Bridgend Heritage Trails, Bollington
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BRIDGEND HERITAGE Bridgend Heritage Trails Digging through the past TRAILS, BOLLINGTON The Bridgend Centre has created eight circular local walks A 6.5 mile circular walk skirting around that explore how industry, transport and farming have shaped Pott Shrigley and returning via the canal Circular walks that explore the local countryside the fascinating heritage of Bollington, with local people and farmland, starting and ending at the and bring Bollington’s past to life bringing the trails to life in their own words. Bridgend Centre. Walking with kids? The trails have special interests for Follow the mole markers. younger walkers with markers to follow and surprises to uncover on the way. Plus there’s a kids’ quiz for each trail The fifth of the Bridgend Heritage Trails looks at the industry to add to the fun! Download it yourself or pick one up at based around the natural resources that Bollington is sited on. the Bridgend Centre... For over two centuries many inhabitants earned their livelihood mining coal and fireclay in the 200 or so mines in the locality. All the walks start and end at the Bridgend Centre, 104, Different extraction methods, coal yards and brick works scarred Palmerston Street, Bollington, Cheshire SK10 5PW. the countryside. This walk takes you through landscapes where Open Mon–Fri 10–4.30, Sat 10–1. adits, soughs, spoil heaps, gin circles and bell pits can still be seen. The route leads from townland to farmland and from moorland to Parking: Pool Bank car park on Palmerston Street towpath showing not just the diversity of the environment but the just along from the Centre. differences in how we use it from past to present. Toilets are available at the Bridgend Centre. Recommended map: OS Explorer 268. ‘There’s a geological freak in the area – it’s one of the only areas in the country where Although we aim to be accurate, be aware that things can there’s all the ingredients to make bricks – water, change, structures become wobbly and surfaces slippery. fireclay, shale, stone and coal. Coal is to heat the TRAIL NO. 5 - DIGGING Make your own judgements, stay safe and be prepared! kilns to dry the fireclay to make the bricks – it’s THROUGH THE PAST very, very rare to get them all together.’ The Bridgend Centre From town to farm and from quarry to canal this Younger walkers! Follow the trail of moles and see if you undulating walk takes you through a constantly changing The Bridgend Centre is a local, independent charity, playing can spot what’s natural and what’s not along the way. Plus landscape of life and work. Ranging from valleys to an active role at the heart of the Bollington community. We there’s a Mole Quiz to get you under the surface of the walk… moorland you’ll discover a little of what offer many services and activities that help to promote quality Download it yourself or pick one up at the Bridgend Centre. lies beneath the surface of Bollington. of life for everyone. Walking with Kids? Ask for a Our range of walking activities and information provide copy of our ‘Mole Quiz’! a great opportunity for people to exercise in the great outdoors, which has been demonstrated to improve physical 6.5 miles and mental health and wellbeing. Difficulty: Moderate with a few uphill sections in the first half Find out more at www.bridgendcentre.org.uk With thanks to The Hobson Trust Drop in after your walk for tea and cake, or a browse in our www.bridgendcentre.org.uk Aladdin’s den of a charity shop… Photographs courtesy of the Bollington Photo Archive Lockgate Farm Woodend Farm Bridge No. 19 8 7 Bridgend Centre to Grief Field Birchen With your back to the Bridgend cliff ad Centre, turn right along Ro ley Shrig Palmerston Street. Continue past 6 Bakestonedale the car park on the left and up Moor the road, straight across the mini roundabout then a few steps further on, take a gentle fork right to carry on along Ingersley Road. Heritage Trail Head past the ‘Poachers’ pub, originally called ‘The Mole Markers Masonic’, the road curving to the left and start to Path climb up Smithy Brow Looking to your left you will