Marple

I’d never been to Marple before, although I had passed through on the train enough times.  Getting to Marple is a bit of a ball ache.  Any trip that takes you through Stockport is always a pain as there are some insane junctions to negotiate.  Although once you get through Offerton, it’s a nice tree line drive to Marple. We parked in a pay and display car park on Trinity Street – 30p for 2 hours which was fine and it was close to the shops too.  To summarise the journey - I took the M60, Junction 27 and the A626.

On the face of it Marple is a mix of red brick and stone houses, which reflects the fact it’s on the border of a city and the Derbyshire countryside.

We were surprised to find there was a pedestrianized shopping area which wasn’t a nasty, concrete precinct.  Market Street used to be a road that they paved over and as a result it has a bit of character.

There were some interesting shops in Marple considering it was a suburban town.  It had a mix of bakeries including one called ‘Icing on the Cake’, boutiques, a dress agency, a knitting shop called ‘Sew In’, lots of cafes, a record shop called ‘Double Four Records’, a  dog grooming shop called ‘Snobby Dogs’, book shop and of course four charity shops.  There were some high street chains too such as M&Co and Costa.

Whilst there wasn’t any exciting books and music in the charity shops, they seemed quite popular with the locals.  In Raising Hope charity shop the staff were really nice and trusting to one of the regular customers, as they let her take a dress home to try on first before buying it.  I couldn’t help think that this showed what a close knit community Marple is.

I popped into the post office to find a birthday card for my Dad.  I always to struggle to find a card for my Dad and sadly the shop didn’t come up with the goods.  Although I did notice the Post Office was trying hard to be a gift shop.  It was jammed packed full of stuff and you’d definitely find something for a loved one.  It would have been perfect if they also sold magazines and newspapers.

Neil was desperate to check out some records in a house clearance shop, however there was a man going through each record very slowly and Neil couldn’t get a look in.

Marple was full of old people, young people and dogs – anyone without car I reckon.  With high dog population no wonder the place had a dog grooming shop and pet shop with a rather realistic toy collie dog with ear muffs on.

 There was even a cinema in Marple showing Skyfall.  I have to say it had the most make-do poster on the side of the building advertising it, so much so I had flashbacks to the 1970s to the local cinema I used to go to in Cheetham Hill.

Marple was a pleasant surprise, it has a low key individuality which is nice and not in your face like Chorlton’s studied, hip and cool vibe.  It’s the last outpost of Stockport before you hit Derbyshire and has a real country and suburb atmosphere.  Whilst it isn’t a really pretty place, it’s a nice and relaxed suburb.  I’d definitely come here again, but I’d really hate having to tackle Stockport’s road system.