Just a few yards from the roar of HGVs and cars thundering along Hyde Road there's a hidden corner of inner-city Manchester that's steeped in nature and history. Gore Brook Valley in Gorton is home to a butterfly garden, historic pubs, grand old parks, a grade-II listed church, a watersports centre, 200-year-old cottages and handsome Victorian terraces.
But unless you're local you might not even realise it's there. Vicky and Chris Kennedy run Debdale Nature Centre in Debdale Park with fellow volunteer Andy Parsons.
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"People drive down Hyde Road and see all the run-down shops and they have no idea what's actually here," said Chris, 45 over a brew in the portable cabin which doubles up as the visitors centre.
"We're about three miles out of the city centre. About 300 yards over there is one of Manchester's busiest A roads and the M60 is on the other side of the reservoir. But you wouldn't know it sat here."
Outside a ring-necked parakeet - one of a flock of the exotic birds which has made their home in the park - picks at a few nuts from a bird table that's linked to a r ound-the clock YouTube live feed. A poster outside the visitor centre lists some of the other species spotted in the garden, including woodpeckers, goldfinch, sparrowhawks and tawny owls.
"We were here at 4.30am on Sunday to record the dawn chorus because it was International Dawn Chorus Day," says Vicky, 38. "It was so loud. There are so many birds here, so much wildlife. It was quite surreal actually."
Chris and Vicky took over the nature centre last March and quickly set about turning into a thriving community hub. Yoga classes, a coffee shop, cycling, DIY and gardening clubs, arts exhibitions, a community allotment and even a pagan moot are all now based there.
And this little corner of east Manchester is also chock-full of history. There are a nine listed buildings in the immediate area, which was made a conservation zone in 1993.
The two mile long Gorton Heritage Trail runs from Debdale Park to Sunny Brow Park and roughly follows the route of Gore Brook, from which takes Gorton takes its name. Notable landmarks include Maiden's Bridge, built in 1737 and so-called because it saved local women from raising their skirts as their crossed the brook on stepping stones and the Grade II-listed Brookfield Unitarian Church, built in 1869 by industrialist Richard Peacock, Liberal MP for Gorton and one of the founders of locomotive manufacturer Beyer, Peacock and Company.
Several 18th Century cottages line Far Lane, which is thought to be one of the oldest roads in Manchester, while handsome Victorian terraces overlook the weeping willows of Sunny Brow Park.
Tucked away just off the remains of the Old Salt Road, an ancient route going north from the salt mines of Northwich, lies the Vale Cottage Inn. Originally a row of cottages, parts of the building are said to date back to the 17th Century.
"We call it the 'country pub in the city'," says Gorton-raised landlord Tom Ireland, who took it over about six years ago with his business partner. "It's about 400 years old, but unless you're from Gorton you wouldn't even know it's here.
"When it came up for sale there was talk it was going to be turned into a mosque, so we bought it to keep it as a pub. As Gorton lads it was important to use that we saved it. We have all the old photos on the wall. If it could talk it could tell some tales, this place."
Back at the nature centre, Vicky Kennedy is turning her thoughts to the future. Her and Chris are members of several groups working to improve the community, including the Friends of Debdale Park, the Pride of Gorton Awards and a committee hoping to get a grant to convert the dilapidated Gorton House, which was built in Debdale Park in the 1790s by wealthy textile merchant Robert Grimshaw, into a community centre and museum.
"You can't beat the Gorton community spirit," says Vicky. "We saw it when those houses collapsed on Walmer Street last year. Everybody rallied round immediately. The people there were inundated with stuff straight away."
"I've lived here all my life and it's nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. When you see Gorton you don't think about green space, but actually we have tons of it."
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