Ian Littlechilds: 6 books

Situated a few miles to the south of Manchester City Centre, the Four Heatons have always been popular residential suburbs for families wishing to swap the industrial clamour of the inner city for fresh air and fine views across open spaces to the Pennines and the Cheshire Plain. The coming of the...

'Water is Life and Heaven's Gift. Here Rivers Goyt and Tame Become Mersey. Flowing Clear From Stockport to the Sea' The Mersey springs to life in the centre of Stockport, fed by the Tame and Goyt rivers, which tumble down from the heart of the Peak District and the wild moors of the Pennines. Its...

Stockport sits on elevated ground 7 miles south-east of the city centre of Manchester. No part of Stockport is recorded in the Domesday Book but there are records that show a castle was built in the area in the late twelfth century and the first borough charter was granted around 1220. The town developed...

In 1796 the 6-mile Peak Forest Tramway opened linking the Derbyshire quarries to the canal system at Bugsworth, near Whaley Bridge, in Derbyshire. Over the next ten years, great engineers and entrepreneurs like Benjamin Outram and Samuel Oldknow developed a vision of bringing limestone and other goods...

The Four Heatons have grown into popular residential suburbs over the years, each with its own identity. The area plays host to a range of good local shops, cafe bars, restaurants, traditional pubs and an independent cinema. Its architecture, parks, open spaces, and leafy, tree-lined streets tell...

The centre of Manchester is an area rich in social and cultural history. Its buildings, streets, churches and alleyways chart the journey from the rise of Victorian wealth through to today’s vibrant metropolis, which is the most visited English city outside the capital. This secret trail can easily...