Throughout Greater Manchester are green spaces in all shapes and sizes. There’s huge country parks which feel a world away from their urban surroundings and tiny but well-tended gardens hidden behind main roads.
Last year Manchester even saw the opening of its first public park in 100 years, Mayfield Park, located right by Piccadilly Station. But some parks in Greater Manchester have been welcoming visitors for generations.
Only a stone’s throw away from Stockport town centre is Vernon Park. It opened in 1858 which makes it the borough’s oldest public park and it even has a Grade II status in the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
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Although the park is one of the borough’s smaller ones, covering just 21 acres, it packs in a lot. It has colourful formal flower beds, winding paths, and beautiful Victorian features.
To the east it’s bordered by the River Goyt, with woodland terraces located on the edge by the river. The park is actually split over different levels, with an impressive stone staircase linking them together.
Among the interesting features hidden in the park are three cast-iron Blomefield cannons. They are in fact replacements for the original Russian cannons, captured during the Crimean War but were later taken for scrap during the war effort in 1940.
Vernon park was built by Stockport Corporation on land donated by George John Warren (Lord Vernon). Unemployed mill workers were hired on a low wage to construct the park’s features when the American Civil War disrupted the cotton industry.
In fact Vernon Park was given the nickname ‘Pinch Belly Park’ from the hungry mill workers. Although it was initially popular, the park was neglected for decades during the 20th century and fell into disrepair.
Thanks to a heritage lottery fund grant it was restored to its former glory in 2000, so visitors can still enjoy its Victorian splendour today. It’s received hundreds of five star reviews on Google, with one reviewer describing it as a “lovely little gem of a park”.
The park has a cafe which is located near the entrance and it’s open daily from 10am-5pm from March until October. Parking is available at Woodbank and Vernon Park carpark (SK1 4AR) while several bus routes stop nearby.
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