Cheadle Heath put-in (Stockport)

The Mersey is formed a short way upstream, in Stockport town centre, at the confluence of the Rivers Goyt and Tame. From Cheadle Heath it runs west between raised earth embankments that channelise the river through Stockport, Manchester and Trafford, carrying it on past Northenden and towards Carrington.

The put-in lies at the edge of Mersey Vale Nature Park, a Local Nature Reserve whose boundary follows this stretch of bank. The park grew from the rubble of a derelict bleach-works and railway sidings, and Stockport Council, which manages it, describes the river as forming its "backbone".

Upstream at Brinksway, the river runs beneath a sandstone cliff into which workers cut a series of caves, first excavated to house labourers during viaduct construction and later used as a wartime air raid shelter; they survive today, visible from the water on the Cheadle bank.