Rochdale Way Day 1

Shaw to Heywood

Distance: 18 miles on route, 22 miles total

Cloudy, occasional sun, occasional drizzle

Skylarks, geese, giant sheep, deer's bum, egret, siskin

We joined the Rochdale Way in Dunwood Park above Jubilee Bends and zigzagged up through the trees to the exit at the top of the hill towards Whitfield Farm. It has been wet the last couple of days and the ground was waterlogged, the track was churned up by vehicles and the mud was quite slippy. Up o the top of the hill with the sheep things were easier going. We have walked various bits of the Rochdale Way over the years, but never the whole thing. The one section that always stuck with me was a very, very boggy section of the path between two dry-stone walls on the moors. We came down off the hill here. It wasn't that bad. Either my tolerance of bog has changed, or perhaps I was just wearing the wrong shoes that day. 

The route goes along the length of Thornham Lane but doesn't visit Tandle Hill, we thought about making a detour but today's route was long enough as it is. A bit along the canal and we were at Hopwood Hall (college and university centre, according to the sign) where there were quite a lot of students running around. Hopwood Hall has had a varied history, from alleged visits from Guy Fawkes to more recently (and plausibly) Black Sabbath.

After a loop around the hall's woodland nature reserve we walked through Middleton town centre down to Alkrington Woods, passing the chemical works and Alkrington Hall which is now private residences, and up a lane around the back of a housing estate that was quite busy and had no pavements. We passed some big fences of a driving range and crossed Bowlee park, past an ornamental turf barrage balloon, and a massive empty car park which is used for car boot sales and markets. At the park community hub (which was closed) we had a sit down for tea and snacks.

We walked around the school and left the pavement at Birch into farmland, around Top'o'th'Hill towards Siddal Farm. It was here that things started to get difficult. We negotiated a tied up gate, accompanied by some very friendly cows, and used a gap at the side of another gate which had been shored up with a piece of broken stile to get into the next field. At the place where the stile should have been was a deep hole in the ground with running water down it. We left the field over a rickety (but at least present) stile into a farmyard while being barked at by large dogs. There was more confusion and climbing across the next few fields, where the stiles are missing, the gates padlocked and fences 'repaired' with barbed wire and twigs. We made it out alive, at a half decent stile with visible waymarker signs on it.

The next section took us into a golf course, where the Rochdale Way arrow pointed us up a path that was completely overgrown with brambles. Determined not to be put off, we headed up it, emerging at the 3rd Tee where the footpath abruptly stopped. There was a waymarker post in the middle of a bog/flood/river just down from the tee, which was a bog too far, so we skirted around the edge of the rough hoping that no one shouted at us, and rejoined the footpath on the other side. The footpath then went straight up the fairway and round the back of the driving range before going up the lane to the main road. We walked up to the bus stop, ignoring the amused looks from other walkers at the state of our mud splattered legs.

Irwell Sculpture Trail Day 3

 Prestwich to Salford Quays

Distance 13.4 miles

We got the tram to Prestwich and went through Gardner Park passing the allotments down into Prestwich Clough to meet up with the Sculpture Trail. In the woods we heard nuthatches and chiffchaffs, and also a buzzard and an owl. There were grey wagtails and mallards on the river, which is wide and slow moving here.

At a roundabout we crossed over the river to walk on the side which had a nice looking path beside a cemetery rather than going through a new housing estate, but after a while it looked nicer on the other side and there was regret.

A very arch-y bridge took us into Kersal Wetlands, which is a nature reserve on the site of the old Manchester racecourse. Here there were goosander, tufty ducks, little grebe, very talkative black headed gulls, grey heron and parakeets. Walking over the embankment, we went back to the riverbank and woodland passing the Cliffs and headed into Salford. Coming out on to a busy road we crossed over and followed the pavement between the river and housing, and were pleasantly surprised to see a kingfisher.

As we entered Peel Park, which is next to the university and very busy, there was a treecreeper. There are a few sculptures here in the park, including the Tower and Fabric of Nature, but we most admired the map on the paving next to the memorial obelisk to the flood of 1866, which shows the route of the River Irwell and the Sculpture trail. I tried to take a photo but it did not come out well.

