Hyde War Memorial
Small park with open walks and extensive views
Where?
Get there
- Public Transport
Bus/Train, 1.5 mile - Private Transport
Small carpark
Public transport: plenty of transport to Hyde. But the bus to the site has been on, then off, then near. From Hyde it’s a 1.5/2 mile uphill road walk. Private transport: a small carpark 1/4 mile (uphill walk) from the top. If the carpark fills, you can likely park near the houses lower down.
Review
Also known as Werneth Low, as the memorial is in Werneth Low Country Park. As a park Werneth Low is small, with wide paths and clean air—there’s a small visitor centre, which has never been open for me (1pm–4pm, sometimes). Not an obvious destination, but worth every step, because the war memorial is a signal, and marks a viewpoint noted by the Ordinance Survey. This is the closest viewpoint to Manchester and, even on a half‐bad day, has a three‐quarter view across the city—from a distance that seems like you can touch it. On a good day, you can see the sweep of the Peak District edge and all the way to Wales. Most places in England you’d need to go up a tower, but this beats that, as they say, by a country mile. Bonus: if you’re a rambler, there are farmland walks across the hilltop to Etherow Valley, and in the Mottram direction. If that’s your thing, thoroughly recommended.