Peak Forest Canal - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Etherow Country Park lies at the heart of the Etherow/Goyt Valley and was one of Britain's first country parks. It's one of the most widely visited parks in Stockport. Its 240 acres of greenspace offers a wide variety of plants and wildlife. The River Etherow flows through the park which is the source for the lakes and was originally used as a reservoir to power the water wheel; which in turn provided motorized power for the cotton mill.

The Anson Engine Museum is situated on the site of the old Anson colliery in Poynton, Cheshire, England. It is the work of Les Cawley and Geoff Challinor who began collecting and showing stationary engines as a hobby. The museum now has one of the largest collections of engines in Europe. The museum site also includes a working blacksmith's smithy and carpentry shop and a café.

The Stockport Air Raid Shelters are an interactive experience and historical landmark that lets visitors discover what life was like during World War II in Britain. Four sets of underground air raid shelter tunnels for civilian use were dug into the red sandstone rock below the town centre. The smallest of the tunnel shelters could accommodate 2,000 people and the largest 3,850. It was subsequently expanded to take up to 6,500 people.

The Hat Works is a museum in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, which opened in 2000. The museum is home to a recreated hat factory with some 20 fully restored working Victorian-style machines. Plus a fantastic collection of over 400 hats from around the world. There's also a tremendous collection of over 400 hats of which some 250 can be seen in thematic displays here.

Reddish Vale Country park spans 161 hectares along the River Tame in the heart of Stockport. It provides a green corridor linking the town centre with Denton in Tameside, and Woodley. The Vale has recently been designated as a Local Nature Reserve and features a new butterfly park. There are walks, cycle tracks and bridleways that connect with the Goyt-Etherow, Saddleworth and Longdendale trails.

The National Trust's Lyme Park, Cheshire, is a magnificent house and estate on the edge of the Peak District. This Elizabethan house was developed and extended in c.1725-35 by Giacomo Leoni for Peter Legh, whose family had held land here since the 14th century. The house is the largest in Cheshire,and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.