LOCAL NATURE RESERVES

ETHEROW COUNTRY PARK

Etherow Country Park was one of Britain's first country parks. Established in 1968 around an old cotton mill, the park has steadily grown in size and popularity and now attracts over a quarter of a million visitors every year. The park lies within easy reach of the Stockport and Manchester conurbations and also of the un-spoilt countryside of the Pennines. The park is the halfway point of the 12 mile Valley Way Footpath which links Vernon Park in Stockport with Woolley Bridge on the Tameside/Derbyshire border. The Goyt Way, a ten mile footpath to Whaley Bridge, also starts at Etherow Country Park

Etherow Country Park covers an area of 240 acres at the heart of the Etherow-Goyt Valley, & is rich in wildlife. The park is home to over 200 species of plants and more than a hundred species of birds have been recorded here.
An area within the Park, based on Roach Wood, on the east bank of the Etherow, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest – this is a site of ancient woodland, containing many indicator species, including Wood Fescue, a rare grass, & other scarce species such as Wood Barley, & Thin-spiked Wood Sedge; it is also one of the very few sites in Cheshire which has naturally occurring Small-leaved Lime; there are areas of marsh & Willow scrub on both sides of the River. The reserve is managed jointly by the Valley Wardens and the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Access to the reserve is strictly by permission of the Wildlife Trust, in the person of the volunteer reserve manager, the author of this article (at least of the bits he hasn’t pinched).

There are a wide variety of habitats within the park, including semi-natural Ash woodland on richer soils, & Oak woodland on the more acid soils; also coniferous woodland with Pine & Larch, & areas of open grassland; many spring flowers are associated with the woodlands, including, in particular, Wild Garlic (photo opposite), Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone, & Bluebell (below). A wide range of fungi can also be found, with more than 100 species recorded – the Park Rangers organise a ‘fungal foray’ every year, which is led by a local expert; they also lead two ‘bat walks’ during the early autumn – the Park has a large population of Pipistrelles, & also of Daubenton’s bats, the latter hunting especially over the reservoirs at the Compstall end of the Park

There is a rich variety of birdlife, much of which can be observed from the feeding station at the SSSI bird-hide; this is on the banks of the Etherow, just above the Weir – the large population of Cormorants here presumably indicates that there are plenty of fish; other species that can be seen are Kingfisher, Tufted & Mandarin Duck, Dabchick, &, during the summer, Common Sandpiper (a Hobby was seen in this area in 2008) – Goosander used to be present during the winter; Dippers sometimes use the stretch of the Etherow below the Weir.

Etherow Country Park was once part of the estate of George Andrew, who built Compstall mill in the 1820's. Compstall village was also built by Andrew to house his mill workforce. The waterways which you can see today were also built by Andrew to carry water from the weir on the river to turn the mill wheel, which stood where the car park is today. Andrew was also fond of shooting and fishing and the Keg woods and pool were his own private shooting and fishing grounds. Nowadays these areas are a quiet sanctuary for a variety of wildlife.

Andrew was also fond of shooting and fishing and the Keg woods and pool were his own private shooting and fishing grounds. Nowadays these areas are a quiet sanctuary for a variety of wildlife.

Tim Rogers

ABNEY PARK

Abney Park is a 7.1 hectare park around Abney Hall in Cheadle Village. The Hall is a Grade II Listed Building.

The Hall is built on the site of a print works, and was originally owned by Mr Orrell, once Lord Mayor of Stockport and after he died, by James Watts, a textile baron and twice Lord Mayor of Manchester. The Hall was once used as the Town Hall for Cheadle and Gatley UDC but is now used as offices.

The park has been an LNR since 2006 and was once much larger than it is now, extending to the banks of the Mersey before the motorway was built and to the west across Manchester Road. Now it is a roughly triangular area, bounded by the M60 and slip road, Manchester Road and the railway line. There is a Scout/Guide building in the park and also a rather wet football pitch.

There is a tremendous variety of habitats within the park, including mainly deciduous woodland although there are some fine conifer species, meadow, wetland including an SSBI, scrub land, two lakes, a pond and a stream. There are paths all around the park and it is well used by people walking in the fresh air, walking their dogs and visiting the pond to feed the birds with their children.

There are over 78 varieties of trees in the park, & many species of grasses, although the wildflower species are not as abundant. A huge variety of bird species live in the park, including all three species of woodpecker. Waterbirds include mallards, coots, moorhens, heron and Canada geese which tend to stay throughout the winter. The lakes also get visits from the kingfishers which live and breed nearby, and visits from passing birds such as little grebe, goosander, tufted duck and cormorant. A good selection of butterflies and moths visit and breed in the park, including brimstone, meadow brown, cabbage white, peacock, gatekeeper, red admiral and cinnabar moth. Mammals include fox, grey squirrel and we have seen signs of both badger and, less welcome, of mink. We have also seen water voles on the lake.

