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.