MiddleWood Way as Seen from the Ladybrook Valley Interest Trail - geograph

The Middlewood Way is an 11-mile (16 km)

shared use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

in north-west England, between

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

() and Rose Hill, Marple (); it was opened on 30 May 1985 by Dr David Bellamy. It serves the needs of walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, joggers and horse riders and plays host to a wide range of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

Railway history

The Middlewood Way follows the route of the former

Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple railway The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&MR) was an railway line between Macclesfield and Marple, England. The route was opened jointly by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the North Staffordshire Railway ...

, which had operated between 1869 and 1970. This section of railway connected Macclesfield and Rose Hill Marple, with trains continuing on to

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

. Initially, there were five stations on the line: Marple (Rose Hill), High Lane, Higher Poynton, Bollington and

. In 1879, a new station was opened at Middlewood; it was later renamed Middlewood Higher where the line crossed over Middlewood Lower station on the Buxton line. On 5 January 1970, the section between Rose Hill Marple and Macclesfield closed to all traffic; the track was lifted in early 1971. Only Rose Hill Marple station remained in operation, due to the high number of passengers commuting to Manchester Piccadilly; the station is now a single-tracked terminus for a spur off the Hope Valley Line.

Route

The path runs approximately parallel to the

Macclesfield Canal The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England. There were various proposals for a canal to connect the town of Macclesfield to the national network from 1765 onwards, but it was not until 1824 that a scheme came to fruition. There ...

and passes through Bollington and Higher

Poynton Poynton is a town in Cheshire, England, on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, south-east of Manchester, north of Macclesfield and south of Stockport. Poynton has formed part of the Cheshire East unitary authority since the abolit ...

. It can be reached by rail at Macclesfield, Middlewood, Rose Hill Marple and

Romiley Romiley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. At the 2011 census, the Romiley ward, which includes Compstall, Bredbury Green an ...

, via the Goyt Valley Connect 2 scheme. The trail forms part of

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

Route 55 from Ironbridge to

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

Gallery

File:Higher_Poynton_Railway_Station_Middlewood_Way.jpg, The old station at Higher

File:High_Lane_Station_Middlewood_Way.jpg, The old station and tunnel under the A6 at High Lane File:Middlewood_Way_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1301115.jpg, The Middlewood Way in summer File:Middlewood_Way_Dec_2005.jpg, The Middlewood Way in winter

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Discovercheshire website (Middlewood Way page)Guide to Middlewood Way cycle path with photos of current route

Footpaths in Cheshire Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Macclesfield Cycleways in England Rail trails in England Marple, Greater Manchester

Railway history

Route

Gallery

See also

References

External links