GM Ringway Day 11

 Stage 13 Bury to Bromley Cross

Distance: 11 miles on route, about 18 in total

Warm, cloudy with sunny spells

We bought joint tram and train tickets today and took the tram to Bury via Manchester, where entertainment was provided by the man attempting to throw a filing cabinet out of a third storey window.  We walked back to Burrs Country Park along the River Irwell and the Sculpture Trail, which was quite busy but less well travelled as we went further. A neat path with thick hedges and tall trees led around a farm with a very nice looking farmhouse and brought us out in Summerseat Village near to the garden centre, then we turned up Robin Road with its pretty cottages and stream. A wiggle in the path too us around Pot Green, which would have been a nice place if not for the massive road thundering through the middle of it.

A stone flagged lane led up through stone cottages and farm houses before opening up into a wide track over the moorland to the ridge along the top of the hill towards Peel Tower. It is  almost 23 years since we were last here, and then it was the middle of winter with Christmas markets in Ramsbottom. Today there were swallows flying low over the heather, thistles and yellow hawkweed. Coming down the rocky path from Peel Tower we decided to take the extension of the route which avoids the steeper descent down the hillside and instead contours around overlooking the MOD training area. We agreed later that this was one of our favourite sections of the walk so far; a lovely path along the hillside and then a pleasant grassy path back along the bottom of the valley. There were ravens, house martens and swallows, dragonflies, stone chats and wrens, plus plenty of sheep.

At the end of the valley the trees thickened, we emerged onto a lane and a confusing bit next to a house where the footpath has been incorporated into their garden, over a stile (next to a couple of garden seats with the welcoming message "It doesn't matter where you are, you are always home" which I don't think they really mean) and on to the open moor.

Coming down off the moor, we crossed a road and took an overgrown footpath into grassy cowfields, where there was a high density of cows under one tree, and then up the other side of the valley which was quite steep in places. At the top there were wide open views of Winter Hill (looking a bit weather-y) and some very cute fluffy sheep. 

We walked down the lane towards Bradshaw Hall cafe (too late to partake of their breakfast, brunch or lunch) and down a muddy path to Jumbles Reservoir. We included the walk around the reservoir, which was a nice path through woodland and views of the water on one side but the other side was just a road behind the high walls and fences of the big houses.

We caught the train in Bromley Cross to Rochdale and then the tram, when it started raining.