Tuesday 30 September 2025 - GM Ringway Trail Stage 13 - Bury to Bromley Cross

Sue and I met Paul on the tram to Bury, from where Stage 13 starts at the Metrolink station.

We were blessed with another sunny day and a slightly shorter stage than last week's stage 12, enabling us to start a bit later, so Paul and I got free travel (after 9:30) thanks to our advanced years.

We reversed the Stage 12 route for some way, soon reaching the town centre, with its statue of Sir Robert Peel.

On past the entrance to the East Lancashire Railway, where a 12½ mile heritage line runs between Heywood and Rawtenstall. Then a right turn to pass the police station and reach the banks of the River Irwell.

A tarmac path leads past the weir that Paul on our last visit so rudely dismissed as being too puny to bother kayaking over.

A little away from the river, we passed the Jersey Girls, in a field next to the farm and café that was so much more friendly than the unwelcoming Lamppost café that we visited last week.

Suitably refreshed, we continued along Woodhill Road, passing a pretty cottage dating from 1710 (or is that 1780?) and the Garsdale pub. You could make a pub crawl of this stage!

Soon we were back in Burrs Country Park and leaving the route of Stage 12, when we started to pass some of the 70 exhibits on the Irwell Sculpture Trail.

Apart from the impressive chimney and other exhibits in Burrs Country Park, the only sculpture we passed today was the Stone Cycle shown below.

Very few flowers are in evidence at this time of year - mainly Cranesbills and Ragwort, plus the dreadful Himalayan Balsam that has taken root far too widely. But there are lots of fungi to observe, the most distinctive of which is this poisonous Fly Agaric, commonly found in woodland, particularly under conifers.

The next weir, which Paul describes as 'huge', is the one he has tackled in his kayak. Whether or not he fell out was not discussed, but clearly he avoided a drowning!

Beyond the weir, the River Irwell looked benign on this 'blue sky' day.

A wood was passed that is home to numerous whimsical bird boxes and feeders. I hope the birds appreciate all the effort that has gone into their welfare.

Narrow paths beside the river give way to a farm road along which two magnificent gateposts are passed, then an ornamental pond, after which another narrow enclosed path leads onwards through kissing gates, over cobbles, and eventually onto a boardwalk between fences.

A series of steps led down to and across the East Lancashire Railway line near Summerseat.

More lovely woodland followed, then we passed a garden centre (all facilities available) and continued onwards beyond a tree with magnificent roots to yet another source of refreshment (had it been open) - an Italian restaurant.

A pretty row of cottages followed, before another lovely wooded section next to the tumbling waterfalls of Holcombe Brook.

Sue spotted some interesting fungi.

Bulbous Honey fungus

Bulbous Honey fungus (babies)

Another lovely woodland section took us across Bolton Road West and past the Hare and Hounds (more refreshment available) to Holcombe Old Road. This becomes a superb cobbled lane.

Above us to the left - Peel Tower, our next objective, and across fields to our right was a view towards Knowl Hill and the route taken by the previous stage of this 200 mile circuit of Greater Manchester.

We finished up taking a more direct route to the tower than that described on the GM Ringway website. Their text may not quite coincide with their .gpx file. Not to worry. Sue attempted to photograph a fly as we neared the tower, with predictable results. Long tailed tits fluttered in the bushes on the way up.

Peel Tower is one of two monuments in the Bury area that were erected in memory of Sir Robert Peel, who was Prime Minister between 1841 and 1846. He was also the founder of the modern Police Force and repealer of the Corn Laws. He was born in Bury in 1788. Peel Tower was built in 1852 at a cost of £1,000.

It was breezy and cool, so we enjoyed our lunch using the tower as a windbreak, joined on the steps by a succession of people trying to stay out of the breeze.

We continued along the route taken by East Lancs LDWA's Two Crosses walk that takes place every March. There's a Millennium Bench at the start of the route down, on which someone is seated, admiring the view, in the next picture. Beyond the right of the picture a stile is climbed, leading to a stony path down to a minor road, aptly named Moorbottom Road.

Across Moorbottom Road, the path goes through a field, descending with a good view towards the Manchester skyline, backed by the Peak District skyline through which this walk has passed in earlier stages.

Closer to hand, Winter Hill beckons. We'll be there on the next stage in a couple of weeks.

What used to be a treacherous section of the Two Crosses walk, down through Redisher Wood, has been sanitised thanks to the efforts of the local LDWA and Ramblers organisations.

The old mudslide has been replaced with a well constructed stairway down the steep slope.

After the staircase, a good path through the semi-ancient woodland took us to a newish bridge, beyond which a small waterfall was hardly more than a trickle today.

Sue nearly got left behind...

Sulphur Knight

Red Cracking Bolete

Fly Agaric

Hairy curtain crust

After the deep woodland, our path rose again to a lane that led to Hollingrove Farm. Here, a left turn along another lane took us past a small pond and onto an ever narrower path.

Similar narrow paths led to a crossing of the busy Bolton Road, along which we briefly turned right, passing a pretty pond on our left before turning left and dropping down via a lane, then a narrow muddy path, and finally a field.

From the bottom of the field we squelched over boggy ground then lurched upwards again on a faint path.

After more of the same, the houses of Affetside, which village is situated onthe top of a hill, eventually came into view.

The Pack Horse was open, but we elected to try to catch the 5:10 train so that Sue could get back in time for another commitment..

We paused for photos at the ancient cross - the first of the two crosses on the LDWA walk.

Click on the images for larger versions or a slideshow.

A boardwalk from the high village leads to a field walk with good views towards Winter Hill.

We passed a lone tree on the descent to Jumbles Country Park. Kingfisher country.

There's an option to walk around Jumbles Reservoir, but with Sue's commitment, feeling a bit tired, and having been to Jumbles several times before (see here), we elected to head straight to Bromley Cross, after pausing below the dam, where the ghost of Norman Thomas made a brief appearance. [Norman is alive and well and living in Horwich.]

Ousels are actually blackbirds, as opposed to the Ring Ousels that live in mountainous areas. Ousel is the old English name of a blackbird.

Easy paths led to Bromley Cross station and the 5:10 train to Manchester Victoria, then a tram home.

Here's our route - 18km with 450 metres ascent, taking us rather less than 6 hours, including breaks. Another fine day out.

We plan to do Stage 14 on Tuesday 14 October, and we may be repeating Stage 5, Middlewood to Strines, for those who missed it, on Monday 6 October. Original diary entry here.

 

Here's the flier for 14 October.

GM Ringway Trail - Stage 14 - Bromley Cross to Blackrod. Meet at Bromley Cross Station at 9:12 for this fourteenth 22km stage of the 20 stage circuit of Greater Manchester.
Arrive on the 8:45 from Victoria.
Return to Piccadilly by train from Blackrod (every hour).