Etherow Country Park - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Peak Forest Canal is one of Britain’s most scenic waterways, running through the magnificent landscape to the edge of the Peak District. The main objective of the canal was to improve the transportation of bulk manufactured goods and raw materials, particularly limestone from the quarries at Dove Holes, high up in the Peak Forest.

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 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.

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.

Longdendale Trail is a beautiful trail that takes you along the route of the old Great Central Manchester Sheffield Railway. It is a very picturesque valley with its five reservoirs surrounded by high moorland. The Trail, which opened in May 1992, forms part of the longer Trans Pennine Trail, NCR 62, that runs from coast to coast across the UK.