FRIDAY NIGHT GUIDED WALKS
May 2025 to August 2025
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All are welcome, no membership is required, come regularly or just occasionally on these free guided walks. You are advised to wear appropriate clothing and hiking boots.
There are plenty of stiles and several steep inclines. Sorry, no dogs.
VILLAGE LINK
To view the Village Link website and its walks, click the Village Link logo.
PILGRIMS' WAY
Follow the route of the Pilgrims 
from Whalley to Manchester.
For detailed information on this walk click
Pilgrims' Way
or click the picture.
Walk Reports
Friday 13th June 2025
Come Walking Series of Walks, Jumbles Country Park and Edgeworth.
The second Friday night walk to start from jumbles car park, began on another gloriously sunny evening with twenty five walkers leaving the car park in the direction of the café and walking along the edge of the reservoir, that was very low due to the recent dry weather. At the concrete bridge we headed along the footpath which follows Bradshaw Brook into Turton Bottoms.
Jumbles Reservoir
On arriving at Vale Street, Turton Bottoms, we turned left and crossed over the bridge and walked up the street for a short distance before turning right, onto a narrow path, which took us over another footbridge into Birches Road. After turning right, we walked past the rows of attractive old cottages before arriving in The Gardens, with its attractive new houses.
Vale Street
Once through the development we climbed up the steps on our left and followed the path through the trees, passing Old Russia Reservoir on our left before arriving in the woods behind The Barlow, Edgeworth.
Old Russia Reservoir
Heading to Edgeworth
The Barlow was originally called The Barlow Institute, it was the daughters and sons of Janes and Alice Barlow, a local mill owner, who set up the Institute, but it was very much the vision of their parents. The cricket ground was the first to be used in 1898, with the other facilities such as, openair swimming pool, boating lake, bowling club and hall being established later. Today the building and other facilities are run by Barlow Charitable Trust, which is entirely, volunteer led charitable organisation.
The Barlow
After admiring the facilities of The Barlow, we turned left on Bolton Road and walked down as far as Harbour Lane, where we turned right and made our way through the fields to Wayoh Reservoir.
Wayoh Reservoir
Once on the embankment, which we crossed and walked into Chapeltown, not before making use of the village stocks. After turning right at the Chetham Arms we walked down to Station Road, where we passed the old bank of William Deacan. Back on the main road we made our way down to The Pill Box, a relic of the second world war, where we joined the path leading back down to the concrete bridge, and Jumbles Reservoir.
The Stocks
William Deacan Bank
The Pill Box
Back to the bridge
It was just a short stroll from the bridge back to the car park, having covered four and a half historic miles.
Monday 9th June 2025
Monthly Long Walk, Barrow Bridge, Smithills Moor, Winter Hill, Wilderswood and Burnt Edge.
One of the aims for this walk was to follow part of section fourteen of the Greater Manchester Ringway, the route that is designed to circumnavigates the whole of the Greater Manchester Boundary.
On a bright but cool morning twelve walkers met in the model village of Barrow Bridge. The picturesque cottages were built in the 18th century to house the workers in Dean Mill, which was the first cotton mill to use Samuel Crompton’s Spinning Mules. After walking through the village, for a short distance, we climbed the sixty-three steps that were used by the coal miners when walking to the pits, on Winter Hill. Once at the top of the steps we paused for few minutes to get our breath back before heading through the woods and across the fields to Walker Fold.
The Miner's Steps
Heading for Walker Fold
Following the GM Ringway
After crossing Walker Fold Road, we joined a footpath down to a footbridge, over Dean Brook, and once across the bridge we climbed several more steps, through the woods until we arrived at Cote Farm. From here we turned left and headed down to another footbridge before climbing even more steps and eventually arriving at Holden Farm, on Coal Pit Lane, where we turned right and headed down the lane.
New walk leader
Still following the Ringway signs we eventually arrived at a track on our left, at the bottom of which is the Winter Hill Rights of Way memorial stone. The stone commemorates the largest mass trespass in Britain,1896, which was a response against the landowner, Colonel Ainsworth, who blocked the access along this track, that leads to Winter Hill. The protest was not successful, and it was not until 1966 that the track was open to the public. Continuing along this track we climbed steadily onto Smithills Moor eventually arriving at the Winter Hill television mast where we turned left and headed down the access road to the Two Lad’s cairn and morning coffee.
Memorial Stone
Winter Hill
Once refreshed we continued down the hill side to Rivington Pike Snack Shack, where we turned left onto George’s Lane, still continuing along the Ringway, we turned right and headed down to Wilderswood, where we turned left leaving the GM Ringway route, for another day. After walking through the wood, we arrived back on George’s Lane where we crossed the lane and climbed up a narrow footpath that led into fields, overlooking Horwich, where we enjoyed the views whilst eating our lunch.