Track Shrigley Hall soon see ‘The Nab’, the grassy mound on the skyline, Hotel rising above Sowcar Fields. B akes toned ale R 5 oad Styerson At the fork turn left in Spuley Lane and after 150 9 Pool yards you will see a signpost on the right 1 into a field. Cross the stile and walk diagonally left towards Sh ri 10 gle y R a building. oad Bridge Hedgerow to Bakestonedale No. 25 ane se L ou leh Pass through the yard to turn right into Hedgerow. After Ho 4 Windmill Lark Rise 50yds turn left through a wooden gate 2, and along the Pub M a c Long Lane c Wildlife path diagonally to the right. Follow the wall round to the left le Sculpture Berristall s Rushley Agricultural Farm fi e e Walls Sculpture Hall Farm l n and through a kissing gate. d a C L a r n ail a r a T l g e u e n Lodge S n 11 o Now head diagonally right towards a post and follow the a t L s 3 Farm it Bridge No. 26 g Dew Pond r n G Gritstone Trail signposts, to descend to the packhorse bridge, o L Harrop Wood y Clarence p Brook which crosses Harrop Brook. In the not-so-distant past coal a Packhorse arro W Mill H Bridge d Green Bower mining still took place further up the valley, in Harrop Wood. o Lane 12 e o Farm Clough n Cheshire w 2 Limefields a Farm e Hunt l Swinerood Sowcar L ne H d Wood a k e L y dge en Fields l ro d re Oak Bank o w i d G u a te Chimney d r o a a p M o w B Cross the bridge, through the gate 3 and climb uphill to Recreation g ro o t R R e n B S Winterside r esto Industrial Ground c e y p n u B Grief s u Sculpture le o t o Farm a d ig rr g a le e ueen r Field n Q St h meet a wall. Go through the kissing gate and continue forward i u re H l P et S q t d A c A Palm 1 Billinge Hill u e t B Hill up the hillside past two duck ponds on the right, again rst tree Sowcar Farm laze d on S Ing ers a le w i Ro y o Bridgend t ad r V B e y following the Gritstone Trail. W Centre e h r t d at t Poachers Sm i a l e S o a r R n St h Pub a c n t o C r t d e u g l e h n e r li sfi t C l e S e cl c h W a ig M H Go through another kissing gate and follow the Gritstone Trail Taking care, turn left along Bakestonedale Road and, after ‘They used to put pit props across and marker forward passing a hedge on the left. Climb diagonally right about 120 yards, cross right into a lay-by. Go through the gate then back fill with soil and plant a ring of trees. towards the end of a wall below the clump of trees, crossing over first bearing left, then fork right 5, following the bridleway The whole idea was the roots knotted over the a track that leads to Berristall Hall Farm on your left. up over the hill. You may see a capped mineshaft on the right, top, to seal it. If you were lucky it worked, if more evident on winter. not they’d collapse in on themselves!’ When you reach the wall turn right, and follow the footpath, with the wall on your right and trees on the left following an ancient track. Approaching the top of the hill the path joins a broken wall and fence. Keeping this fence to your left and ignoring the “‘Many of these sunken tracks can path going off to the right but noting ‘The Story of Coal’ be found around Bollington, if you know feature, continue straight ahead. The fenced-off quarry is where to look. The drovers took their wares on your left and as you climb you will be rewarded with on packhorses along these, from village to spectacular panoramic views over Moorside Quarry, the village – a unique transport system’ Cheshire Plain and beyond. Skirting round the quarry keeping the fence on your left, turn Follow on to a gate 4 then carry on forward with the wall left through a gate and follow the bridleway downhill. Passing on your left across two fields until you descend steeply to through a gate there is a small pond in a dip on the left, which cross over a stile and meet a road. is thought to be the site of a Horse Gin. Bricks, Mines and Horse Gins ‘Horse Gin is really short for Horse Engine – the horse was the power to pull men and coal up the mineshaft. You can identify a Horse Gin by a series of upright stones, which are the remains of the circular cobbled path, walked by the horse.’ Ahead, you will ‘6 or 8 women worked there during the see a walled War.