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OS Grid ref:
Lat/Long: 53.5951770,-2.5061320
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We are now officially in lockdown_03 so no long drives to the
mountains. I walked to the bus stop at Hardacre Lane and caught
the 09:31am Bolton bus. My objective was the far side of Horwich
and Walker Fold Road end. As the bus approached I wasn't sure
how far the bus stop was and inadvertently got off too soon. It
wasn’t a problem as I was able to walk past the picturesque
Blundell Arms in the clear morning sunshine. |
Blundell Arms. |
Distant view of Manchester. |
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Further along Chorley Old Road (B6226) I reached Walker Fold
Road at Bob’s Smithy Inn and turned left. They were open for
takeaways. The busy Walker Fold Road didn’t have a footpath so I
was glad to reach the narrow Edge Lane where I headed up towards
the moors. The weather was cold and clear and I had to be
particularly careful further up as there was ice on the road. |
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I left the adopted road at Burnt Edge Lane and continued
straight on. There were many people out enjoying the clear
weather in spite of the Virus lockdown. I reached the depression
at the site of the former Winter Hill Brick & Tile Works and
managed to find some shelter from the cold northerly wind to sit
down and enjoy my sandwiches. I joined the main access road to
the Winter Hill TV broadcasting masts and followed it to the
end. |
Hydrant box on Winter Hill. (Horwich
Urban District Council) |
Rivington Pike from the approach to Winter Hill. |
Approaching Winter Hill and the transmitter masts. |
IN MEMORY OF ALL WHO LOST THEIR LIVES AT THE WINTER HILL AIR
DISASTER 27 TH FEBRUARY 1958.
AND WITH GRATEFUL THANKS TO THE
PEOPLE OF HORWICH AND BOLTON FOR THEIR MAGNIFICENT SUPPORT.
ERECTED BY HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR OF DOUGLAS ISLE OF MAN.
F.
KENNISH (SURVIVOR) AND THE SURVIVORS, FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF
ALL WHO DIED.
"SOMEWHERE AROUND THE CORNER ALL IS WELL". |
The 1958 Air Crash. |
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Winter Hill trig post. |
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I was heading for Noon Hill and knew the route would be wet.
Instead of following the footpath route I followed some vehicle
tracks across the moor which turned out to be very wet. I
modified my route to eventually reach the hill and mound of the
old burial cairn. A runner had just arrived and we chatted as we
admired the view. He continued towards Hordern Stoops and I
continued to the west to descend down to the High Belmont Road
and access to the Pigeon Tower. |
View from Noon Hill. |
Site of Old Rachel's Farm. |
Old Rachel's in the 1880s. |
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I crossed it and then very steeply down to Dean Brook and the
wooden footbridge then up to Rivington Road. I wasn’t on the
road long before leaving it to descend down the track to the
ruins of Old Rachel’s Farm. I stopped a while to take a photo as
this is only the second farm on the moors that I’ve seen a photo
of with people on. The other is Coppice Stile House. I continued
along the indistinct path then turned right to head down to the
River Yarrow along a horribly wet route. Over the footbridge I
climbed up to the extensive ruins of Simms. |
Interesting Waymarker. |
More Waymarkers. |
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I joined a good track west to Lead Mines Valley and on up to
Jepson’s Gate. I followed the tarmac road to The Manor House
where I descended the steep and muddy in places, path down to
High Bullough Reservoir. The water level was very low. If I
thought that path was bad the path on to the Watermans Cottage
was horrendous in places and just a sea of mud. |
High Bullough Reservoir. |
Anglezarke Reservoir. |
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I was glad to reach the road and continue to Higher House Lane
and under the railway viaduct. I turned left to follow another
very wet and muddy path to Great Knowley Estate Sutton Grove and
Carlton Avenue then the path down to the main B6228 road. I
crossed over to descend down another horrendously muddy path to
Knowley bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It was such a
relief to reach the towpath and an easy walk home. |
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