Friday 23rd May 2025

Come Walking Walk, Jumbles Country Park and the Kingfisher Trail.

Fifty two walkers, including twelve new to the group, joined us on a bright but chilly evening for the third walk in this series, at the car park of Jumbles Country Park. We began the walk by heading down the steep slope, at the far end of the car park and crossing the footbridge, over Bradshaw Brook. Once across we climbed up the footpath which led through the trees to Grange Road, where turned left and continued to walk down to Bromley Cross. Towards the end of the road, we turned right, and safety crossed the railway line, just before the station. After crossing we walked down Chapeltown Road onto Darwen Road, and once across the road we turned left, just before Birtenshaw School, and joined a footpath down to Eagley Brook where we walked along the brook and through the attractive woods of Great Oak Farm and back to the railway line. This time we had to wait for a train to pass before we could cross the line, which we did and walked down Oak Lane to Tonge Moor Road.

After going over the crossing we joined a narrow footpath that took us into Longsight Park and to a footbridge over Branshaw Brook and into Bolton Arboretum. The arboretum was first planted in the 1980 and contains some thirty nine different species of trees including the very rare handkerchief tree or Davida involucrota, with bracts that looks like white handkerchiefs.

Once through the woods we crossed Bradshaw Road and joined a track leading to Bradshaw Cricket Club, but just before the club we turned right onto a footpath that followed Bradshaw Brook along the Kingfisher Trail. Along route we passed several historic properties, the first being Rigby Cottages that dates back to the 1600s then just before the path turned left, we passed Rigby Mission, which originally was a bleach works and has now been converted into a private house. The last of these buildings or what is left of them is Bradshaw Hall and Bradshaw Bleach works. Unfortunately, we did not see any kingfishes flying over the brook, but we did pass through some glorious fields, full of wildflowers. At the end of the trail, we arrived at the steep climb back up to the car park having covered 4.5 enlightening miles.