Stockport GB
Hello and welcome
The subject of this article lies to
The north east of here, in fact you can see it when you look down from the plane on its final approach.
It is of course, Stockport, where I grew up and today it's my home base. It was inspired by an amazing short film I saw on featuring Helsinki. Go to to find out more
Stockport is important for transport, so that's an important theme as well as the roads, parks, rivers, paths and woods. I like to present an alternative point of view, often challenging bad decisions taken by government, both local and national. I've always done this and I will continue to do it, in fact that's why I do this. Stockport's roots go back to the Middle Ages so I've included a linguistic riddle and there are some hidden messages.
Due to the pictorial nature of this presentation, I've decided not to put the text on screen. Switch on the subtitles to follow in English, German and hopefully soon, other languages. So let's go to our starting point, just before dawn in the picturesque suburb of Marple. Vocal: Estée ossei capeo erté. Stockport is a town and local authority district in North West England 11 km or seven miles south east of Manchester city centre. Vocal: Estée ossei capeo erté. In 1974, the County Borough of Stockport joined up with neighbouring districts to form the new larger Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, one of the ten districts of Greater Manchester. Marple and Romiley are well-loved suburbs set within the hilly landscape in the east of the borough.
Reddish in north Stockport is an area typical of a northern mill town. For the Westminster parliament, there are four MPs in the borough, two Labour and two. Conservative, in 2019, still elected using the 'First Past The Post' system. The Stockport area is home to around 300,000 people. It stretches from the Pennines to the east, almost as far as Manchester Airport in the west, from the suburbs of south Manchester down across the Mersey into north east Cheshire. Land area: 126 square kilometres or 48.6 square miles. Stockport is situated at the intersection of several important geographical and transport lines: the A6, the M60, the railway line to London, the river Mersey flowing towards Liverpool and above, the final approach path to Manchester Airport. It's also crossed by transatlantic flights at high altitude.
The River Mersey begins where the Goyt and the Etherow flow together. South of the river is Cheshire, in its ancient boundaries, to the north, Lancashire. The border runs along the river, a fact that's often forgotten or ignored. Merseyway shopping centre was built in the 1960s on top of a road built in the 1930s above and along the River Mersey. The ancient boundary of Lancashire and Cheshire and the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria runs along the River Mersey, under the shopping centre and onwards towards Liverpool. Stockport town hall is the home of Stockport Council, 'no overall control' since 2011. In 2016, the Stockport constituency voted Remain. Edgeley is a red-brick former industrial suburb that's preserved an atmosphere of the past.
In Alexandra Park, time seems to have stood still. There's also a very good skateboard park. Next to Alexandra park, the reservoirs are a great place to watch the birds.
And the planes.
In the 1980s, the Conservative government privatised local bus services to bring greater competition. Today, nearly all local services are operated by Stagecoach. A couple of independent operators run buses to neighbouring towns and the airport. Stagecoach operates the 192, said to be the busiest bus route in the country.
Stockport is famous for music. 10cc, Joy Division and Neil Sedaka recorded at Strawberry Studios. The band Blossoms are named after the pub. Cavalier Studios have moved to new premises nearby. The weather in Stockport is changeable. Stockport has no Metrolink trams. An extension is proposed. In the 1990s, the Conservative government introduced the privatisation of rail services, now widely regarded as a failure.
Passenger and freight services, some operated by European state-owned companies, cross the viaduct every day. The viaduct is Stockport's main landmark. It's been in daily use for over 180 years. There are direct trains to destinations all over the country. London is two hours away, Liverpool one hour, Manchester eight minutes. Other railway lines and stations were sadly lost in the 1960s. They would be a great asset today. You can walk or cycle along the riverside path by the Mersey, part of the Transpennine.
Trail. Cheadle, Gatley and Bramhall are leafy residential suburbs to the south of Stockport, with many beautiful roads, houses, parks, green spaces and golf courses. Wherever you are in Stockport, you are never far from greenery or woodland. Vocal: Estée ossei capeo erté. Vocal: S-T-O-C-K-P-O-R-T. So that's it, and that was my riddle - The letters of Stockport as pronounced in several. European languages including French, German and Polish. Please support what I'm doing by liking and subscribing and please tell others, maybe people from Stockport living in other parts of the world.
For a list of all the locations and more information go to aidan.co.uk/stod2d. I'm continuing to take photos and articleclips for a longer version of this article. Please write in the comments which places in Stockport you would like me to feature. Thank you very much for watching, especially those who were able to attend the premiere and so it's au revoir, auf Wiedersehen, do widzenia and goodbye from STOCKPORT!..