Sian Dobson Hughes

Happy Valley is an ancient wooded river valley with grassy flood plains. It is a hidden natural oasis where you can have a peaceful walk and enjoy the natural heritage.

The volunteer group that cares for the nature reserve (the Friends of Ladybrook Valley) believes that the name originates from the late 1800s to early 1900s. In this period, many valleys, up and down the country, were named “Happy”. Like most of the other happy valleys, this valley was where people enjoyed happy picnics, away from their jobs in the mills or the local hall.

Over lockdown, Happy Valley has been a haven for peaceful walks in Bramhall. However, it is such a vast space to maintain that the lockdown regulations have meant that there is some work to get stuck into to make it more accessible to all.

Alongside Norm and the Friends of Ladybrook Valley, our task is to prune, cut back and chop down shrubbery which is causing blockages to the pathways, to enable walkers to use the space safely.

Save your arm day workout for the 5th May! 💪

Link to Happy Valley Nature Reserve: https://gmwalking.co.uk/walking-routes/happy-valley-local-nature-reserve/

Meeting point is Womanscroft-Valley Rd entrance : The main access point (the Womanscroft entrance) is at bottom of Valley Road, off Bridge Lane (the A5143) east of Bramhall Park roundabout. Some v.limited parking. Bring your own gloves.

Throughout lockdown and the pandemic, the Friends of Didsbury Park have been tirelessly volunteering to maintain the beauty of the park for all of the community to enjoy on their daily exercise.

Sadly, after a recent spate of anti-social acts, there is work to do within the park to restore certain parts. The task will be a total mixed bag. Planting donated bulbs, fixing damaged walkways and picking litter... a mystery in the making! Think a whole body workout!

Oh - And a refreshing brew at the end!

The meeting point is the centre of the park, next to the Victorian Shelter - look for the hi vis vests! Bring a pair of gloves.

The Garden House aims to provide a safe space in the Cheshire countryside for families and local organisations, and in particular, groups and charities who cater to children and young adults with complex needs.

They also work tirelessly to raise awareness of green issues, as well as animal welfare and mental health and relies entirely on donations from visitors, organisations and local businesses. As it covers around 27 acres of land, running adjacent to the River Goyt, there is plenty of green space to be maintained.

Next week, The Garden House is able to re-open to the public and so our mission is to help to get the farm back to it's former glory, ready for the community to enjoy.

We'll be digging, weeding and cutting shrubs back, and generally sprucing the place up a bit!

*Bring gloves

Due to our GoodGym runners' success with Project Ravensgard- last week, we have been asked back to help with their mammoth task of transforming the gardens of grand old house into a beautiful haven for supported living residents to enjoy in the warmer months.

Stockport Together is a volunteer led community group working to bring organisations together to support the community off Stockport during the current pandemic.

Project Ravenscroft is the renovation of an old house which has been successfully converted to provide 10 supported living apartments.

They currently have no funding and are relying on volunteers to help to create a safe space for the tennants to relax and socialise in the warmer months by transforming their garden into a tidy place with sports, sensory and seating areas.

Our task will be to cut back the existing shrubbery (lots of upper body strength!) and create the space for the residents to use the area safely.

*Bring garden gloves and maintain social distancing

GoodGym (not)parkrun will be hosted by a different GoodGym area each week during lockdown and is aiming to get everyone involved throughout 2021, get fit and active in your local community and carry forward the parkrun spirit, whilst following Covid rules of course.

GG Coventry is picking up the baton for (not) parkrun on Saturday 10th April! Everyone is very welcome to join!

And remember to follow all Covid rules and guidelines on your run, be safe, be socially-distanced and keep moving!

You can complete your 5K any time on Saturday and submit your time, by midnight on Saturday, using the form

A big shout out to Melanie Young @ GoodGym Bristol (aka tech savvy whizz kid) for creating the results form and who will put the results together for our (not)parkrun events. 

To let her know your email address and other useful information, there's a one-off registration form to complete. You can find this here.

If you'd like a photo to be included in the run report, please take a selfie and email it to liz@goodgym.org