Descent to Pike Cottage
Wilderswood
Lunch
After lunch we headed through Pilkington Quarry eventually arriving on Burnt Edge where we turned right and made our way back to Walker Fold, retracing our steps, to the Miner’s Steps and Barrow Bridge having covered eleven energetic miles.
Back down the steps
Friday 6th June 2025
Come Walking Series of Walks, Redisher Wood and The Ridge.
On a gloriously sunny evening twenty eight walkers, including two new to the group, set out from behind Greenmount Church and headed over the golf course to Holhouse Farm, where we turned left and continued to walk through the fields to Bolton Road. Once across the road we turned left and walked to the first footpath on our right which took us to Loe Farm. After walking across the fields, we soon joined Redisher Lane, where we turned left at Hollingrove Farm. The original footpath’ leading down into Redisher Wood went across the lawn at the farm and down some difficult steps, but after much persuasion an alternative path was build, just passed the farm.
Loe Farm
New steps
Once down the newly created steps we crossed the bridge, over Holcombe Brook, and turned left, continuing to walk through the wood for a short distance before turning right and climbing out of the valley on to The Ridge. There were three farms on the ridge, Lower Ridge, Middle Ridge and Higher Ridge, only the ruins of Higher Ridge Farm are still visible, which we walked to before descending into the valley on the other side of the ridge.
Descending from The Ridge
After turning right, we enjoyed the flat walk through the lush valley before once again having to climb steeply up towards Top o’ th Moor Farm, where we joined a footpath, on our right which took us along the edge of the valley, with clear views on our right over to Winter Hill in the west and Manchester in the south, to our left we had views of Holcombe Moor, with the top of Peel Tower just visible.
Through the valley
Good views
Back in the wood
What goes up must come down, so they say, so we joined a footpath on out right that descended steeply back down into Redisher Wood. Once on Redisher Lane we headed back in the direction of Greenmount, but not before admiring the sixteenth century barn on our left, which looked it’s best in the evening sunshine.
The old barn
Heading East: Kirklees Valley, Burrs and Chesham Wood
Twenty four of us set out from Greenmount Old School on an overcast but warm morning. We headed down the Kirklees Trail before turning left on Shepherd Street and then right to pass Tower Court. We descended to the wishing stone before taking the cobbled path on the left and crossing the footbridge to pass the Kirklees Valley Wildlife Rescue. At the sharp left hand bend we turned right on the footpath and crossed the fields, passing a small pond on our right that was surrounded by yellow irises. We continued to traverse the fields before emerging onto the estate where we turned left to reach Brandlesholme Road which we crossed and turned right then left to go down Burrs Close where we followed the footpath on the right through the wood to emerge at Burrs Country Park.
Tower Court
Tottington Wood
Wishing Stone
We emerged from the wooded path to cross the track to the path opposite which we followed to take us across the River Irwell to the back of the Lamppost Café. We walked past the side of the café and took the footpath on the right, walking through the woods, across the footbridge and up the steps to Seedfield, following the road through the estate up to Walmersley Road which we crossed before heading to the lido for our coffee stop.
Coffee Stop
We followed the path through Chesham Woods Nature Reserve to the stone wall and pointed out a larger circular route which walkers could follow at another time before we headed back through the woods to the lido, where some mallard ducklings were being fed. We retraced our path crossing back over Walmersley Road and heading back down the steps into Burrs.
Chesham Wood
When we reached the footbridge we turned right before taking the first path on our left, keeping left to head up through the woods (rather than taking the stepped path) with views of Burrs ELR station on our left across the meadows. We navigated a tricky stile and ascended the track. We noted the sign post for the different farms and homes, passed Touch Road Farm and headed on to Springside Road. We turned left and followed the access road through the metal gate towards Springside Farm. We took the first footpath off to the right going between hedges on one side and fields on the other. We then went across the wooden footbridges and turned left through the kissing gate, and descended to cross the railway line.
ELR
Summerseat
We crossed the bridge over the River Irwell and took the path on the right following the River Irwell emerging behind Summerseat Garden Centre. We followed the road left, then ascended the steps to Higher Summerseat. We turned first left onto Hazel Hall Lane and at the end of the houses took the ginnel on the right before passing through the estate to Newcombe Road and left to Longsight Road. We continued across the road and passed along Vernon Road to reach the Old School after a very pleasant walk with wonderful views of around six and a half miles.