Glacial erratic at Ardwick Green, Manchester

Image: © Skinscribe Taken: 23 Jul 2008

A glacial erratic placed at the east end of Ardwick Green, which lies beside the A6 to London, a few minutes walk from Manchester Piccadilly station. It appears to be green slate from the Lake District. Ardwick Green was laid out in the latter half of the 18th century as an ornamental park with smart houses and a Georgian church beside it (the church and some Georgian houses survive as offices and some of the park railings are original). There was at this time a long narrow ornamental lake and it is possible the erratic came from the excavations for this lake. The native underlying rock in this part of Manchester is a red sandstone, as can be seen in canal cuttings and along the banks of the River Medlock. Another Lake District erratic close to the centre of Manchester is placed in the main quadrangle of the University of Manchester, Oxford Road and there is a geograph for it at SJ8496. A recent review of the evidence of the last glaciation to affect Northwest England would suggest this erratic was probably deposited in this area between 25,000 and 19,000 years ago. The review can be found here: www.mangeogsoc.org.uk/pdfs/delaney2.pdf

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