The scenic Greater Manchester canal walk ending in a beer garden (2025)

There's a walking route in Stockport with pretty views, huge parks, and plenty of pub beer gardens to soak up the sun

Greater Manchester is set for some beautiful weather and sunshine over the next week, as the region basks in the start of the spring season.

Last weekend, the clocks moved forward by one hour, and we bid goodbye to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and welcomed British Summer Time (BST). With this change, we can now expect longer days, and over the next week or so, warmer days and evenings.

According to the Met Office, today we'll enjoy temperatures of 17 degrees, while on Thursday and Friday we can expect highs of 19 degrees and sunsets at around 7:50pm. The good weather and warm temperatures will also extend into next week too.

With this in mind, you might want to plan a post-work walk and a stop-off at a pub. Or, if you're lucky to have a day off, you might be able to extend the walk a little further and explore the area.

There’s plenty of picturesque places you can visit across Greater Manchester, so you’re spoilt for choice, whether you fancy a hike around a reservoir or a relaxed wander through the park.

But if you can’t decide where to go, there’s one walk you can do in Stockport with pretty views, huge parks, and plenty of pub beer gardens to soak up the spring sun.

Marple Locks is a scenic walk stretching over the course of one mile. What makes it stand out though is its series of fully-operating locks - 16 in total - an impressive feat of engineering.

Surrounded by beautiful countryside and greenery, this walk is a peaceful and fairly accessible route for most and you can dip in and out as much as you like with regular stop-off points dotted around.

The water makes for a tranquil experience, and on weekdays especially, it doesn't tend to be too busy, but it is worth watching out for cyclists who also use the pathways to go between the different towns and villages on the route.

If you're heading in the direction of Romiley you’ll come across the Marple Aqueduct, the highest canal aqueduct in England which features breathtaking stone archways. It stands next to a railway bridge so it’s a great spot to get some dramatic photos of the two bridges whether rain or shine.

Along the route, there's also plenty of wildlife including different species of birds. But always make sure children stay away from the water’s edge and are supervised near the canal.

Dotted throughout the route, there are also benches so there’s lots of opportunities to sit down and enjoy the views. Or take a moment to watch the canal boats passing through and navigating the locks.

Sometimes, you may even find a boat doubling up as a cafe as there are a number of these businesses that dock up along the canals in this area.

You can pick up the walk at different places and choose to make it shorter or longer depending on what you fancy. There’s different paths you can follow leading away from the canal, while you can extend your walk through Brabyns Park, or a little further up to Etherow Country Park.

After your walk, and if you finish up on the Marple side near the railway station, you can head down to the pretty village of Marple Bridge where there'a a number of shops, cafes, bakeries and pubs, or head further down the locks into Marple Village.

If you head along Lockside up to the bridge and turn right along the towpath you will then come across Ring O' Bells pub just up on the main road.

Marple has some great pubs, but this 200-year-old traditional, canal-side pub overlooking the historic Macclesfield Canal towpath also features a tucked away suntrap.

In winter, you can bunker down inside a pub which is full or charm with open fires, while come spring and summer, its canal-side terrace is ideal for sipping on a number of Robinson's Cask ales, as well as lagers, ciders and stout on a sunny day.