Romhyd one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 80.00% of reviewers

I walked this from Hyde to Romiley with my youngest ever Slow Ways companion, my great niece who was just 20 weeks old, plus her mother and grandmother (my sister), so we were able to test the feasibility of the route with a buggy.
Leaving Hyde bus station, we definitely should have crossed Manchester Road/Market Street A57 straight away at the pedestrian lights, because the access to the canal is from the south side of the nasty busy road, and it was very difficult to cross it later – very pedestrian unfriendly. The access to the towpath was through a small gap in the wall next to a bus shelter and wasn’t easy to spot. It was also a bit difficult with the buggy with three steps and a cobbled slope. Even more difficult with the buggy was the roving bridge/turnover bridge half a mile further on, which had a steep, cobbled curve with ridges.
Once we were past that, the canal walk was absolutely delightful and very rural, with a wooded slope going down to the River Tame for a while. Woodley Tunnel was fun! As others have said, we needed torches and there was a puddle in the middle. The path through the tunnel was better maintained than some I’ve seen, with railings for protection. The second tunnel was shorter, wider and higher and didn’t require torches.
From the canal to Romiley Station was very straightforward, with ramp access.

Largely agreeing with previous comments from Nightauk - this is a nice simple walk, from Romiley it amounts to 'get to the towpath, turn north, and continue til you hit Manchester Road'. I did encounter some steps getting on and off the towpath, and it does include the Woodley Tunnel which I'm not comfortable walking through without a torch (there is a handrail between you and the canal, but the concrete underfoot is uneven and the ceiling gets very low if you try to move away from the water).

Lovely views, even now when the trees are leafless, would be even better in the spring or summer. Well-used and popular, met plenty of strollers, joggers, cyclists, and dogs along the way.

Correction to the review of 15 August.
The access to the towpath from Hyde, Manchester Road (A57) has 3 steps.
See photo.
This probably prevents wheelchair and mobility scooter access, though the width should be sufficient.
Likewise the 2 steps on the snake bridge at Hyde, Wood Lane access (photo in first review).
These appear to be the only wheeled impediments on this route, which is used, with care, by push chairs and cycles.

A straight forward review along a canal towpath.

Some tunnels to go through, one of which is long a reasonably narrow, requiring a torch to safely navigate.

Some bridges to go over, all of which are wheelchair/pram firendly but cobbled which may make it difficult on wet days.

The direction of this review is Hyde to Romiley (which is the direction of the gpx).
It is an excellent, almost entirely rural, route for walkers, accessible for push chairs and cycles (with care) at the start and finish of the canal towpath, which forms the majority of this route.
I’m not sure of the capabilities of mobility scooters but think access difficult from/to Hyde at present because of the two steps down from access from Manchester Rd (A57) in Hyde. Plus a cobbled downward slope for a few meters.
The surface is of crushed limestone initially, worn in places to give a few muddy puddles in wet weather, later an older surface of packed earth and limestone chippings, all a good width.
There is also access for push chairs and cycles from Woodend Lane in Hyde, again with a couple of steps and the cobbled slope of a snake bridge (photos 1, 2 cobbled ramp, 3 child security checked before descending two steps, photo 4). The towpath remains on this side of the canal for the remainder of the journey.
More typically other access is by flights of steps (photo 5, access from Apethorn Lane, Hyde). Most other bridges are accessing public footpaths.
There is one tunnel of several hundred meters in Woodley (photo 6). The towpath has a handrail on the canal side but is best walked with a torch as the stone paving is slightly uneven and often wet at one point.
There is also a short tunnel approaching Romiley, under the Hope Valley railway line (photo 7, looking back).
Throughout, the canal towpath and canal itself are fairly well used in holiday periods and weekends (photo 8).
Access to Stockport Rd (B6104) in Romiley is good, being both steps and wheelchair ramp (photo 9).

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