thousandmilesblog | Walk Post 023

Date of Walk: 09/04/10
Walk organized by: Self
Start time: 13:45
Start location: Bardsley Bridge, Oldham
Walk length: 6.17 miles
Weather conditions: Dry, warm, sunny

Bridlepath towards Oldham from Alt Hill Road

Details:
The route taken was from Bardsley Bridge along the footpath to Park Bridge, then up Alt Hill Road and Alt Hill Lane to Lees New Road, across Lees New Road and up Twirl Hill Road and Lily Lanes to Hartshead Pike, then back down and back to Bardsley Bridge the same way.

Hartshead Pike is a hill in Tameside, with a distinctive tower topping it. The hill is 940 feet above sea level, and though it is dwarfed by the hills of Saddleworth its position is prominent enough that you can see for miles from it, especially across the Cheshire Plain. You can see the hills of North Wales on a good day and the main telescope of Jodrell Bank is visible on a relatively clear day. The location was good for signalling, and several towers have stood on the hill top. It is thought that the first tower on the hill was erected in honour of King Canute, but records only detail one from the eighteenth century onwards. The present tower dates from 1863, and was built to commemorate the wedding of the Prince of Wales to the Princess of Denmark. It once housed a refreshment shop, and a time capsule was buried there in Victorian times, but the tower is now in a poor state of repair. It is still popular with walkers, and is a waypoint on the Oldham Way and the Tameside Trail. Recently a very lovely and functional memorial was placed there which looks a bit like a sun dial, but the engravings show what you can see from the hill top and how far away things are.

The day of this walk was beautiful, sunny and warm, and the sky was quite clear. The footpath from Bardsley Bridge wasn't too muddy, and there were lots of walkers and horse riders enjoying the sun. The road sections were relatively quiet, especially Alt Hill Road. I found the road not quite as steep as I remember it, maybe I am improving. As I reached Lees New Road I could see a group of horses and riders silhouetted on the top of the hill. It always looks quite high up from that side, and a bit daunting, but the climb by road is gradual and I found it relatively easy. A group of workmen were filling in a pothole on Twirl Hill Road as I passed, and I met a few cyclists on the way up Lily Lanes. At the top I enjoyed the views for a while, and said hello to a few passing people. It wasn't a clear enough day to see Wales, but the Lovell Telescope was a little fuzzy circle on the horizon. I didn't take any pictures of the tower close up, because the graffiti didn't look especially good. On the way back down I saw a brief doggy-shouting-match between a couple of canines out for a walk with their owners and some standing behind the gates of the kennels on Alt Hill Road. It was quite funny and didn't spoil the otherwise very peaceful day. The views on the way back were good, in the light of the lowering sun, and I felt very happy to be there.

A short, sweet and relaxing walk overall.