Through Simpson Clough and Carr Wood

Now on the Heywood side of Rochdale Old Road, I found myself turning left past Simpson Clough Mill and looking at the stream running through Ashworth Valley:

But Ashworth Valley would have to wait till later as I made my way through the caravan park and into Carr Wood:

 Know this path well, one of my favourite short walks anywhere:

It was great passing a small retaining wall I built years ago (middle left-hand side of the picture):

 And then I was fully in Carr Wood, the fast-moving brook taking centre stage:

Hats off to whoever built the green bridge:

Passing a waterfall making its way into the brook:

 Coming out of Carr Wood at the top end, rewarded with the waterfall:

Amidst old industrial ruins:

 Never tire of going back to see Carr Wood, the place is magic.

From Elbut Lane to Rochdale Old Road

Near the new red-brick dwelling-places on Elbut Lane, instead of walking straight down to Rochdale Old Road, I took a country lane:

 Underneath an overhead pipe:

 Past a farm:

 And a house on a corner:

And hey presto, shortly after, I was on Rochdale Old Road, much further up than if I'd walked straight down Elbut Lane.

Passing a Tree House up Birtle

From the Secret Garden, making my way further up the old stone path:

 Past the remaining steps of Mount Tabor Methodist church (which can be easily missed):

Past a rural house:

And onto Elbut Lane, I came across a kind of Tree House:

 Getting lower down Elbut Lane near the new residential area:

Where the old dye works used to be.

Birtle Secret Garden

Following the rugged path round from Birtle Quarry,

 

 I soon came upon the Secret Garden:

 

Getting into the place through the back entrance path:

 For a few reasons, this place has some meaning for me.

 First discovered the place as a teenager when I moved to the Fairfield area of Bury in the late 1970s.

After a few minutes reminiscing in the Secret Garden, it was time to leave and continue my hike into the autumnal countryside.

Bury (Lancashire): Deer Near the Seven Arches

One day, after visiting a terminally ill friend, I saw two deer on the way down to the Seven Arches:

Just wish I'd had a proper camera with me to capture them properly.

The Seven Arches lies on the River Roch, on the outskirts of Bury, heading towards Heywood:

I got down there through going down Pimhole not long after passing St. Thomas church on Rochdale Road:

 At one point, I found myself going through a tunnel:

 And then following the river round a field:

 Until I arced round towards the wonderful Seven Arches:

 

A friend of mine has told me that homeless people sometimes find themselves sleeping down at the Seven Arches, which may help explain some of the rubbish that was on the river bank.

Still, the Seven Arches was a mighty sight, the first time I'd seen the place since being a teenager:

 But the most impressive sight of this short walk was, of course, the deer:

 View my encounter with the deer as some kind of grace and blessing.  

Bury (Lancashire): Walking up Birtle

 Passing up a back street of Fourth Avenue here:

 Then heading past the underground reservoir on the way up Castle Hill Road:

First seeing Church Wood:

 Whose paths led me to the burial ground of the Anglican church of St. John the Baptist:

After this, I just walked round the corner to Birtle Quarry:

 Which looked quite fetching in late winter/early spring:

This was all retracing my footsteps from years ago, in my hometown of Bury (Lancashire), of course.

Belmont Towards Bolton

 Back down from Winter Hill, it was too beautiful a day to hang around a bus stop.

 So I decided to walk down the road from Belmont towards Bolton:

 Passing another reservoir (or another part of a reservoir) along the way:

 This was perfect prolonged exercise on a hot-cold afternoon.

And what a reward, passing an incredible mural:

Guess the mural may be Amphitrite, the ancient Greek goddess of the sea (I've just looked this up), but I could be wrong, of course.

Couldn't take my eyes off the mural:

Hats off to Bolton Water Company, of course.

After this, I was still accompanied by reservoir water getting nearer to Bolton:

Great views were still on offer on the Bolton side of things:

 But a bit further down, sadly, my bright autumn walk had to hit the urban expanse of Bolton.