15-Mile Manchester Urban Ride, Heaton Park to the Etihad | Sunny Winter Spin

Описание: A bold Manchester Urban Rides loop on a sunny winter’s day

This 15-mile ride starts from home, with recording beginning inside a busy Heaton Park, packed with people enjoying the winter sunshine. I take it steady along the paths, climbing up to the highest point in Manchester before rolling toward the animal centre, where I pass Lilly the Bee statue.

From there, it’s a mix of park paths and trails up to the stone marking Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1982, before riding the back edge of the park and finishing the Heaton Park section at the boating lake. Wildlife was everywhere — squirrels, birds, and plenty of movement throughout the park.

Leaving Heaton Park, the ride heads out via Sheepfoot Road, turning left onto Bury Old Road, then straight into the chaos of Cheetham Hill Road. This stretch is busy and fast-moving — it takes a confident urban rider to hold their line here.

The route continues past McDonald’s at Queens Road, onto Hulme Hall Lane, and then the world-famous Alan Turing Way, leading directly to the Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City FC.

I take a short loop around the stadium, checking out the new developments and how much the area has changed since the Commonwealth Games. From there, it’s homeward bound past The Sharp Project, the Police HQ, and back through Harpurhey.

The roads were busy, the city was alive, and the weather delivered — all in all, a proper Manchester urban ride, covering around 15 miles at a relaxed but confident pace.

The video runs just over an hour — perfect for fans of real city riding, park paths, wildlife, landmarks, and navigating Manchester traffic.