Friday 4 September 2026 - GM Ringway Trail Stage 12 - Norden to Bury

This was a repeat of our walk on 25 September 2025 that Jeanette missed due to injury.  A diary entry for that walk is here.

I'm having technical problems uploading photos and have little to add to those taken in the sunshine last year. Those that do upload tend to be in the wrong order.

Bear with me. Anyway, today we had intermittent drizzle - most welcome after the summer's drought, but not ideal for photography. 

After the 9:03 from Victoria to Rochdale, and an Uber that dropped us outside a café in Norden, we enjoyed coffee and cake before setting off back up the path to Greenbooth Reservoir, past a Vauxhall Viva that will be lovingly restored. 

After the reservoir we ascended Knowle Hill, close by towering wind turbines, to the high point of the day, with extensive views over Greater Manchester and beyond.

After the gentle descent, we reached the remains of Cheesden Lumb Mill for a coffee break sitting on the stone remains. 

The walk continued through pleasant countryside, passing last year's lunch spot before the steep climb to Scotland Lane.

Lots of fungi, including these Apioperdon pyriforme (aka Pear shaped puffball).

Photos won't load at all now...some edits may appear in due course, eg below!

Lunchtime, in the absence of any suitable benches, drifted into the afternoon, by which time we had crossed the M66 motorway and entered the Nature Reserve at Chesham Green Wood. Plenty of benches here.

Good paths led to Burrs Country Park and the River Irwell, from where a kilometre of pavements got us to Bury Metrolink station before 4:30 for a gentle ride home.

A view from the ascent to Scotland Lane

Friday 28 August 2026 - GM Ringway Trail Stage 11 - Littleborough to Norden

This was a 'catch-up' walk for Jeanette, who missed our first visit to this stage on 2 September 2025. On that occasion we enjoyed superb weather and I penned a detailed diary entry here.

Today was showery, with a five minute spell of heavy rain.

We started with a short walk from Littleborough station to 'Coffee on the Corner', where in the absence of Sheila, who I think knows the manager, the welcome was a little less friendly than before and we were shoo'ed to a cramped outside table that just about protected us from the drizzle, on account of Rufus being an unwelcome visitor to the cosy inside of the premises. "Cash only" had me thankful that unlike some folk I generally do carry a little rarely needed cash.

As before, we started down an alternative route that short-cut the published route due to some paths across the railway being closed (we assumed they are still closed).

That meant we passed the lovely old building that was home to a local MP for Rochdale, Gordon Harvey (1858 - 1922) - he was MP from 1906 to 1918.

On leaving the conurbation, we rose steeply past a couple of farms. This was my view ahead, after the sharp shower during which I hadn't noticed the others hiding behind a wall!

The rain soon stopped and we splish-sploshed our way as far as Dobbin Hill, before descending to Watergrove Reservoir where we paused for a coffee and cake break.

The crenellated drystone walls hereabouts are some of the most substantial I've seen.

The reservoir seems to have a little more water than on our visit last September, despite the recent paucity of rain showers. Last winter was wet at times.

Leaving the reservoir, we passed the ruins of 'Little Town' before rising then descending to cross Higher Slack Brook by way of a slippery wooden bridge, then rising on the Pennine Bridleway to pass a number of artefacts by way of reminders of the industrial landscape of the past.

Lunch was taken by a small reservoir below the flanks of Rushy Hill, as on our earlier visit.

After that we proceeded to the spectacular gorge of Healey Dell. Rufus was a bit miffed to find a poorly stocked library.

The path through the gorge eventually released us onto a narrow lane that passes Healey Dell Heritage Centre & Tea Rooms. Coffee (etc) and cake all round (mostly).

From there, the GM Ringway route rises to the disused railway that crosses a splendid viaduct. Sadly, that route is currently completely blocked by repair work to the viaduct. So we had to return to the point at which we had earlier entered the gorge in the other direction.

It wasn't too difficult to find a route back to the other end of the viaduct, soon after which we rejoined the GM Ringway route by a pond that was being guarded by a large goose.

After that our route rose gently to cross Rooley Moor Road at a point where new hardware has been installed in an effort to dissuade mechanised vehicles and bikes. That road is on the bike route I take from Timperley to my daughter's house in Bacup. It's a horrid descent over boulders into Bacup, and the road is also used by the Pennine Bridleway on the Mary Towneley Loop.

It was then a pleasant descent to the Greenbooth Reservoir's dam, and a stroll down a woodland path to reach the lane leading to the A680 road at Norden.

Jeanette summoned a Uber taxi (I'd never before used one) which soon deposited us at Rochdale railway station where we had two minutes to buy a ticket (Sue - the other three of us travel free of charge), jump on the train to Clitheroe via Victoria, from where its an easy tram ride home.

A lovely day out despite a bit of drizzle and a five minute deluge. It was a shade over 19 km with 450 metres ascent, taking five and a half hours.

Wednesday 19 August 2026 - An Evening Walk around Heaton Mersey with SWOG

Better late than never! For the first time this summer, Sue and I joined eight other members of Stockport Walking and Outdoors Group (SWOG) for a short evening walk. Just as well, this was their last evening walk before indoor Wednesday evening activities resume. I'm afraid Spunch events have edged these evening walks to the side this summer.

It turned out to be a slow amble of just 3.7 km, partly along the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT), and also past playing fields and up a long overgrown ginnel that we'd not visited before.

