2nd August 2018
Journey Length 8.9ml
Click Here For Route Via Ride with GPS
After a hectic couple of weeks thankfully Peggy Lou is on the road to recover with the help of her family and friends following a major operation. Last week should have seen us on one of our adventures but unfortunately Graham text me that afternoon to say his back had gone and would have to postpone. I was actually in the process of finding an area to explore, so I safely stored it away ready for this week.
Meeting Graham at our pre arranged rendezvous, he informed me that Val was also off work with a bad back. It must be an age thing, she is now approaching her prime years.
Giving Graham a quick rundown of where we were heading we set off through Leverhulme Park and up through Tonge cemetery to pick up the path which would bring us to the rear of Matalan. Whilst waiting to cross over the road Graham spotted a rare sight in these here parts a cowboy walking up Tonge Moor Rd. Stopping on Union Rd to check our route Graham asked “did you see his six shooter?” now unsure whether this was an innuendo I replied ”sorry mate wasn’t looking that closely ha ha “. Now as we rode down Union Rd side by side Graham had a thought ” its like we are on patrol , looking out for anyone up to no good, we could call in the transport cafe and as whats going down ,just before they spit in our coffee” . What Val has to put up with.
Now back to serious matters trying to locate the path that would lead us to the cinema in the Valley. We soon found it and arrived there quickly passing an unusual little bridge as we went.
Once at the complex we paused, noticing a small building that we must have seen many time before when visiting the cinema but hadn’t paid any attention to it. It was the security and info centre for the Leisure complex. After quelling our curiosity we proceeded up the path at the side of the cinema heading towards Crompton Way. it was here Graham was to make his first error of our adventure, coming to a fork in the path he insisted we go right and I duly followed his instructions , that was until we came to a very large flight of steps and had to turn around.
Up across Crompton Way we rode down to Benteler Pipe where we hoped to find a path over to Hall i th Wood museum. We were met by a set of locked gates, but Graham spotted a path to our left , unfortunately it only led to a disused football pitch.
It was then I noticed a path running parallel with the fence and river, so off down it we went. Shortly Graham stopped noticing the steel girder that was supporting the bridge we had crossed “ my god that’s made to take some weight” he remarked. A little further along Graham made his second error, this time suggesting we go left at a fork, in fact we should have gone right that way we wouldn’t have hit another dead end.
Hall I th wood museum was our next calling point before heading in the wrong direction yet again and once again getting lost ( this is all part of Extreme Biking Adventures). A quick check of the map and we were on our way, into virgin territory following the signs for the Tonge Trail. This led us to a rather strange place. Exiting the woods we emerged to a small wall and what looked like an overgrown cobbled path , but Graham noticed it was actually a road and all we could see was the footpath. Nothing to do then but explore, but which way up or down. Now then this is where we discussed does a road lead to somewhere or from somewhere. Graham was of the opinion that it must lead somewhere and we should go down, I on the other hand was of the opposite opinion. But once again we followed Grahams instincts and down we went and you guessed it , Grahams third error, it actually led nowhere, so back up the hill we went.
The overgrown road turned out to be a continuation of Oaks Ln. We emerged near the level crossing we had encountered on our previous adventure “Around Delph” in May . As we rode up the Lane we noticed that there were some lovely properties. At the crossing we observed the instructions to safely cross , once we had crossed Graham noticed the sign “Please Use Phone Before Crossing With Vehicle’s or Animals” .I was just going to say that doesn’t matter to us when Graham rather loudly broke wind , complete with a little giggle. Animal , yeah should have used the phone !
We next rode down Cherry Tree Way passing my auntie’s house as we did. This brought us to Turton Rd and right down to the lights and down Tonge Moor Rd. We continued down before taking a left turn down Goodwin St, just because we hadn’t been down before. Graham pointed out that it was down here that the Showmen from the fairground lived in the Caravan Park. This soon became apparent with all the old trailers, caravans and rides in the street.
We had just turned right on to Kestor St when we heard the sound of a dog barking, looking to our left we saw it was a guard dog from the site, and it was running straight for us, up out of the saddles we went pedalling for all we was worth, just out running it, phew !
Leaving the dog well behind we crossed Bury New Rd and along Radcliffe Rd crossing Bradford St, but here was a problem , Radcliffe Rd was now one way and we hit the No Entry Signs. Now we had a choice we could go all the way around or just blatantly ignore the signs and go straight on. Well we just had to do the latter. But
Graham had a plan “ if we whistle while we ride no one will notice us”, so we did just that and they didn’t . Along Radcliffe Rd we came to Fred Dibnah’s old house, which was a heritage centre but sadly it is now just an old house with memories.
After a quick photo and with both Peggy Lou and Val incapacitated it was time to head home, so we cut through the side streets and went along the old Bury railway line and over the viaduct. Here we stopped for a short break sitting in what would have been the middle of the railway tracks. Whilst we sat and chatted we both grabbed our water bottles and took a swing, it was then I noticed what I thought was some mud on mine, oh no it wasn’t, it was dog poo poo , it must have been thrown up off my front wheel, arrggghh. Graham asked “did you not smell it as you took a drink ?”, “ doesn’t smell that strong !” wafting my finger under his nose like a child and him pulling away like a big girl. Oh what fun we have.
Now it was time to continue home, concerned we had been out long enough and it was time to get back to our girls, but first Graham had to put his lights on, two blue flashing lights, just like the Police with their blues and twos , not forgetting to text when we were home.
