Great country walks to help burn off those festive feasts
A very tricky one to get to on public transport, thanks to its remote location nestled between three Staffordshire villages, but well worth the trip if you have access to a car.
Lud’s Church is a deep chasm in the woods, caused by a landslip on the hillside above Gradbach.
Descending the steps into its depths feels like slipping into a scene from Lord of the Rings – it’s eerie, dark, usually much colder than the rest of the area, and staggeringly beautiful.
There are a few narrow tunnels to explore, and once you’re done you can continue your ascent up to the Roaches, with views stretching as far as the eye can see.
Navigate your way to Edale – the Sheffield-bound Northern train from Piccadilly will take care of that – and you’ll find yourself at the foot of Mam Tor.
You can walk all the way along the ridge, and on windy days watch paragliders soaring overhead.
At the bottom of the hill is Castleton, a picturesque little village with a few excellent pubs within. You can always get the train back to Manchester from Hope rather than retracing your steps too.
If the weather’s less-than-good (i.e. wet) there are a series of caverns with guided tours that you can visit instead.
Northern Rail will take you straight to Hebden Bridge from Manchester Victoria (providing the trains aren’t on strike, or cancelled for any number of other reasons).
From the village, where there are antiques shops and bakeries aplenty, you can take the short walk up to Hardcastle Crags, a National Trust site littered with old mills and stepping stones across streams.
The mill walk has its own microclimate – cool and comfortable in summer, and sheltered from howling winds and freezing temperatures in winter.
There’s a cafe along the walk where you can warm yourself up with a coffee.
What could possibly break up the monotony of not-quite-Christmasnot-quite-New-Year as well as going to seek out some red squirrels?
Formby is another National Trust site that’s full of the furry little creatures, as well as miles upon miles of sand dune, woodland and beach to explore.
You can get there by taking a train to Southport then the Merseyrail to either Formby or Freshfield, or, if you fancy a few drinks in Liverpool to break up the return journey, you can travel that way too.
There’s a great chippy next to Freshfield station which will fuel your walk down to the beach.
Nothing will blow the postChristmas cobwebs out quite like a good blast of icy sea air and some cute animals. Macclesfield Forest is one of the prettiest spots in the north west.
It’s eery silent, with the snow muffling all sounds apart for your feet crunching along, and the occasional thump of a branch dropping fresh powder on the forest floor.
There are a few coloured trails to follow once you’re there, circling around the woods and the reservoir in the middle of it all.
It’s tricky to get to on public transport so this is a good one for people with cars. Come back in summer, too – nothing beats the smell of the pine trees here.
Take the X41 Red Express bus towards Accrington from Manchester city centre and you’ll soon find yourself in the charming Ramsbottom.