Take care as throughout the walk it may be muddy.
(A) The area around the starting point was once the centre of Didsbury, with the village green in front of the pubs. ‘The Didsbury’ dates from about 1855 and ‘Ye Olde Cock’ from about 1790. The most exciting historical event in Didsbury came in 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army camped nearby before fording the Mersey, and then returned bedraggled after they were defeated at Derby!
[1] Starting from the junction of Wilmslow Road and Stenner Lane, enter Stenner Lane and continue along the road, between the pubs. Very soon turn right through the ornate gateway into Old Parsonage Gardens (B). Go ahead, passing a building with palm trees in front of it.
(B) The Old Parsonage was the home of Fletcher Moss and is the oldest building in Didsbury. The central part of the building dates from about 1650. In spite of its name, it was seldom occupied by clergy. More recently (but not now) it has housed an art gallery.
Fletcher Moss was a local historian and alderman. In his will, he left the gardens he had designed (Old Parsonage Gardens and Fletcher Moss Gardens) and the land near the city, to be kept open for the public. Both gardens are famous for the variety of plants in them. Fletcher Moss approached the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to build Didsbury Library.
[2] Beyond the house, turn right and then left to pass in front of a cactus house (not usually open). Turn left with an herbaceous border on the right. Go down steps and (keeping a lawn with more herbaceous borders on the left) turn left. Go through a gap and turn right to leave the garden opposite St James’ Church. (C)
(C) Tradition has it, that there has been a church on this site since 1235, but the oldest part of the present building, the tower, was rebuilt in 1620 after a fire. The church was extended in 1770 and was renovated several times in the Victorian era.
Turn right down Stenner Lane, to pass Stenner Brow, some cottages and a playing field successively on the right. Go past a gate, ignoring a path to the left, lined with poplars, which is a shorter way to the river.
[3] At a sign for Simons Bridge, by a small car park, turn left up steps and turn left above the Mersey to take the path beside the river. (Safety point: open water). Note that the higher path above the river gives better views, but is rougher than the lower one.
Across the river is Didsbury Golf Club, surounded by a loop of the river.
[4] Walking beside the river, ignore the first two paths to the left, which lead to the poplar avenue and into Stenner Woods (which are among the oldest in the Mersey Valley). Just before a sign for Millgate Fields, turn left. Soon there is a neatly laid hawthorn hedge on the right. At a T-junction of tracks near a seat, turn left, with ponds down on the right and Parrs Wood Road beyond. Ignore one path to the right.
[5] Where the main track bears left, there are two other paths that go down steps. Take the one to the right which soon leads to a long boardwalk, which winds its way through a swampy area, great for wildlife, part of Stenner Woods. At the end of the boardwalk, go up a slope towards a gate, turning left before the gate. Soon you will enter Fletcher Moss Gardens. Shortly there is a house ahead of you, with a small toilet block to the right.
(D) The house is The Croft, which dates from 1795. In 1870 three local ladies, concerned about the use of fur and feathers in ladies’ hats, met here to form a society which became the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The building is partly a dwelling, but also contains a Visitor Centre and a café, which is open mainly at weekends.
[6] Pass to the left of the building. A set of shallow steps, followed by steeper ones on the right, lead up to a higher level, but a more interesting (possibly challenging) route leads through the Rock Garden. Bear left, then keep to the left of a series of small pools. Curve right round the end of the pool and go up the first set of steps. Keep left at the next junction on the top path. Go up the steep steps at the end. Turn left and pass to the left of the tennis courts to reach an exit onto Wilmslow Road. Turn left to pass 'The Didsbury' pub to return to the start of the walk.