Over the next few days, Greater Manchester will see rather high temperatures due to an unprecedented fifth heatwave in the UK. Temperatures are expected to peak at 32C, with health alerts already issued as some parts of the UK prepare for 36C weather.
While many of us have been enjoying the warmer weather this summer, it can make venturing out a little trickier, especially if heading out on our favourite walking trail, park or scenic spot in the higher than usual temperatures.
Somewhere that offers beautiful scenery but also plenty of shaded spaces is Drinkwater Park. Located to the west of Prestwich, it is an area of woodland and meadows, which feels like being in the countryside.
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Despite lying inside the M60, flowing through the park is the River Irwell, and a reservoir can also be found amongst the trees. Running through the centre of the park, in the past it appears to have been used as a water supply for the Clough Bleach and Dye Works.
Criss-crossed with walking trails it forms part of a wider network as part of the Prestwich Forest Park, which also includes Philips Park, Mere Clough, Prestwich Clough, Forest Bank Park in Pendlebury and Waterdale Meadow. The National Cycle Network 6 and the Irwell Sculpture Trail also run through the site.
Home to a diverse mix of native woodland, open meadows and bordering the Irwell, this park is less about flower beds and carefully manicured lawns, and more about rugged beauty, paths shaded by tree branches, and somewhere to totally disconnect.
Within the park, there are numerous habitats for animals from the reservoir in the centre to the wooded areas. Frogs and toads breed in the park’s wetlands, while kingfishers, herons, foxes, rabbits and sometimes even dear are spotted.
With its ponds, wetlands and streams and number of routes through, it is a popular spot for walkers, runners, dog walkers and cyclists with the National Cycle Network there too. Other activities at the park include horse riding and fishing, the latter using a shallow three-acre lake.
As well as a place to disconnect, it also boasts a interesting history. The land was originally bought by Peter Drinkwater, a textile mill owner in the 1970s. He would stay at Irwell House, a Georgian Mansion built on the banks of the river, during the summer months.
The land, including Irwell House, was left to his daughters after his son died and it was then bought by Salford and Prestwich councils in 1902. Irwell House was later converted to a smallpox hospital due to its isolated position, but was later abandoned and fell into disrepair.
In 1958 the house was damaged in a fire during a civil defence exercise and it was then demolished a few years later. Today you can still see the foundations of the building, the remains of a few walls and what’s left of the overgrown gardens as nature reclaims the site.
There are a number of ways to access the park too. If coming from the centre of Prestwich you can either head down St Ann’s Road and Lowther Road, or if you want to, or cut across to Ruskin Road which takes you down to Prestwich Clough and a route down to Drinkwater. There is also a Drinkwater Park Nature Reserve Loop (7.5km) from Salford.
The park has 24-hour access, 365 days a year. Drinkwater Park, Rainsough Brow, Prestwich, M25 9XW
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