After the park we followed the river though the city centre the ongoing regeneration made navigation a bit tricky through some of the new buildings and roadworks.

The trail includes sculptures at Ordsall Hall and Salford Quays, we saw Four Corners, Where The Wild Things Are, Factory Girls (now located on the opposite bank), Erie's Rest is not there and Nine Dock has been replaced by Through No.4.

We also saw the Blue Peter Garden and a great crested grebe, before catching the tram home.

Irwell Sculpture Trail Day 2

Ramsbottom to Prestwich

Distance 16miles, about 19.5 total

Little egret, grey heron, deer, house martens, toads, teal, midges

We used the trams to get to Bury and then the bus to Ramsbottom, starting the walk in Nuttall Hall Park. A cobbled path leads down into Summerseat where we crossed the river passing impressive mills, now converted to apartments. The village link path goes through the woods and over the East Lancs railway line into farmland, where a sign said there was shooting in progress but none of the sheep appeared to have guns.

We followed the riverbank into Burrs Country Park, enjoying the 'Picnic Spot' sculpture and Troll trail. We walked through Bury (which seems to have a lot of schools) through some industrial units, over an old disused viaduct and onto the canal towpath, where it was quite suddenly very pleasant. There were a lot of toads swimming and croaking in the reeds.

We emerged onto a busy road, where another school is being built, next to the Radcliffe metro station, which has a sculpture 'From the Tower Falls the Shadow' on the side, and walked through town. The NHS Primary Care Centre has the sculpture 'Eternal Waves' in its forecourt. We had a sit down next to the bridge which has 'Over The Horizon' on it, although it is difficult to make out all the words, the walked through the bus station, McDonalds and Asda carpark into Outwood Country Park where there are collections of monoliths by Ulrich Rueckreim. 

A disused railway through woodland (with 'Trinity') took us back to the river and into Clifton Country Park, where we missed the gruffalo but did see a very interesting mine shaft and engine shed. The sculptures 'Lookout', 'Pit Pony', 'Miners' and 'Dig' are here. We saw cool fungi and a deer and some badly behaved dogs.

The path goes through woodland under the M60 motorway, where teal and geese swam on the river, next to the disused Fletcher canal. We turned off the trail into Philips Park, had a sit down and a snack, before the woodland path comes abruptly to an end at the back of a petrol station and Premier Inn car park, and we walked through Prestwich town centre to the tram stop.

Irwell Valley Sculpture Trail Day 1

 

Bacup to Ramsbottom

Sunny and warm

On route 17 miles, total about 20

Lost water bottles: 1

Injuries 3

Shoes: filthy

Today's walk was considerably more strenuous than I expected for a sculpture trail.

We caught a bus from Shaw to Rochdale, then to Bacup and then up on the moors to Weir. The source of the River Irwell is in the middle of a field not too far from the road, so we went across to start close to it. There were some fluffy Galloway cows and the grass looked nice and short and it all looked fine but soon turned into an adventure of grazed shin, wobbly grass tussocks, bog filled boots and slow going. 

We eventually made it over to a reasonably solid grass path and on to the Rossendale Way, which led along lanes by farms and a wet rocky path to the first sculpture The Sentinel. 

Through Bacup town centre to "Birds" which is a series of three metal birds rising alongside a quite busy road. There looks to be a nice path along the side of the hill, but we didn't walk along it because we weren't sure if you could get down at the end. You can.

The next sculptures are in Lee Quarries, up a short steep track/MTB trail into the quarries. The Frond and Ferroterrosaurus are very impressive in their settings. The path down the hillside had a warning sign strongly recommending finding an alternate path down so we turned back and crossed the stream higher up, heading up and on to moors - with more bog, wind turbines,  highland cows and lapwings.

Coming out of the quarry we could clearly see the path on the other side, complete with fallen rocks and land slips, it had been quite a long detour but was definitely safer. We walked down by a narrow wall lined path, which turned into a cobbled path blocked by a fallen tree so we detoured through some housing to the main road. The tunnels into Rawtenstall contained lunatics on horseback, plus one very embarrassed rider bringing up the rear.

