I met up with my daughter Imogen and one of her dogs Seb at Cuerden Valley Park. We had intended on a walk at Rivington initially but my badminton session collided and we decided upon Cuerden Valley Park instead. I had been here before but actually forgot its literally like 9 mins from my home to drive there so a pretty handy spot.

I arrived with about 30 minutes to spare so I tackled the overcomplicated parking meters – nightmare until your used to them. They are like “Enigma” machines until your mind wraps around what exactly the steps are to achieve the goal of receiving a small slip of paper so that you are not fined during the stay. To be fair the pricing is very reasonable and once you have done it once, you will never return again. Joking, of course you will. Easy when you have done it once.

Anyhow from the carpark I headed down to the cafe which is incredibly dog friendly. Of course I had no dog companion with me and oddly enough they still made me feel very welcome. Having waited at the entrance while I pushed the button to alert the staff a VIP guest had arrived I was summarily seated as requested at a small outside table as the weather was surprisingly mild

I waited about 10 mins before I realised I was not in fact on the VIP list and had to wait my turn to order like the other mere mortals in attendance within the cafe. I will say the view is beautiful from the balcony and on such a crisp and bright day, quite breathtaking. A young lady came and took my order – a latte, plain and simple. No pretense, grandeur or pomposity with that choice. I relaxed while I waited for my aptly conformist beverage to be ushered into my presence, checking a few messages and some fact finding on Cuerden Valley Park itself.

Cuerden Valley Park Facts:

The park is owned and managed by Cuerden Valley Park Trust

The Park comprises of 650 acres of woodland, meadows, waterways and farmland.

It costs around £1,600 per day to maintain the park.

Once my extensive research on the park was complete, I waited a short time before my latte arrived. A lovely brew to be sure. Nicely put a warm glow inside me ready for the jaunt around the park. Imogen arrived with Seb in tow. We walked back on ourselves to attempt a slightly variant route that ended on walking back on ourselves again back to exactly where we had started from. A most promising start!

We then proceeded on our merry way and at first met no dogs, but then the test came….2 dogs approaching off their respective leads. Seb very giddy and pulling Imogen to go towards them but Imogen holding him to potentially stop any dispute or affray that may occur between them. I am personally not a fan of dogs off the lead unless they are incredibly obedient at all times. For the most part I am afraid most dogs tend to be the boss in their relationship with their owners and do as they please once off the lead. Seb pulled hard at first, Imogen commanded him to stay and held him firmly as he is a powerful dog once he gets his shoulders rolling. The owners called the dogs back and all was restored to a peaceful calm.

What you notice very quickly is that some owners really do not seem to care about their dogs or other peoples dogs and will let their dogs harass others with very little control. Tough to do when your dog has sprinted 75 yds to go harass another dog. Some others are very attentive and quickly get their dogs firmly under control and back on the lead until you have passed. Overall the walk was superb. Great tracks well maintained with little or no obstacles. You can go off the beaten track to some degree but prepared for healthy doses of mud pit like areas. Squelch, slurp and screams of “I am gonna fall” usually ensue but all stayed on their feet and only mud and water were to be found on the walking shoes thankfully!

We walked along the lake and then through the extensive woodland area. I was roasting, as I had worn my Reebok coat that is overkill for such a day. Once walking with that coat on you just simply start roasting from the inside! At least I am prepared and sweating some lol. Seb interested in other dogs for a while with Imogen keeping a firm grip on him so as to not too over enthusiastically mess with other dogs. He lost interest once he had been going a while and calmed down for the last portion of the walk. We returned to the cafe and quite a queue had formed, so we waited our turn and were duly seated back out on the balcony.

Seb quickly chose from the menu what he wanted – Sausages and icecream. An undoubtedly obvious combo choice! Seb scoffed his sausage as you can see above with the grace and poise of a gannet!

With great gusto the ice cream was unceremoniously polished off like ascene from Fast and Furious! They really do make the dogs feel absolutely welcome with these kinds of treats. In fact I dont think they have ever received a written complaint from a dog yet – case closed! Do not fear all the foods are specifically for dogs!

I chose for myself a sausage barm and a Baileys hot chocolate! Absolutely yummy! Almost finished them off as fast as Seb. Imogen had to go and did the daughter escape artist trick…without paying and left me to contemplate life and Visa! A more mature lady server did laugh and comment “Thats how it is”. Never a truer word spoken lol.

A great afternoon out with Seb and Imogen. You have yet to meet Sage – total chaos in miniscule form but lovely with it. I returned to my car and arduously ventured the whole 9 mins back to my house! I would definitely recommend Cuerden if you are in the area and particularly if you have dogs or kids or both.

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