So, plans are coming together for our first gathering next week – 8th April.
We’ll meet at the Dove Stones Reservoir car park at 10am. It’s a pay and display, car park, I’m afraid, so don’t forget some change.
We’re planning an easy walk around the reservoirs, ending with a picnic lunch together. Please bring something to eat.
Part of our hopes for the day are that we will spend time getting to know one another, so it would be great if you were to bring some food that you were willing/ able to share with others.
Steve Fareham’s wonderful photo shows a gloriously sunny day. Sadly, those are distinctly rare above Saddleworth. The weather forecast today a week ahead of time is for a 20% chance of rain with a high temperature of 13ºC. So you will want to bring waterproofs and layers. There is a reasonable path around the reservoir, but you would still be wise to wear proper walking boots/ shoes.
Ooh, excellent, it’s not in Manchester at all, but much easier for me to get to from over the border near Holmfirth 🙂
Do you know how far the walk is?
Hi Jan
I think we can decide how far to walk on the day. The basic circuit of the reservoir is about 4 miles (6km) – but if we’re feeling energetic we can extend it by carrying on around the next reservoir (Yeoman Hey). And there’s even a third reservoir (Greenfield) above that. There are loads of walks in the moors above too, but we thought for a first gathering a fairly gentle walk was advisable.
It occurs to me that we haven’t said anything about dogs (!). Probably because I (Tim) am not really a dog person, so I don’t really think about them. It’s surprising how many vegetarians don’t like animals!
But we want Forest Church Manchester to be an inclusive gathering. And that will include dogs. To be honest, as long as you take responsibility for them – and they don’t attack or exclude anyone else, then any pets would be welcome. If you have pet llamas and think they would benefit from walking with us, then as long as you can ensure that they don’t bother others, then feel free to bring them.