Etherow Country Park

Sketch map of Etherow Country Park

Etherow Country Park is a piece of wooded valley just outside Marple. A wide range of woodland species can be found here, including a good population of mandarin ducks.

River Etherow, Etherow Country Park

There is a 384 bus stop just by the entrance to the Country Park on Compstall Road and a 383 bus stop a little way further down across the road. The 384 runs from Stockport bus station via Romiley train station, the 383 runs from the bus station via Marple train station. During the day they're roughly every 15 minutes. Be careful crossing the road: traffic comes at speed down the steep hill!

If you're starting or ending your visit with a walk through Ernocroft Wood the bus stops for the 394 are just south of the entrance to the Country Park on Glossop Road. This bus goes from Glossop to Stepping Hill, and vice versa, once every two hours.

From Compstall Road, once you've negotiated your way through the car park and decided whether or not to have a cup of tea in the café it's a nice gentle stroll along the banks of the little canal that feeds the boating lake. You won't get very far before the first mandarin ducks show themselves.

Mandarin duck, Etherow Country Park

I cross the canal at the first bridge I come to, as much to avoid cars as to have a good look down to the River Etherow to see if I can spot any grey wagtails or dippers (the best place to see them is near the end of the walk as you approach the wooden bridge to the picnic area).

Dipper, Etherow Country Park

This path joins the road at the point where the river goes over a stepped weir. At this point you can either turn right for a walk through Ernoroft Wood or left for a walk around Keg Wood.

Weir, Etherow Country Park

Keg Wood

Keg Wood is a piece of ancient woodland that used to be managed for shooting. In Spring it's carpeted in bluebells and ramsons. You'll find all the usual woodland suspects. The Goyt Valley, a local stronghold for pied flycatchers, isn't far away so there's a chance you might strike lucky and find one here.

Bluebells, Keg Wood

A metalled track into Keg Wood starts by the house on the corner (please respect that this is somebody's home). As the track curves round behind the house you go through a gate into the wood and then meanders and undulates its way around to bring you back where you started. In this early stretch you can see the river through the trees on your right. 

Just after the first rollercoaster dip the track forks. The path to your right takes you down to Keg Pool and then, eventually, back here. I have a dodgy knee and find the slope here easier to walk up than down so I carry on along the main path. The pool is a decent-sized pond that usually hosts a few ducks, coots and dabchicks and good numbers of dragonflies and damselflies. The Egyptian goose that lived here for a dozen years was frightened by fireworks last year and taken into care. It turned out to be perfectly hale an hearty but can't be released because the people taking care of it don't have a licence for its release.

Keg Wood

There's a house within the wood (again, please respect that it's somebody's home), once you get past that the track gets a bit rougher. Every so often there are benches and there are a couple of wooden bus shelter affairs for when the weather turns temporarily nasty. The second one of these is by a picnic area in a glade called Sunny Corner. Once you pass this you do a big loop round and then down to Keg Pool.

Ernocroft Wood

Ernocroft Wood is a younger piece of woodland covering the east side of the river valley up to Glossop Road. It includes a lot more conifers, including a small, thickly-planted telegraph pole plantation.

Ernocroft Wood

A rough but serviceable track snakes its way up the slope without indulging in the insane undulations of Keg Wood. This leads to the entrance to the country park on Glossop Road. The bus stops are a few minutes' walk down the hill. Walking down the side with the pavement you get some good views across the valley and beyond. Mind how you go crossing the road, it can be quite busy.