Reddish Vale Country Park

Reddish Vale Country Park

In another one of our blog posts about great dog walking locations in Manchester I thought it was time to mention Reddish Vale Country Park.

Reddish Vale Country Park – Getting There

Reddish Vale Country Park is located in the Stockport area of Manchester and covers around 161 hectares. The River Tame runs through it which no doubt helps attract some of the wildlife the park is known for. Regular visitors to the park can expect to see sand martins and kingfishers nesting on the riverbank. On the mill ponds you will find geese, herons, cormorants and various types of ducks. The sheer numbers of birds here is something to consider if your dog likes to chase birds.

The address of Reddish Vale Country Park is often given as:

Reddish Vale Country Park
Reddish Vale Road
Stockport
SK5 7HE

This address represents just one of the 3 main car parks that give access to the park. It’s the Visitor Centre car park which happens to be the one I use most often. The image at the top of this article is a view from the car park looking at the brightly coloured visitor centre. The visitor centre car park is located in the north of the park and is free to use.

Another car park to the south of the park can be found at Tiviot Way. The third car park is listed at Woodhall Drive to the west of the park, off Reddish Road but it’s not one I’m familiar with.

Reddish Country Park For Dogs

Once you have arrived at the park there are a number of possible walking routes you could follow with your dog. If you used the visitor centre car park and hoped to visit the cafe for a drink don’t be surprised if it’s actually closed. I’ve visited a number of times and there never seems to be any consistency regarding when they actually open. Indeed their opening hours differ depending on which website you look at. Their Google page for example shows the opening times as 10am-4pm 7 days a week. However if you go to the main Reddish Vale Country Park website they list the opening hours as follows:

Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday 12-3:30
Thursday 12-3:30
Friday 12-3:30
Saturday 12-3:30
Sunday 12-3:30

I’m inclined to believe these more limited opening hours more. Since the main purpose of visiting will be exercise your dog or dogs let’s leave the visitor centre behind us and start to explore. Reddish Vale Country Park has a varied terrain that dogs will love. There are more open spaces should you want to play fetch with a ball. There are also however more wooded areas for dogs that prefer this type of terrain. We must not forget the river either which is likely to be very popular with some dogs.

Whilst there is lots your dog will love, us humans are also likely to be impressed. The viaduct in the north of the park is an impressive sight. Built in 1875 it carries trains over the river on journeys between Manchester and Sheffield. More to the south of the park is an equally impressive looking waterfall. It’s easy to forget that you are actually in Stockport when you are in the park, it really feels like a different world.

Compared to some dog walking locations in Manchester there do seem to be a slight lack of dog waste bins. I would certainly welcome seeing a few more in various parts of the park. Also like in many places in Manchester it can get muddy after rain, especially on paths close to the riverbank.

If you are a dog owner in Manchester and you have visited Reddish Vale Country Park I would welcome your thoughts in the comments. Feel free to also mention other dog walking locations in Manchester that you enjoy using.


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