Drive & Stroll, with RON FREETHY

IF you want to combine shopping and strolling why not combine a trip to the Trafford Centre with a three-mile circular walk around Sale Water Park.

At the Visitors' Centre there are a number of free leaflets indicating walks. The Water Park at Sale and that at Chorlton (around one mile away) are examples of how careful planning can convert an eyesore into a fascinating area for wildlife.

When the M63 (now the M6) motorway was constructed, gravel was extracted from this site and gouged out huge holes. These were allowed to flood and then landscaped to produce an excellent habitat for wildlife.

Sale Water Park now occupies 45 acres (16 hectares) of water and on the banks close to the motorway embankment is a Water Sports Centre offering sailing, canoeing, wind surfing, angling and model boating.

I followed a circular route from the Visitors' Centre passing the Water Park on the left and then sweeping right up to the banks of the River Mersey.

The Mersey was the old county boundary separating Cheshire and Lancashire. This stretch of the river was the flood plain and this stroll passes through a number of water meadows. These have now been developing into Nature Reserves.

For us in East Lancashire this area is easily reached in an hour but on the day of my visit I met naturalists from Berkshire who had travelled a long distance to see a bird called a Green Sandpiper, which winters in the area.

I followed the obvious path alongside the Mersey until I reached the Bar Foot Bridges. These carry the Metro-Link tram system and also the Bridgewater Canal over the Mersey.

I crossed a footbridge over the river and then turned right onto the opposite bank. The Mersey is less polluted these days and on the left of the route I found Chorlton Ees nature reserve. Until 1972 this was the Withington Sewage Works but it has been replaced by a modern plant. A government sponsored plan called Operation Eyesore has worked to perfection and is now a major wildlife refuge.

I continued along an obvious riverside path until I reached the green-painted metal Jackson's Bridge. I crossed the bridge to Jackson's Boat Pub. This has a fascinating history.

A chap called Jackson once operated a ferry over the Mersey until a footbridge was built in 1816. The pub has also been known as the Greyhound and the Bridge Inn, but the unique name of Jackson's Boat has thankfully stuck.

At one time the inn was so isolated that it was the haunt of Jacobites planning to restore Bonnie Prince Charlie to the throne of England in 1745. Later on it was the haunt of those who took part in the illegal "sport" of cock fighting.

I passed through the car park and on through Sale Ees and back along the obvious track to the Visitors' Centre where I began.