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The skyscrapers, crowds and traffic jams of Manchester city centre are just over a mile away.

But here among the trees, birds and wildflowers of Sandhills and the Irk Valley you wouldn't know it. The little-known stretch of parkland, forest and clough follows the path of the River Irk as it stretches from the northern outskirts of the city, just a few hundred yards from Victoria Station , through Collyhurst all the way to Smedley Dip .

It's slightly neglected and rough round the edges. But it's not unloved. At least not by Sue Bowen and her colleagues in the Friends of the Irk Valley and Sandhills.

"I just think it's great," said Sue. "It's all the space. You can come out here and feel like you are in the country and just breathe." View 6 Images

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