Wood of Radnor
Approximate Location:
OS Grid Reference: SJ 8498 7607
Latitude: 53.16.15N Longitude: 2.13.36W
A stretch of woodland lying in a nook of land bordered by Congleton Road to the west, Bradford Lane to the north and Hocker Lane to the east. The wood sits on the eastern shore of Radnor Mere, a lake that Gowther Mossock visits for a spot of poaching with Colin and Susan in Weirdstone, Chapter 6: A Ring of Stones.
When the children, Gowther, Fenodyree and Durathror attempted to evade the morthbrood, on their way to meet Cadellin at Shuttlingslow, they walked along Hocker Lane into the cover of the Wood of Radnor and then tried to double back through the trees.
Whilst in the wood they were first saved from Grimnir and the Morrigan’s watching birds by the lios-alfar, but were then betrayed by Gowther’s friend Harry Wardle (Weirdstone, Chapter 16: The Wood of Radnor).
Although private land in the books, much of the wood is now open to the public as part of the Alderley Park estate (link opens as PDF). From the sixteenth century, the park was owned by the Stanley family who also owned part of Alderley Edge. They lived at Alderley House, often referred to as the Parkhouse. It was probably the Stanley’s fish which Gowther used to covertly poach from the mere.
Alderley Park was purchased by ICI Pharmaceuticals in the 1950s. It is now owned by Manchester Science Parks and is under mixed usage as centre for wildlife conservation, research, science and technology with some residential properties. The wood is described as being dense with rhododendrons in the novel, but these have been removed through careful habitat maintenance.