Walk To The Pub - East Didsbury
Pub Walks with Chris Morris
East Didsbury Circular
PLEASE REMEMBER: Details accurate at time of writing
You don’t have to travel far to experience a scenic pub walk. Easily accessed using tram, train or bus, this pub adventure takes us along the banks of the River Mersey and its neighbouring woodlands. As well as providing the chance to experience some quality time amongst nature, excellent cask beer awaits at the start and end.
Public Transport Information
This walk starts at East Didsbury Metrolink station, with East Didsbury railway station nearby, and numerous bus services stopping at Parrs Wood. Mostly flat and four miles long, the paths are mainly good. However, some riverbank paths are slightly uneven and might be muddy after wet weather, so suitable footwear is needed. All pubs are dog-friendly.
If pre-walk food and drinks are required, these can be found close to the walk start at the Gateway. A Good Beer Guide regular, this Wetherspoons pub has excelled since it was purchased from Hydes in 2011. Unlike most Wetherspoons premises, it was originally designed as a public house and so maintains the atmosphere of a much-loved local, with wood panelling and a central bar.
Gateway
The welcome is warm here, with friendly and knowledgeable staff key to its success, and it has built up a local band of regulars enjoying the expertly kept ale. Up to eight cask beers are available which, on last inspection, were Brightside Bobby Dazzler, Wilde Child Impending Suspension, Acorn Old Moor, Moorhouse’s Off Grid, Kelham Island Pale Rider, Sharp’s Doom Bar, Greene King’s Abbot Ale and Ruddles Best.
The Walk
From East Didsbury Metrolink stop, walk to the end of the tram tracks along the platform, away from the road bridge. Don’t walk up the incline but follow the signs for the Transpennine Trail Stockport, which takes you through woodland and through a tunnel. After 150 yards, take a right, signposted to Transpennine Trail Stockport town centre. Then walk straight on through a residential estate before entering woodland.
At the next junction, ignore the path to the left and bear right. After 350 yards we reach the banks of the River Mersey, where we turn right and follow the riverside path, with the water on our left. After 500 yards we reach Cheadle Bridge, marking the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. Walking up the steps and crossing straight over the main road, follow the road on the other side, next to the river, keeping to the left. After passing a leisure club on the left, keep straight ahead along the narrow road. When we reach the car park, carry straight on as before, past the overflow car park, to find a path that enters more woodland.
At the fork, keep right and follow the meandering path, which then passes under a road bridge and then a railway bridge. With the river back on our left, we have a choice of two paths along the riverbank – lower to the left and upper to the right. Take either, but after a further 700 yards make sure to pass the sluice station on the upper path, with the building on your left. After a further 350 yards, at a slight kink in the trail, take the narrow path to the right that enters woodland. Carry on straight ahead, ignoring a right turn, to join a much wider gravel track. Walk straight ahead here and after 500 yards turn right to continue along the wide track, which then delivers us back to the riverbank.
Wild Alderman
Carry straight on ahead, with the water on your left as before. After passing eight benches on your right, bear right to leave the riverbank, then take an immediate left, opposite a Mersey Valley Health Walk sign. At the next junction, bear right and continue along the wide path which passes through an impressive avenue of trees. At the end of the path, turn right and follow the road uphill, then left, where your rewarding pint awaits.
The Wild Alderman is a new addition to the local beer scene, having opened in July 2025. In that short space of time, it has made a big impression, it offering being slightly different from the other two neighbouring pubs – especially with the cask beer. Housed in much smaller premises, it presents a cosy and intimate atmosphere, further enhanced by the friendly staff. The interior has been tastefully furnished with a mixture of bespoke furniture, adding to the individual and relaxing space. The pub is also a tap for Beartown Brewery, often offering up to three of their cask beers plus a guest. When I last visited, these were Beartown’s Citra Smash and Lit, with Thornbridge’s Kipling as the guest. The quality food is popular, with Sunday roasts a speciality. When I visited, the pub was discounting all cask beer on Mondays, ‘beer and a burger’ was on offer on Wednesdays, quizzes are on Tuesdays and live jazz is every month.
For your journey home, bear right from the pub’s door for the nearby bus stops. Walking a further half mile along Wilmslow Road takes you to East Didsbury’s Railway and Metrolink Stations.
For full pub details, including opening times, visit camra.org.uk/pubs.