The Alan Newton Way is part of National Cycle Network 55 which is an Off Road Route between Macclesfield and, eventually, Manchester. The Alan Newton Way section is now connected to Woodbank Park and last Sunday we walked from Otterspool Bridge to Vernon Park via Woodbank Park and, as one comment I overheard, it is more like the M1.
Well of course it isn’t, but it was very busy and could do with similar rules, such as the long time countryside advice of - when in the country you walk on the right - this would allow everyone to know which side you should go when passing.
Next is signing. For many years cyclists have been reporting signs on the Trans Pennine Trail where the signboards have been turned round so that strangers to the area get lost. The repeated excuse from the Council is that the poles to which they are attached are round and so they can’t do anything about it.(of course most other people do have a solution). They maintained the poles would have to be replaced by square ones, and there was no money availableto do so..
A few years ago my wife and I volunteered to walk the length of the Stockport section of the Trans Pennine Trail starting from Reddish Vale Visitor Centre and ahead of a couple of Council Officers so they could see how we reacted to their signing of the Trans Pennine Trail. They had their nice square wooden sign posts but unfortunately they didn’t think to secure the finger boards, so by the time we got to Stockport the Officials were able to take about a dozen boards back to the Town Hall.
So what happens now with the Alan Newton Way. The track is considerably better to what it was when, 20 years ago, we cyclists were first involved and the potholes were as wide as the original path and the land drains were allowed to empty directly onto the path. - you can look out for their solution - and now the route is signposted by lovely square metal poles. Unfortunately they can’t be adjusted to point in the right direction. So after leaving Bredbury Hall the route you need to follow is down to your left, whereas the fingerboard shows you should go straight on which takes you into a housing estate and may well be better if you are wanting to cycle into Stockport and eventually Manchester. There are no signposts the other side of the bridge and once in Woodbank Park there are very few signposts so, if you, like my wife and I, want to go to Vernon Park you need to turn right and follow a poor footpath towards the Main Entrance to Woodbank Park, otherwise you will probaly spend half an hour wandering around Woodbank Park wondering where to go.
I have tried to add some photos but the Add Files facility no longer works for me. so try.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8cmbga5mvqyxywx/Hole%201A.jpg?dl=0https://www.dropbox.com/s/sp5qwcpkfdgv6he/Pipe%201%20A.jpg?dl=0Photos added - Admin[attachment deleted by admin]