WEST PENNINE WAY

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MONDAY 12th AUGUST 2019

Monthly Short Walk: Greenmount, Redisher, Pilgrims Cross and Stubbins

Once again the weather forecast was for showers as ten walkers left Greenmount Old School expecting the worst. We headed across the golf course in the direction of Hol House Farm and on to Bolton Road. After crossing the road, we turned left and walked for a short distance before turning right onto a footpath that took us through the fields to Hollingrove Farm, on Redisher Lane. Turning left we past the farm and climbed over a stile on our right joining a path that dropped steeply into Redisher Wood, crossing an attractive footbridge before joining the main path through the wood.

 

 

Once in the wood we turned left and after a short distance we joined a path on our right which climbed up onto The Ridge. By this time the sun had started shining and it was a pleasant walk along the ridge past High Ridge Farm and on up to Moorbottom Road where we turned left and took the footpath leading up to Pilgrims Cross enjoying the views looking across Holcombe Valley below.

 

 

 

 

As usual we stopped for a coffee break at the cross before dropping down to Buckden Wood, where we noted that the gate, that we reported broken on a previous walk had been secured.  At the bottom of the first section of the wood we could see one of the reasons why Helmshore Road was closed to traffic as large concrete pipes where being laid under the road.

 

 

 

 

Due to the heavy rain in recent days the stream flowing through the wood made an attractive sight as it cascaded over the waterfalls. Turning right at the bottom of the wood we headed towards Stubbins and into Carr Wood passing behind the paper mill. This land was formerly owned by Colonel Austin Townsend Porritt who gifted part of it to the National Trust in 1947. Following the path past Ox Hey Wood and Top Wood we stopped to look at the remains of a Tentering Tower originally part of Porritt’s Stubbins Vale Mill (1866). The tower was a cloth store in associated with tentering fields where tenter frames where used in the process of stretching and drying cloth.

 

Further along the path we past the Old Mill Hotel before joining Carr Street, Ramsbottom, where we turned right and headed for a footpath that took us through Tagg Wood and onto Lumb Carr Road and back to Greenmount having covered 7.5 mostly sunny miles

 

 

FRIDAY 9th AUGUST 2019

Walk 13 0f the Come Walking Series of Walks: Nuttall Park, Grants Tower and Summerseat

Due to the unseasonal weather and threat of thunder storms it was decided to change the route of tonight’s walk. Thirteen brave souls set out from Nuttall Park and turned right into Nuttall Hall Road where we walked for a short distance before crossing a small footbridge on our left and climbing the steep steps known locally as Jacob’s Ladder. Safely at the top of the steps we crossed the metal footbridge over the Edenfield By-pass (M66) and headed up to Manchester Road, through very wet fields. After crossing the road, we turned left onto a track leading up to Top o ‘th’ Hoof Farm and continued to climb through the fields up to Grant’s Tower.

 

 

 

 

 

Grants Tower was built in 1829 by the Grant brothers, who it is said Charles Dickens modelled the Cheeryble Brothers, in Nicholas Nickleby. They built the tower in memory of their father and who brought them from Scotland to seek their fortune in Ramsbottom. The tower collapsed in 1944 and is been renovated by the present owner of Top o ‘th’ Hoof Farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the tower we made our way to Bury Old Road and headed along the cobbled road in the direction of Nangreaves Fortunately, by this time the clouds had started to lift and we had clear views looking back over Holcombe Hill and to our left the sun shining on the high builds in Manchester.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also fortunate to see, in the field at the side of the road, a large stag with beautiful antlers and a doe deer but by the time we turned into the fields they had disappeared into the trees.

At the bottom of the field we walked through the farm yard of Bast House before re-crossing Manchester Road and turned right into Bass Lane. After a short distance we turned left onto a footpath leading to Rowlands Road, turning right we walked as far as the church before we turned left on a path that took us to Brooksbottoms cricket pitch.

 

 

 

 

 

Once across the pitch we joined a path down to East Lancashire Railway line which we crossed and climbed down the steps into Summerseat and crossed over Wood Road bridge spanning the River Irwell. The river looked quite menacing after the heavy rain as we walked along its banks towards Railway Street.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our final section of the walk was along Robin Road past Al Bosco Italian restaurant and through the woods back to Nuttall Park having cover 5 surprisingly dry miles.