Wednesday November 27th. Ronnie's Radcliffe Roundabout Plodder. 10 miles. Leader: Phil Chapman.

An excellent turnout for today's walk RONNIES RADCLIFFE ROUNDABOUT. Starting from Leverhulme Park car park were 20 walkers, some of whom just managed to find it.

Some new faces and some we'd not seen for a while. The weather was perfect.

We left the park and made our way through D'arcy Lever woods to Hacken Bridge to arrive onto the Bolton Bury canal and the Meccano bridge for our morning coffee break. 

Some walkers were a bit puffed and mentioned that it was down as a 'Plodder' Whoops. Naughtly leader.

We carried on at a slower pace to reach St Thomas's in Radcliffe for our lunch. Must mention here that we were joined today by our very youngest canine "walker", Betty. 

After lunch we made our way back over the Bolton Bury canal and to the Bradley Fold Cycleway. A quick jelly baby stop and finally back to Leverhulme Park. 

An excellent walk enjoyed by everyone.

Phil.

Wednesday November 20th. Winter Wonderland Wander. 13 miles. Leader: Phil Chapman.

What a fabulous walk today for 16 Happy Wanderers on East Lancs aptly titled Winter Wonderland Wander. Starting from the Walker Fold car park on Scout Road with perfect weather (crackin t'flags).

Underfoot left a bit to be desired as we made our way to the Two Lads. There was many a slip but we all made it there. 

We had to detour slightly just before Winter Hill mast as it was gated off. We made our way precariously down the Ricky Rocky Road, there was so much ice and snow. A few of us managed to fall over but no broken bones luckily. 

Finally onto Longworth Clough to the junction for our well earned lunch. Then we made our way to Sweetloves and onward to Smithills Hall where we had the now famous Hilary's jelly baby break. Onward through Barrow Bridge veering away from the 63 steps and opting for the Valley 82 steps instead (the sting in the tale).

End of a perfect walk on a perfect day with perfect company. Doesn't get much better than that.

Phil.

Sunday November 17th. Below Holcombe. 20 miles. Leader: Stephen Hindley.

A group of 16 including two walking with the LDWA for the first time set off from Nuttal Park in dry conditions but with the forecast for a wet day, however we had a morning of sunny intervals & a few
 showers in the afternoon.

Heading north, often by sections of the River Irwell we were soon passing through Chatterton & Irwell Vale before turning towards Tor Hill.

Skirting around the bottom of the hill we were on the Rossendale Way with a stop for our morning break by Alden Brook. After passing the ‘naughty corner’ we dropped down to the track which then
contours below Holcombe Moor to Crowthorn, during this section we had our lunch stop above Red Brook.

We then followed the Witton Weaver Way alongside the Wayoh Reservoir to Turton Bottoms. From here it was across farmland & past the army training camp to Holcombe Brook. It was then down
through the woods to Broadbottoms & back to the car park before the light faded.

Hope you all enjoyed the walk

Stephen

Pictures from Stephen and Maggie.

Sunday November 10th. Bronte Falls & Oxenhope. 13 miles. Leader: Barbara Shelton.

For a change I decided to slot in a shorter walk of 13 miles on a Sunday, and nine of us plus one dog met up at Penistone Hill country park near Haworth on a day of low cloud, with a few minutes of sunshine (hurray!)  and mostly dry. Half an hour or so saw us at Bronte Falls before pressing on towards Top Withens (aka Wuthering Heights) along the Pennine Way, with a stop for a minute’s silence at 11 a.m.

Leaving literary connections behind for now, we continued on towards Harbour Lodge and beyond to pick up a path over the moors alongside a 3 mile stretch of water conduit, stopping for lunch along the way, before dropping down to Leeming Reservoir.

The prospect of the café and maybe a steam train at Oxenhope station gave wings to our feet and we soon arrived at this 1970 film location for some scenes from The Railway Children. Brews sorted, we were then entertained by the arrival of a gleaming steam train (a Black Five loco I am reliably informed), whereupon the hardworking volunteers proceeded to uncouple it and run the engine round for its return journey – quite a spectacle.

Leaving Oxenhope via the Railway Children walk, we soon picked up the Bronte Way towards Haworth before heading south west to get back to the cars.

It was great to see familiar faces from the West Yorkshire and Calderdale groups, and a prospective new member giving us a try for the first time.

Barbara Shelton

Wednesday November 6th. Hall's Not Well. 11.5 miles. Leaders: Christine Cocks and Isobel Graham.

The group consisting of nineteen walkers and Otis, a very quiet, well behaved dog, set off from Hall i'th Wood Museum which is currently closed to the public awaiting essential renovation work. Hence the walk title Hall's Not Well.

The house was once the home of Samuel Crompton whose family moved there when he was a child. Samuel would later became famous for inventing the "Spinning Mule" which went onto revolutionise the cotton industry.

Heading north we soon joined the path alongside Eagley Brook for a short distance before arriving at Eagley Mills. The mill complex was once the largest cotton spinning site in Bolton and was deemed to be the heartbeat of Boltons once highly industrial presence. In more recent times the mills were converted into residential apartments and business premises. Standing adjacent to this complex is the model village which was originally built to house the mill workers.

From here we continued north, crossed the A666 at Dunscar, walked alongside the golf course and soon arrived at Delph Reservoir. This sizeable stretch of water was intended to be the first of five reservoirs in the area but was the only one which was completed, officially opening in 1921. Unfortunately it cannot be seen from the footpath we took at its eastern end.

Our lunch break was taken in the grounds of Walmsley Unitarian Chapel.

After lunch we crossed the A666 again and completed our only climb of the day before heading south along a good footpath. We were rewarded with good views of the surrounding area including Delph reservoir from this elevated path which led down to Egerton.

After walking alongside Turton golf course we headed over to Jumbles reservoir, stopping at the cafe for a short refreshment break.

The last couple of miles took us through Bromley Cross and along a path which ran parallel to the railway line and back to Hall i'th Wood.

The total mileage was approximately 11.5 miles.

Fortunately the weather was very mild and dry for the duration of the walk.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us. We hope that you all enjoyed the day.

Christine and Isobel