WEST PENNINE WAY

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MONDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 2019

The Monthly Long Walk: 'Peelers Way' from Bury Parish Church to Peel Tower

A walk included in the South Pennies Park and Ride Festival 2019

The aim of this walk was to learn more about Sir Robert Peel and his contemporise by passing through the places associated with the history along the route. Twenty-one walkers, of which eight had come in response to the SPRWF leaflet, started the walk at the statue of Sir Robert Peel outside Bury Parish Church.

Before taking the footpath behind the church we were given a brief history about the man and his statue. The statue being unveiled in September 1852 to celebrate some of his achievements after he left Bury as a boy. During his two terms of office as Prime Minister he created the metropolitan police force and changed the corn laws so that the working class people could afford bread. It was interesting to see that his waist coat buttons, on the statue, were fastened the wrong way, for a man, and it is not known whether this was a mistake by the sculptor or in fact Robert Peel may have preferred it this way.

Once through the under-pass we turned right on Castlecroft Road and headed to the site where Peel Mills stood. It was fortunate that one of our walkers had worked at the mill and was able to give us details of the working conditions and show us evidence of building remains.

 

After crossing the bridge, over the river Irwell, we turned right on Woodhill Road and walked past Calrows Farm where there is a coat of arms plaque on the front of the building relating to James Stanley who was the 10^th Earl of Derby from 1702 and Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire as well as being a member of the Privy Council.      

Our next stop was at The Burrs Country Park site of Peel and Yate’s mill which was associated with the employment of pauper children from southern counties, a practise that would be seen as slavery today.

 

 

 

 

After a short stop for toilets we continued our walk, following the river Irwell up to Summerseat where we carefully crossed the East Lancashire Railway Line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our walkers was a volunteer on the railway and he was able to give us details of the history that dates back to 1846. The line was closed to passengers in 1972 and was re-opened as a heritage line in 1987. It now runs 12.5 miles from Heywood through Bury to Rawtenstall.

Once through Summerseat we headed along Robin Road and climbed steeply through Holcombe Valley and into Holcombe Brook where we started the climb up to Peel Tower. On the way up to the tower we stopped several times to admire the views and get our breath back.

 

 

 

 

 

We had borrowed the key to the tower so we were able to climb the 171 steps to the top after being briefed on the its history. The tower was also built in memory of Sir Robert Peel and was opened the day after the statue but the tower was paid for by the people of Ramsbottom. On top of the tower we had good views of the surrounding countryside and our walkers from Yorkshire were pleased to see that they could see “God’s Country” in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the tower we made our way back down to Holcombe Brook having covered 6.5 historical miles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2019

PHOTO QUIZ NIGHT WALK

A walk included in the South Pennies Park and Ride Festival 2019

The aim of this walk was to identify a series of photographs that showed partial views of objects to be found along the route with a prize for the team who could spot most of the objects. We started the walk at the Jumbles Reservoir car park on a sunny evening and fifteen walkers headed past the café in the direction of the concrete bridge passing several of the objects along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once over the bridge we made a detour past the fossilised tree, which was one of the objects, after which we climbed the steps and headed for Turton Tower again passing objects along the way. From the tower we walked through the woods stopping to look at the feral ponies in the field on our right before turning right into Chapeltown where there were several more objects to be found one them being the stocks which the youngest member of our group agreed to sit in as long as no-one threw anything at him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After turning right, we walked past Saint Anne’s Church and along a footpath that took us down onto Wellington Road where we turned left for a short distance before taking a path on our right down to Vale Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of Vale Street, we turned right onto a footpath which lead us back to Jumbles Reservoir. Once back at the bridge our leader checked the answers to the quiz and one lucky team were awarded the frost prize of a box of chocolates. By this time, it was almost dark but we were guided back to the car park by the light from the full moon having covered an educational 4 miles.

 

 

 

 

 

MONDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2019

Monthly Long Walk: Moorland Myths & Legends

A walk included in the South Pennies Park Walk and Ride Festival 2019

The weather was perfect for a walk that included talks about the myths and legends on Holcombe Moor as there was a fine drizzle and low cloud. Nine walkers left the Hare & Hounds Pub, Holcombe Brook, and made the steep climb up to the top of Holcombe Hill where we were greeted at Peel Tower by the local historian John Ireland.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we had borrowed the key to the tower we were able to escape the inclement weather whilst we listened to John’s tales of fact and mystery about the area. These included, the delay of the dignitaries for the opening event in 1852 which meant that the crowds were descending the hill by the time they arrived and the history of Sir Robert Peel himself with a brief outline of his achievements such as founding the Police Force and the repeal of the Corn Laws. He also told us stories of the ghosts of Roman Legions being seen on Holcombe Moor and the mysterious tale of the death of the stone mason shortly after carving the words on Pilgrims Cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back out onto the moor the weather had not improved as we made our way over Harcles Hill to Pilgrims Cross for a coffee stop and more tales of how the cross had to be replaced in 1902 after being vandalised in the previous year. It is thought that the original cross dates back to at least 1176 when pilgrims used the route on their way to Whalley Abbey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the cross we followed the West Pennine Way markers around Bull Hill down to Ellen’s Cairn where there is a stone and cairn at the place where Ellen Strange was murdered in 1761. It was first thought that she was killed by a travelling pedlar, with whom she was having an affair, but later historians believe she was murdered by her husband, no one was ever convicted for her murder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dropping further down the moor we made our way to Robin Hood’s Well an ancient well also on the pilgrim’s route to Whalley Abbey. Climbing back up onto the moor we followed a footpath to the left of a stone wall which took us around the back of Bull Hill with the intention of going to John Turner’s Cave, another local eccentric, however, at this point the weather had detreated so we headed down to Red Brook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once across the brook we walked along a footpath that eventually dropped down onto the top of Crowthorn Road. We then climbed over a stile, directly opposite, and joined a track that took us down onto Hawkshaw Road where we turned right and headed for Rodger Worthington’s Grave and lunch. Over lunch we heard tales of Rodger Worthington who was born into a Roman Catholic family who disinherited him when he converted to the Protestant faith and he spent the rest of his life as a roving preacher in this area. The old tombstone was place here in 1709 but the new stone and the surrounding wall was added, in 1936, due to the effort of another local legend, Ralph Rooney.  

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we headed down Hawkshaw Lane, past Boardman’s Farm, home to the late Ralph Rooney. We tuned left at Higher House Farm and walked past The Range House and followed the footpath into Redisher Wood where we turned right past Simon’s Lodge and back to Holcombe Brook having covered 10 historic miles.