One of the lakes is a problem at the moment as it is being used by men calling themselves fishermen who are damaging the lake and the banks, leaving litter including hooks and tins with food remains in which is attracting rats. We also believe they have shot some of the waterbirds which they consider to be competing for the fish. Other birds have been killed by the rubbish they are leaving. They are also killing the fish, which are large carp, either by foul hooking them or just mis-handling them. The Friends group is trying to get this fishing permission stopped at present.

The Friends group, which has only been in existence for four years, have done a lot of work in the park and hope to do much more once this present problem on the lake is sorted.

GATLEY CARRS

Nineteen acres of woodland, scrubland & grassland plus 4 acres of Willow swamp with 2 ponds doesn't sound like much but Gatley Carrs is an oasis in the suburbs.Popular with dog walkers, the area offers a variety of routes in and around the woods, scrub and meadows or alongside the brook (see photos below). Popular with Nature lovers since the 1850’s the area continues to be a local haven for wildlife and has been awarded official Local Nature Reserve status by Natural England.

Gatley Carrs Conservation Group (GCCG) was founded by Gatley residents in 1998 to work with the Stockport MBC on conservation, maintenance and improvement of this open space to encourage wildlife and more visitors.

Look out for Snipe and Kingfisher around the ponds in Winter. During the summer Gatley Carrs is home to migrants such as Chiffchaff and Whitethroat. The wildflower meadow hosts a wide range of species including Snakes Head Fritillaries in Spring and Vipers Bugloss and Evening Primrose in Summer. Orange Tip and Speckled Wood Butterflies can be seen feeding in the meadow. Kestrels, Sparrow Hawks, and Buzzards are regular visitors. We also have a well established population of Pipistrelle Bats.

HAPPY VALLEY

Happy Valley (SSSI) became one of Stockport’s first Local Nature Reserves in 1999 and is part of the Ladybrook Valley Interest Trail. Described as a hidden urban oasis where anyone can have a peaceful walk and enjoy their natural heritage.

It’s thought the name (Happy Valley) originates from the late 1800s or early 1900s. In this period many valleys up and down the country where named “happy”. Like most of the other Happy Valleys, our valley was where people enjoyed happy picnics away from their work in the mills, or the local hall.

With several ponds and streams, marshy areas, open grasslands, wet woodland and the ancient mixed broad-leaf of Great Reddish Wood – together with the Lady Brook flowing through – this 17 hectare Local Nature Reserve is unique and of enormous importance to local wildlife.

Although Happy Valley is council owned, a small, community led, voluntary organisation (The Friends of Ladybrook Valley) is working to improve this local beauty spot and nature reserve. The group hold monthly task days and are always ready to welcome help from the community.

The valley’s greatest problem is invasive species - Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed, greater reed mace and sycamore. Also, members of the public have been known to plant non-indigenous species and the group believe this is the reason for Crassula helmsii growing in one of the ponds. Scrub has to be cut back on a regular basis to stop the encroachment onto the grasslands and woodland glades and a small wildflower area has been protected from trampling by constructing a dead hedge (or fedge as known by the group) along one edge.

In the last few years the group have received grants to extend the lower path to the end of the valley and to build steps up a steep hillside. This work was carried out to stop further erosion of the woodland edge and river embankment by walkers trying to avoid the widening muddy paths.

Erosion of the river embankment is also due to the weather changes of recent years and two areas of erosion are of great concern. One year the group planted 700 tree whips, both to protect the embankment and to create new hedging along the fedge and a wooden fence. The group have campaigned for several years to have the grasslands cut to improve their value as wildflower meadows and to date it has been a struggle to get this done on an annual basis.

In two surveys in 2005, a total of 76 species of flowering plants were identified; the site has at least three ancient woodland indicator species, Wood Horsetail, Yellow Archangel, & Yellow Pimpernel.

The list of mammals includes recent sightings of two Polecats; on a bat walk last year four species were identified – Daubenton’s, noctule, and both pipistrelles, common and soprano.

Birds are too numerous to list in full, but here are a few that have been seen – carrion crow, magpie, jay, grey wagtail, dipper, tree creeper, nuthatch, goldfinch, bullfinch, blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, robin, chiffchaff, great spotted woodpecker, mallard, wood pigeon, and heron.

Further contributions from other sites will be welcome