I live in Wirral but work in Liverpool. I am familiar with Stockport as I sometimes go to the Cheshire Gun Room (I am a firearms & shotgun owner). My Sister lives in Germany near Gelsenkirchen and we are going to see Laura Pusini in concert http://www.laurapausini.com/laura_pausini_eng.html and then I am going to the Hamm Reptile Show http://www.terraristikahamm.de/index.php#main just to see what venomous species I might like to buy for work (I manage the largest venomous snake collection in the UK ).
I hope to get out and do some cycling with my Brother in law as he owns some high end mountain bikes. There are some really nice trails through the forest.