Haigh, Feb 5th


Walk Leader:               Neil Harwood

Number on walk:          29 + 3 dogs

Distance:                     10.7 miles

Weather:                     Dull with rain later on

I set out to try and create a walk that was a little different both in terms of location, Aspull and Wigan (!!) and style i.e. certainly not the prettiest but with interest, particularly the industrial heritage of the area. The latter meant a few stops with me going on about this or that – but hopefully some of it was worthwhile?

Starting in the centre of Aspull at the car park on Woods Road, we quickly came to our first stop – Kirklees Wood. This huge and steep hill is in fact a slag heap as just adjacent to us there used to be, in the 19th century, a huge coke works with six large blast furnaces and the paths we were following were largely the routes of mineral railways transporting the coal and coke around the area. The old Ordnance Survey maps showed the extent of the industrialisation in this area in the 19th and early 20th centuries for Wigan was then one of the most important coal mining areas in Britain fuelling the Industrial revolution in Lancashire. There were around 100 collieries in Wigan at the peak of the coalfield in about 1890, and hence Wigan’s nickname of “Coalopolis”. But his was down to 70 by 1925 and there were just 25 left in 1947 when the coal industry was nationalised

Enough history for the time being as we made our way to the northern entrance of Borsdane Wood via Pennington Green and Gidlow Hall with its moat. The wood and its brook heads south for a mile or so and is a pleasant and pretty alternative to much of the rest of the area. It was then back into Wigan itself via Hindley Hall and along another old railway to Rabbit Rocks, where we had lunch with views across Wigan. The whole site was once a huge iron and steel works and the contorted “rabbit” rocks are the remains from its blast furnaces.

Then down to the Leeds Liverpool canal and up the last few locks of a flight of 23 locks which was the final section of the canal built in 1816 linking the basin at Wigan pier, completed 39 years earlier, with the eastern section of the canal some 200 feet higher. More history from me, including the fact that we were now on what was originally the Lancaster canal, and then off to Haigh Hall to see the profits of all this industry. In the area around 1870, the estate of the Earl Crawford and Balcarres  (yes two titles) was worth around £300,000, which is about £300m in todays terms.

It was now raining so the Stables Courtyard provided some welcome shelter and good toilet facilities! The final mile or so took in some of the Haigh Estate with its pretty cottages, windmill used to pump water to its own brewery, school, pub and church.

To see the other photos please press Here