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Adlington (Elephant & Castle), Horrobin Lane, Alance Bridge, William Yates's Well, Round Loaf, White Coppice, Lancashire.
[18.3 km]  Mon 18Jan 2021

 
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I caught the 09:31 Bolton 125 bus as far as Adlington and the Elephant & Castle. With heavy continuous rain forecast from tonight for several days I am walking today. I walked up Babylon Lane and then right up the narrow Greenhalgh Lane. The official path turned right through the grounds of a large house.
Elephant & Castle, Adlington.

Babylon Lane.

J. W. Wallace.
Now I re-examin Philosophies and Religions W.W.
J.W. Wallace founder of the 'Eagle Street College' dedicated to the works of Walt Whitman lived here 1889-1926.
Eagle Street College. J. W. Wallace-"Wallace" to his friends-was the central figure in the Bolton group.
He was dogged by poor health and bad eye-sight, and he moved into the more rural surroundings of Adlington in the early 1890s, living at 40 Babylon Lane. He was looked after by two housekeepers, Mrs. Jones and Minnie Whiteside.
I turned left along a drive where a man was building a nice entrance wall. I stopped briefly for a chat and continued straight on. I could see Newlands House ahead but it didn’t seem occupied. Apparently it was owned by the Middleton Family who were mill owners. I continued ahead along a muddy track passing a grip looking lake on the left then came to a locked gate where I had to climb over to reach the track over the M61 motorway.
Greenhalgh Lane.

 Track to Dean Wood House.
I then had a pleasant walk along Horrobin Lane to cross the Upper Rivington Reservoir embankment. I turned left at a track by the boling green. It's many years since I’ve been along here and at the next junction rook the right branch which I’ve never been on. It took me through a nice avenue of trees up to some properties called Dean Wood House. I saw them through the gate then turned left to emerge into open fields to the top of Hodge Brow then at the road turned left and down to Alance Bridge. I turned right to follow the river up to Lead Mines Valley over the bridge and up the steep track to turn right above Lead Mine’s Clough.

 Green track above Lead Mines Valley.
Over stile I saw a woman walking her dog but she headed along the path hrough the trees towards the crashed bBomber Memorial. I continued up to the area were the old William Yates Well used to be. It is only shown on the 1848 ordnance Survey map and I hopped over the river to go to the lat/long coordinates I’d extracted from the map. Up a shallow valled I found some stones that could have been a side wall but the whole area was too overgrown to deduce anything. Some water was running in the bottom but I couldn’t tell if it was spring or drainage water.

Possible stone edging William Yates Well

Site of Willam Yates Well.
Back across the river I had my sandwiches then headed across the very wet ground to Round Loaf, a Bronze Age tumulus burial mound around 4,000 years old. It has been many years since I was last here and now I have the whole place to myself. One thing I wanted to check is a newish path that has appeared on the aerial views that heads directly to the cairn on Hurst Hill.

 Approaching Round Loaf.

 Round Loaf summit cairn towards Winter Hill.

 View of Round Loaf from Hurst Hill.
It was horribly wet and I was glad to aproach Hurst Hill and slightly dryer ground. I had a quick look for the benchmark carved on a flat stone and was pleased to find it. I followed the path down to the old lead mines then across a reasonable dry sheeptrack to pick up the path along Stronstrey Bank.
   

Hurst Hill cairn.

Hurst Hill pivot bench mark.


When I reched the part cut millstones I met a couple coming up the steep climb by the quarry. I descended carefully to the track and through White Coppice and up to St Barnabas Church.

Millstone blank above White Coppice.
I took the track opposite to turn down to the wet path towards South Miry Fold Farm across the valley. The steep descent was horrible and slippery and without the adjacent wire fence I’d have been in difficulties. The bottom of the valley was extremely wet then up the field to the Miry Fold buildings. I turned left down Briers Brow to Wheelton and continued home along the canl towpath and Town Lane.
 

Footbridge and ford, White Coppice.

Lamps outside the Dresser's Arms.
 
 
   
 
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