day Three – Cycling from Lyme Park to Mow Cop
We started day three of our adventure with no real route or plan in mind other than to start heading south, continuing along the Middlewood Greenway which had brought us to the campsite, taking us through Bollington to Macclesfield. Passing through Bollington allowed us a stop to visit one of our fave youtubers, Holly the Cafe Boat, and treat ourselves to some of their coffee and cake. Lovely to see them again and have a bit of a chat.
Carrying on south, after Macclesfield we joined the Macclesfield canal for the next 12 miles. We had discovered that trains weren’t running from Stoke, so we were definitely going to need another night under canvas. A Google Map search found a campsite just three miles away in Mow Cop and a quick call booked us the last space on the site. What Google Maps hadn’t revealed was just how tough the climb was and certainly not the added extra of a howling headwind! Iona resorted to walking some of the steeper sections while I would ride my bike up and then run back down to ride hers up.
Puffing and panting, we arrived at the campsite. The views were amazing and so were the showers, they’d been voted best campsite facilities for several years running. Tent pitched and us freshened up, it was time to cook our final Tortelloni meal, with Ewan’s tour and then Iona’s I’ve lost count of how many Tortelloni I’ve eaten over the summer holidays. We brewed up hot choc for ourselves as well before cocooning ourselves in the tent, it was a chilly evening.
Day Four – Mow Cop Castle and Cycling from Mow Cop to Stafford
Striking tent for the last time, we started the day with a little more climbing up to Mow Cop castle, another National Trust property but free to access for anyone. It’s not a real castle but a summerhouse built by Randle Wilbraham of nearby Rode Hall to look like a ruined medieval fortress.
Then six miles downhill, dropping down from Mow Cop to the Trent and Mersey Canal. The descent started on roads but also included the Scotia Valley Way and The Tunstall Greenway which took us to the Westport Lake Park where we joined the canal.
Taking us into Stoke the canal is backed onto by old industrial buildings, many related to the pottery heritage of Stoke on Trent then as you leave green fields open up on either side of you as continued along the towpath to Stone our lunchtime destination. We’d hoped to return to cafe we’d visited on a previous tour there with Iona, but it was shut on Monday’s so we discovered “Bear” and were fortunately 10 minutes before they stopped serving brunch so both opted for the pancake stack with maple syrup and bacon, yummy!
The food and rest gave us the impetus we needed to cover the last few miles to Stafford where we were catching the train home. But not before we spied a playground as we were leaving Stone which Iona gave a top rating to. Cycle paths and quiet country lanes took us to Stafford, finishing with Isabel Trail another parkrun venue and Iona’s PB course.
Arriving into Stafford station our adventure was almost over, just a train journey back to Coventry and a couple of miles to ride from the station to home. This adventure had definitely been an exercise in “going with the flow” with no planning and just taking each day as it came. It had also been a low-budget weekend away with absolutely every penny spent on travel, food, campsites and activities coming to less than £170 (see budget below).
It was also mostly traffic-free with some great cycle routes out of Manchester and a good mix of greenways and good quality canal towpaths taking us from Lyme to Stafford. A great route to do with children, though you might want to find a campsite which isn’t at the top of a hill for the last night.
Useful Links
- Elm Beds Caravan Park (Lyme Park)
- Castle Camping (Mow Cop)
- Lyme Park parkrun
- Lyme Park National Trust
- Holly the Cafe Boat
- Mow Cop Castle
- Bear (Stone)
The Routes on Komoot
- Day One – Cycling from Manchester to Lyme Park
- Day Two – Lyme Park parkrun
- Day Two – Riding from Lyme Park to Poynton
- Day Three – Cycling from Lyme Park to Mow Cop
- Day Four – Cycling from Mow Cop to Stafford
Budget
Travel
- Coventy to Manchester via Cross Country Trains – £24.10
- Stafford to Coventry via London Northwestern Railway – £17.30
Campsites
- 2 nights at Elm Beds Caravan Park – £30.00
- 1 night at Caatle Camping Mow Cap – £14.00
Food
Day One
- Lunch (Sainsburys lunches) – £5.82
- Tea (Aldi Tortollini, Pepperoni) – £1.79
- Pudding & wine at pub – £14.75
Day Two
- Breakfast at the Timber Yard after parkrun -£12.50
- Lunch cake and coffee – £5.70
- Greggs – £2.50
- Tea (Aldi Tortollini, Tomato, Pepperoni, jam tarts) – £3.23
Day Three
- Breakfast (Aldi Brioche) – £0.28
- Coffe and Cake at Holly the Cafe Boat – £12.50
- Tea (Aldi Tortollini, Pepperoni, left over jam tarts) – £1.79
Day Four
- Breakfast (Aldi Brioche) – £0.28
- Lunch at Bear in Stone – £21.10
Activities
- Lyme Park pakrun – Free
- Lyme Park visit – Free (we’re NT members, but the grounds are free to visit if you do the parkrun anyway)
- Mow Cop Castle – Free
Total: £167.64
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