In Lockdown: Explore from the Front Door

On 23rd March 2020, UK Prime Miniter Boris Johnson initiated a UK nation-wide lockdown to restrict the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. All non essential businesses were forced to close their doors. Employees still working were strongly advised to work from home. The only businesses allowed to remain open were supermarkets, pharmacies & food delivery outlets. The instruction was simple: Stay At Home.

The only reason citizens were allowed to leave home were for: essential food shopping, essential travel to a work place, & one form of exercise per day.
Throughout April, I remained at home, only venturing out for shopping to the local supermarket once per week. However, after being cooped up indoors for a month, I decided to take advantage of the exercise rule, and explore my local neighbourhood, which lead me to finding new places, and rediscovering old memories.

Blackleach Country Park


My first 'expedition' from home was on Sunday 19th April to a local country park just a mile's walk from home. Located near Walkden, Blackleach Country Park was situated just off an old, disused railway line on the site of an old chemical & dye factory. It doesn't sound too appealing from that description, but the old railway line has long since been dismantled & converted into a 'green space' path & cycle network, with this section known as the Linnyshaw Loopline. The chemical works had been demolished & the land reclaimed by nature into woodland & heathland. The focal point of the small country park is a lake, which attracts a large number of water fowl.
A visit to Blackleach became one of my regular walks, opting to take slightly different routes each time to keep things fresh. Over the course of my visits, I spotted Swan's nesting, to eventually being on the water with their Cygnets. My next walk a week later, wouldn't be too far from Blackleach, and was again part of the old railway lines in the area.

Ashton Fields


Just to the west of Blackleach, on the border between Little Hulton & Farnworth lies Ashton Fields. Again, this area is rich with industrial heritage, and was once the site of Ashton's Field Colliery, which operated between 1852 and 1929. The colliery had 12 coal mines, some running to depths of 1,546 feet. The colliery was linked to the rail network which transported coal from the mines. Interestingly, the area also has a network of underground canals, which stretch for miles beneath Farnworth, Walkden & south to Worsley. The park is a mixture of woodland and heathland rich in wildlife, and includes a short section of overgornw canal & locks - harking back to its industrial past.



Moses Gate Country Park & Crompton Lodges


A slightly longer walk to get to, as a child I spent many happy times exploring around Moses Gate on my bicycle. It was interesting to rediscover a place I hadn't visited for years. Sat in the valley between Farnworth & Little Lever, the River Croal makes its way through the country park, passing three former mill lodges which were previously used to feed Farnworth's paper & weaving mills. The river weaves its way through the wooded valley before merging with the River Irwell a mile or so to the south east at Nob End, previously home to a chemical works, but now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The now disused Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal also passes through the area, including staircase locks, aquaducts and picturesque canal side toe-paths.

Roe Green Loopline


The Roe Green Loopline is another former railway line that has since been transformed into a cycle / walking route. Beinging just west of Ashton Fields, to get to the start, I ventured through some fields before crossing a footbridge over the M61 motorway to pick up the start of the line. This was a pretty straight and level tarmac route which ran through Little Hulton and Walkden, which is where I left the path. The route does carry on for a few more miles to Monton, on the outskirts of Eccles, but instead I made my way home through Walkden, paying a visit to Blackleach on the way.







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