The trail goes through industrial units alongside river, with the Spaces 9.XXXV'94 around the back - looking less mystical more destitute.

In Haslingden we called in at the Lidl for a replacement bottle of water ( there had been an incident as we were getting off the bus) and had a sit down.

Passing the Gateway 1 sculpture near to East Lancs railways line, we walked out of town and on to a pleasant path beside river, hearing chiffchaff and a woodpecker, thrushes and songbirds. The path alongside river quite muddy and washed away in places, we stopped for some foot faffing and then followed the path under railway line onto grassy path at edge of moorland. Here we went up a grassy slope to the Remnant Kings sculpture and had a sit on a very rickety bench.

A bit further on the footpath has been fenced off by a couple of big fancy new houses with a big new pond and it was muddy and brambly and all the trees on the riverbank had been chopped down. Thankfully it wasn't long before we were into woodland and then a small park. On the OS map there are trails marked on both sides of the river here, but the path disappeared into someone's garden on our side and the nearest crossing to the other side was miles back, so walked up the road into Ramsbottom. The Tilted Vase sculpture is enormous in the village square and we sat beside it before catching the bus to Bury. 

Manchester Green Trail Day 5

Peel Hall Park to Cringle Park

Distance: 13 miles

Cold and windy, but occasional sunshine.

Primroses, blossom, celendine, wild garlic

We started the walk in Peel Hall Park, where the buildings have gone but the moat remains, and then into Ash Wood which was very pretty and tidy. Then we got a bit lost in a housing estate and Rose Hill Woods, visiting the memorial and bridge to some local chap, before having a bit of a look at the edge of a golf course. There was no exit here so we turned back the way we'd come and into Northenden through some nice houses and Riverside Park on to the banks of the River Mersey. 

We followed the river (where Ellie the dog had found something very interesting to eat) towards Kenworthy Woods and into Fletcher Moss Park, where we had a coffee at the pretty cafe.

Cringle Fields proved a bit difficult to get out of (the route leaflet does say to not go into the fields but to wak along the road instead) but we did make it into the park, where we stopped at a bench near to the stone circle and the end of our walk.

Manchester Green Trail Day 4

Moston Park to Cringle Park

Distance: 15 miles

Bunny, big rat, bullfinches, siskins

The day got off to a good start when we saw eight deer running in the fields on our way into Shaw, however an issue with the power lines affecting all the trams in the city centre was less lucky. It meant that we could only get as far as Moston, so we changed our plans and walked a different day's route in reverse.

From Moston Park we walked through Brookdale Park in Failsworth and Clayton Vale, along the Ashton Canal to Gorton Reservoir and into Debdale Park. We had tea and snacks at a bench by the side of the reservoir, while watching a seagull slowly rotating on a buoy.

We followed the Gorton Heritage Trail through a small woodland, seeing heritage pigeons, heritage mud and a heritage pelican crossing.

The designated 'finish' point of the entire walk is here outside the tiny Chapel Street Park in the middle of some terraced houses. We carried on into Levenshulme, which smells very nice thanks to the big McVities factory. From Highfield Country Park we went into Cringle Park where we stopped at the popular cafe for coffee, which were very good, before catching the train back to Manchester central and the tram home.

Manchester Green Trail Day 3

Chorlton to Big Wood at Peel Hall

Distance 13 miles

Sunny and warm

Wagtails, goosander, pony and trap, small fast bird of prey

Today was the first day of the year that felt like spring. There were a lot of people out and the trams were very busy. We got off the tram in Whithington and walked through the cemetery (passing the grave of John Rylands, he of the nice library) towards Chorlton Water Park and the River Mersey.

We went through Wythenshawe Park, with its Hall, playgrounds and facilities, and statue of Oliver Cromwell and Kenworthy Woods, alongside, under and around various motorways and dual carriageways, most of them spray-painted. The route goes through streets of housing, some nice, some less so, and various small parks (including the fabulously named Milky Button Park) and woods. We saw some feral shopping trolleys and a MILLION squirrels. We ended the day at the Peel Hall tram stop near Big Wood, which is actually quite small.