Enjoy a walk here on a crisp autumn morning
Early autumn in Fog Lane Park, Didsbury(Image: MEN Staff)
After the glorious days of summer autumn has a hard act to follow. This year the change in the seasons feels even more abrupt following the numerous heatwaves and sunny days we consistently enjoyed in recent months.
It may then be surprising to learn that the warm and sunny summer we experienced has actually set us up for breathtaking autumn displays.
In fact Forestry England has predicted that this year’s autumn will be particularly spectacular as the perfect summer conditions have helped trees build up sugars in their leaves, which create the breathtaking autumn colours.
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You can catch these displays across Greater Manchester, including at Fog Lane Park in Didsbury.
The leaves are just starting to change at this South Manchester park, so it’s worth planning a visit in the coming weeks if you live nearby.
The park looks particularly striking in the early morning light (Image: MEN Staff)
The park looks particularly striking in the early morning sunlight, when there’s still dew on the ground and a chill in the air.
Fog Lane Park features a range of areas, making it a great place for a dog walk, weekend run or simply a relaxed stroll. There’s a huge field with mature trees and saplings that feels more like the countryside than the suburbs.
Then there are more formal areas with flowerbeds and benches, playing fields, and a couple of ponds.
There’s a big playground for kids, a multi-use sports area and a cafe which is open daily from 9.30am until 4pm.
The park was one of the city’s first public parks, purchased in 1926 by the town planning committee. It’s believed to be named from a certain type of grass which grows there, known as Yorkshire Fog.
But Fog Lane Park has a rather unusual history, which is revealed on a blue plaque found on the wall of the cafe. It was used as the training ground for The Corinthians, a woman’s football team founded in 1949.
Fog Lane Park Cafe(Image: MEN Staff)
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They played as the unofficial England side in a European Cup and World Cup – and won both – at a time when women’s football was ‘banned’ as female teams couldn’t play on Football League grounds, or pitches owned by clubs affiliated to the FA. The team went on to play across the world in front of crowds of thousands.
Later renamed the Woodley Ladies in the 1980s, many of the players formed the first Manchester City women’s team during its first season of 1988-89.
The story has recently been shared in a film made by Manchester-based independent production company Films Not Words and was shown at Sea Change, Scotland’s only female-focused film festival, with a Manchester premier planned for the future.
Fog Lane, East Didsbury, Manchester, M20 4UP
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