Sarah and I had originally planned to attend a New Years Day parkrun. That idea soon became unrealistic. However, a cycle ride to Bollington with our friend Andy seemed like an excellent alternative way to see in the new decade. It was, after all, almost perfect winter weather for cycling.

We met at Torkington Park. We hadn’t planned a route, we decided to make it up as we went along.

Then headed for Torkington Old Road.

We turned into Threaphurst Lane.

After crossing over the A6, we turned into Norbury Hollow Road and cycled through Middlewood crossing.

This took us on to Middlewood Road and up to Higher Poynton.

We made our way towards the back entrance of Lyme Park as we picked up Shrigley Road.

A big climb followed. The views at the top were great.

After following Shrigley Road for a few miles we turned into Long Lane, and towards Bollington.

More fantastic views followed.

At the end of Long Lane is Beeston Brow, a tough little drop (or climb!).

This brought us into Bollington. A little further up the road, we decided to have lunch at The Cock and Pheasant Inn.

The food was excellent, and there were plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options.

After lunch, we set off back towards Stockport.

We decided to do so by cycling through Adlington. This meant another tough little climb up Sugar Lane.

Next, we turned towards Poynton.

Along the way, we passed this excellent festive display.

After turning into Moggie Lane we were met with road closure signs. Thankfully, pedestrians and cyclists were still able to get across the bridge.

The final section of our route saw us cycling through Poynton.

As we entered Stockport, our cycle ride came to an end and we headed for home.

We had covered nearly 17 miles. It had been an excellent introduction to the new decade.

You can view our Bollington route below: