The Fallowfield Loop

On the Fallowfield Loop by Withington Bridge, August 2009, Phil Champion

Now I am back with the Fallowfield Loop that disused railway line.*

It began in 1891 when the stretch between Chorlton and Fallowfield was opened, followed the next year with an extension up to Fairfield.

The line provided a new route for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to run trains from Sheffield into Manchester, and local stopping services ran from Fairfield and Gorton on the Hope Valley line to Manchester Central via Hyde Road, Fallowfield and Chorlton-cum-Hardy before joining a section of line from Old Trafford into Manchester Central.

And today I want to feature the work being done on the stretch which has “created a linear park and wildlife corridor, linking parks and open spaces. It has an interesting flora – some of which may represent all that’s left of the lost, ancient rural landscape of South Manchester.”**

Now given that I always believe there is no pint in rewriting what has already been done very well I shall direct you to a fascinating article on the Loop from David Bishop on the Friends of Chorlton Meadows.

Picture; on the Fallowfield Loop by Withington Bridge, August 2009, Phil Champion


 *The Fallowfield Loop, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/a-forgotten-river-old-railway-track-and.html

** Friends of Chorlton Meadows, http://friendsofchorltonmeadows.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-fallowfield-loop-and-greening.html

Picture; on the Fallowfield Loop by Withington Bridge, August 2009, Phil Champion