Before leaving the TPT we passed a comprehensive information board that someone has put a lot of effort into its composition. Click on the image/zoom in to read the text.

Next to the playing fields, Sue posed next to a strange little sculpture.

The group of ten managed to finish our amble before it got dark. Eight of us plus dog adjourned to The Crown, whilst Sue and I took a stroll up and down Didsbury Road to make up the distance to 5 km, before joining the others.

Here's our route, including the dogleg up Didsbury Road.

Earlier, 'Jump Heaven' in Hazel Grove had provided lots of fun for a five year old (with one tooth less than when we saw her last week) and her grandma, before we adjourned to Brookside Garden Centre for lunch.

Wednesday 1 July 2026 - Spunch Urmston

Whilst followers of England's World Cup football match were enduring a stressful but ultimately successful evening, Sue and I set off on a two hour Spunch event in Urmston.

Sue took the above picture in Davyhulme Park before we split up as I had to revert to walking pace due to a painful occurence of Ischia bursitis (aka A Pain in the Bum).

HQ for this event was the Bevano (after Aneurin Bevan) Lounge on Flixton Road near Urmston railway station. Aneurin Bevan opened nearby Park Hospital, now Trafford General, on 5 July 1948 - the first NHS hospital.

During the evening I'd bumped into parkrunner Frank Cordingley - "Just out for a run - never heard of Spunch". Well, he has now.

Back at HQ after two hours of exercise, beer and a meal, whilst we waited for Alistair Pooler, who we knew was out there somewhere. He and his mate Dan did very well, as did another parkrunner who lives close to us in Timperley, Paul Steane, who joined us after the finish.

Here are the 120 minute event results - click on the image for a clearer version:

The route I took - about 12km - is shown below in blue. I went wrong at the bottom left and at the end, but it was a reasonable effort considering I walked the last few km.

Monday 8 June 2026 - GM Ringway Stage 10 - Newhey to Littleborough (2)

This was another of Jeanette's 'catch-up' walks, as she missed due to injury our previous outing on 19 August 2025, on which I reported at some length here, 

Five of us - me, Sue, Paul, Jeanette and Sue W, plus Rufus, met at Victoria station to catch a tram to Newhey. Thankfully the trams were now working normally so we didn't have to endure a repeat of last week's long bus journey between Victoria and Newhey.

With no café in Newhey to distract us, we got going soon after 10:45, most of us having caught a 9:30 tram from Timperley.

Given that I reported on this route in August, this time I'll just report - in the main - by way of photos and captions. Click on any image for a slideshow.

Newhey - on the slow tram line to Rochdale

I think Conrad arrived here several years ago and forgot where he left his car!

Newhey Stone Circle - probably not as ancient as the BMW above

A memorial to Alan Shaw, next to the cemetery

The memorial stone states:

This field was donated by a friend to Ogden Baptist Chapel
on Oct. 1st 1960
 in memory of Alan Shaw 166 Huddersfield Road, Newhey
 who passed away Nov 23rd 1959.
A perfect friend worthy of remembrance

Foulwater Lodge, a filter for Ogden Reservoir

Ogden Reservoir, still quite low, and the first of a number of wrought iron gates

 to a series of reservoirs that are now passed

Foxgloves have come into flower during the past week, in the warm, showery weather

After just 40 minutes, a pause for elevenses on the remains of an old farmstead

In between reservoirs, a small pond inhabited by Yellow Iris plants

We went nearly all the way around Piethorne Resevoir

Now we are on the Pennine Bridleway, with quite a few people about, looking back to

Piethorne Reservoir and passing beside the much smaller Hanging Lees Reservoir

A sharp descent took us back to the head of Piethorne Reservoir, then past a waterworks building

and a man-made waterfall and stepped weir below Norman Hill Resevoir

A good path leads around the Windy Hills high above the M62 motorway,

passing several stone posts on the route

The local farmer scrapped his Mercedes van several years ago in order to plug a gap in his fence

A flimsy strand of barbed wire and an intimidating notice ensure that we don't venture
 onto the farmer's land, which appears to be an unpleasant bog and hag zone

 that any sensible person would actively try to avoid

Approaching the Windy Hill telecommunications tower, which dates from 1951, at which point we join the Pennine Way and take the footbridge over the motorway, beyond which much recent work has taken place to create a footpath suitable for invalid chairs (see header pictuure)

The paved path leads all the way to the trig point on the top of Blackstone Edge,

our high point for the day

En route - lunch on the Pennine Way, serenaded by skylarks

Blackstone Edge summit and views

After rough going along Blackstone Edge, the Aiggin Stone is reached

There's a plaque next to a cairn that announces the stone as 'a medieaval guide for travelers some 600 years old', but the stone is what Sue is standing next to in the picture below

A sharp left turn takes us downhill, where we soon lose the Pennine Way path

 as we descend towards Littleborough

Foxgloves and Buttercups

On a sunny afternoon the dappled light through the trees is delightful

Beyond a path beside a golf club, rural footpaths lead to a set of picnic benches

 that are a fine venue for afternoon tea, and cake

Ox-eye daisies

After passing a RSPB visitor centre we soon reached the busy tourist spot of Hollingworth Lake

Our path took us down beside new housing to the Rochdale Canal towpath
 and an easy stroll to Littleborough station

Here's our route - 19km with 440 metres ascent, taking us less than 6 hours, after which train and tram got us back to Timperley in a shade over an hour.