As the leaves start to take on a glorious golden yellow colour, now is a great time to take a autumnal stroll around Manchester
Autumnal scenes around Castlefield(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
It’s at this point in the year that the trees start to show the first hints of yellow and bronze – signalling that autumn is here. The season that provides the bridge between the late, warm sun of summer and the brisk chill of winter, it produces some of the most beautiful scenery too.
There are two main ways to define the start of autumn: meteorological and astronomical. Meteorological autumn begins on 1 September and ends on 30 November.
Astronomical autumn, on the other hand, is determined by the Earth’s orbit around the Sun and its axial tilt. It begins with the autumn equinox, which typically falls on 22 or 23 September.
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Now that we’re almost technically ticking both boxes, attention turns to the scenery around us. With cooler temperatures, chlorophyll, breaks down, revealing the yellows, reds and browns produced by carotene and other pigments, making for stunning pictures as we take an autumn stroll.
When you think of an autumn walk, a country park or estate may come to mind. The early morning fog lingering close to the ground and glimpses of wildlife dashing about.
But whilst a countryside walk can be a wonderful way to enjoy autumn, there’s plenty of urban alternatives too – many of which you can fit in during a lunch break too.
The upside of a city centre walk is that should the elements not be on your side, you can also sprint into a nearby café and wait for the rain to subside before you continue to take in the autumn scenery.
There’s many walking routes through Manchester city centre, but one that lets you soak up the history, architecture, and changing leaves in equal measure can be found away from the hustle and bustle of the busy shopping districts and offices.
The canal walks from and around Castlefield lets you soak up much of Manchester’s heritage including its former mills and warehouses, Roman ruins and magnificent viaducts.
Just a short walk down from the Beetham Tower on Deansgate, you can start your stroll by taking a look at the remains of the Mamucium Roman Fort, along with a modern reconstruction.
Roman soldiers, led by General Agricola, marched into the north-west of England in 79AD. For strategic reasons they selected Castlefield for a fort, called Mamucium, which they built on a rocky outcrop protected by the Rivers Irwell and Medlock.
The original timber fort was rebuilt and enlarged, and later rebuilt again, but in stone. A village grew up nearby to supply the needs of the soldiers, but after the Romans left (circa 410AD) it declined and was abandoned.
The Roman fort was more like a grass-covered mound than a ruined castle when, from 1758 to 1761, the Duke of Bridgewater commissioned James Brindley to construct the first canal in Britain, its purpose being to transport coal from the Duke’s mines at Worsley to Manchester.
The principle of an Urban Heritage Park was established in December 1982, along with the decision to reconstruct part of the Roman Fort on the excavated foundations.
Open to the public and is free to visit, it’s located in the Castlefield Urban Heritage Park and surrounded by some of the things that Manchester is bets known for including its trams, cobblestone roads, and canals.
From here, those taking a stroll can climb up towards Castlefield Viaduct, which has been transformed by the National Trust into a garden in the sky. The Victorian-era former railway viaduct, now transformed has recently been closed but the National Trust website advises that maintenance work should be finished by autumn.
Head down into the Castlefield Basin, the historic meeting point where the Bridgewater Canal ends and the Rochdale Canal begins at Castlefield Junction. Here, you can sometimes grab a sweet treat and hot drink from the Coffee & Cake Boat, a narrowboat docked up in the basin selling coffees, hot chocolates, chai and matcha, alongside cakes, banana bread, pain au chocolate and even more baked goods.
If you fancy a slightly longer walk, you can then pick up the Bridgewater Canal Towpath, a walk which leads you from Manchester into Salford. Along the way follow the water past Pomona Strand and towards Ordsall, and if you want to make a short detour you can take in the historic Ordsall Hall too.
If not, continue following the path as it connects toward the Manchester Ship Canal and Exchange Quay, leading directly to Salford Quays and MediaCity.
