The Friends ...
The Friends of the Carrs grew out of the direct action taken by a number of local residents in May 2004 to prevent the Carrs car park from being taken over by office workers parking for the day. This action brought the matter to the attention of Macclesfield Borough Council (MBC). They called an open meeting during which they requested that a group of local residents help in the running of the park.
This unelected group worked for 18 months to prepare a constitution and to get the Friends up and running. The members were busy on other fronts, as well. They had a logo designed and improved the amenities of the park. They also organised three very successful events that have set the mould for future years. Finally, they had the constitution approved and elections held in June, 2006.
... of The Carrs
The Carrs is parkland that follows the Bollin River for just under a mile from Wilmslow to Twinnies Bridge. It is Wilmslow's favourite walking ground, where, in the morning, there are as many dogs as people. Most of the town's children have run in the playground on Chancel Lane and begged to be allowed to paddle in the river. After rare falls of snow, the Carrs' one grassy slope is ridden by sledgers and the parkland becomes a Bosch canvas of colour. In recent years, rumours of fish have surfaced and there have been sightings of anglers.
The Carrs was once meadow land and marsh, and the river powered a silk mill which then became the laundry that returned "everything except the dirt". Its tree-covered southern slopes hide the ruined chapel of St Olaf and an organic memorial of the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal.