3rd Sept 2024

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Our adventure season was approaching its end and with no adventure last week due myself and Peggy Lou taking two of our grand children away in our caravan to Cheddar in Somerset and with Graham and Val off to Corfu for two weeks later this week. Graham had suggested we go out on a Tuesday night adventure again.

The September evenings were now drawing in, meaning the adventure I had planned a few weeks ago had to be put on hold as we wouldn’t have the time to finish it before it got dark. I hastily planned another and arranged for Graham to meet me at mine. As we prepared for our adventure I explained that I had once again hurt my back. I wasn’t sure if I’d be capable of riding my bike. “ Don’t even know if I can get my leg over pal “. As soon as I had said it I heard a childish giggle from Graham. Toilet humour is very funny especially when it’s done by a couple of childish men.

Once I was on the bike we set off towards Bolton. Tentatively at first as my back was hurting but I was sure the exercise would help.

We rode over the Darcy Lever viaducts until we came to the single file dirt path. Here we met an elderly biker coming up the hill, so we stopped to let him through. He quickened his pace and hurriedly passed us. Graham said “ I think he thought you were gonna duff him in pal” . I questioned his logic and he explained that it looked like I’d scared him coz I looked dead hard.

This peculiar incident behind us we rode up over Orlando Bridge towards the town centre. We headed down Moor Lane which is now fully open for traffic after being closed for several months during the redevelopment of the area.

From here we went down King St at the side of the old Post Office where we noticed a drunken man, dumpster diving for all sorts of bottles. We didn’t stop as he was shouting all kinds of expletives as he struggled with the lid . At the end of the street was a narrow footbridge over the river Croal. It was obvious it got very little traffic and the steps down were strewn with all sorts of rubbish and god knows what. Graham advised that we shouldn’t touch anything just in case and move on quickly.

Safely over the bridge we rode up Chorley Street passed the David Lloyd gym which stands on the site of the old Bolton Royal Infirmary which we both remembered visiting as kids with broken bones , cuts etc .

Now began the long climb up Chorley Old Road for nearly a mile until we turned off down Ivy Road. Here we passed the site of one of the oldest motorcycle shops in Bolton Doug Hacking’s , sadly now gone like many businesses in Bolton. We followed Ivy Road until we came to Cunliffe Brow. Oh boy was it a brow. It was a short , rocky and very steep at the end which after the climb up Chorley Old Road saw us flounder and we paused for a rest. We chatted about my holiday and Grahams forthcoming holiday to Corfu that caused him issues with him finding time to mow his grass. The problems us older people have. We went on to talk about the wedding of our dear friends Big Baz & Jane that we’d all attended on the Saturday and how we had all very much enjoyed the day. They certainly make a lovely couple and we wish them both all the best in their future together.

Suitably rested we rode up Church Rd and as we did we spotted the very large Church Road school which looked very smart and obviously well maintained, an unusual sight in these times of cut backs .

We soon entered Mossbank Park where we encountered an unusual structure, a drinking fountain. This stone drinking fountain unfortunately is no longer in use but stands as an icon to our history. Further through the park we came to the model railway which I remember riding on as a young boy with my dad.

We continued our exploration of the park and came upon a sign Rock Garden. It goes without saying we had to explore. Graham led the way. We realized that in all our years we hadn’t know it existed. It’s a lovely tranquil area where you can walk around and gather your thoughts. The paths are up some rocky, craggy steps. We had to struggle pushing our bikes up the uneven hilly terrain.

We left the park and headed up Cinder Lane. “What are you doing to me pal ?“ Graham asked as we rode up yet another hill. Soon we arrived onto Barrow Bridge Road. Back in the 19th century, the area was a thriving industrial area of Dean mills. The mills were demolished in 1913. The lodge for the mills was turned into a boating lake in the early 1900s. The area became a popular tourist destination. The lodge was filled in back in the 1960s and is now the car park. The cottages still remain, which makes a beautiful model village. We paused for refreshments at the bus turning circle. Graham pointed out that there seemed to be a lot of moss on the benches and all around. I think there’s a clue in the parks name there Graham. He pointed out a large stone in the centre of the grassed area of the turning circle. We just presumed it was a random stone but a bit of research told us that. The building between the two mills was the engine house which would have held the engine to drive both mills. The keystone of the entrance arch of this building was placed in the centre of the bus terminus when the mills were demolished. 

We rode through the picturesque village. Some of the cottages are connected to the road by small wooden bridges. These bridges cross over Dean brook. Seeing these, Graham had the bright idea of building one over the canal where he lives. I think that might be a bridge too far, Graham.

In a short distance we took a sharp right turn up Longshaw Ford Road. To our shock it was yet another very steep hill. By this time we’d both had enough of hills and took the decision to push our bikes up. Part way up we were confronted with a conundrum. ROAD AHEAD CLOSED sign stood in front of us. Did we turn around or take the risk and continue up the steep hill. We chose the later , we were on an adventure after all. We chatted away as we walked up the hill. Then suddenly, vroom, we were nearly mown down by a speeding SUV luckily we had our wits about us and just managed to get out of its way.

To Graham’s great relief we soon arrived at the top of the hill. It was here I spotted a sign for a Restricted Bridal-way . I said to Graham “ we should be good to go down here as it used by horses ” . As we turned down I looked over to our right and shouted out “ Wow pal look at that view!!” . We both stopped and just admired the stunning view over Bolton. After a couple of quick photos we set off down the lane and managed to find the path hidden behind the farm. Originally the path was fine. But it soon turned into a rocky and slippery path. I was calling out to Graham behind me “large rock pal”. Then “ big step, large rock “ as the path narrowed considerably. It became more and more dangerous. Then behind me I heard Graham call out “ big tree” as he crashed into it. Luckily he didn’t fall off and only his pride was hurt. That’s what we thought at the time. When he got back home, he had in fact suffered a rather serious wound to his leg. The perils of extreme biking are not for the fainthearted.

We emerged out towards the top of Smithills Hall Road and our eyes lit up. It was now down hill on a wide tarmac road. We didn’t hesitate, we were off like a shot. In a matter of seconds we were hurtling down gathering speed as we went. As extreme bikers, we are aware of the dangers of traveling at these speeds. However, after all the hard work up all those hills, we were just enjoying our little selves.

At the bottom of the hill there was a speed sign and it flashed up at 29mph as I passed. As we turned right down Jesmond Road a little further on, I asked Graham if he’d seen the sign. “Oh yeah pal,” he answered. “We must have been touching 30mph at one point,” I stated. “More like 50 or 60mph, we were fair moving there pal, bloody enjoyed that,” he replied.

We now continued our journey towards the Chimney on Barrow Bridge Road. We took a small cut through that ran through the housing estate. This brought us out in Smithills Croft Wood. As we dropped out of the woods we found ourselves at the bottom of yet another hill. This was up Smithills Croft Rd. Luckily for us, it was only a matter of 100 yards before we got to the top at Barrow Bridge Chimney. The chimney was built in 1863. Barrow Bridge chimney was part of the old Halliwell Bleach works. It is now a local landmark and listed building. It has a plaque part way up. Fred Dibnah placed it there in the 1990s when he repaired the chimney.

After taking our obligatory selfie, we set off on our way back towards home down towards the park and back up Captain Clough Road. Instead of retracing our steps, we turned left down Church Road. We weaved our way through the streets until we came to Avenue Street. Here we stopped and looked for an entrance to Mortfield lodges. Unfortunately, it was all fenced off and securely locked. This has only been the case since 2023 .These lodges fed the Mortfield Bleach works on Mortfield lane where now stands Bolton Rugby Club.

We meandered our way through the streets and houses. We made our way back onto Chorley Old Road and then back down Chorley St. We turned off along Bark St. The housing development we had visited a few times was now looking finished.

The light was now beginning to fade and I was concerned for my bestie. He had quite a distance to go after we parted company and would be riding home in the dark. So, I took the decision to just ride home the quickest and safest way possible. That is what we did and we were soon at the point where we went our separate ways. Graham didn’t stop for our usual parting chat. He was well aware he only had minutes to spare before darkness fell.

Not too long after we parted I got the reassuring WhatsApp message that he was home safely. Hopefully we can squeeze another adventure in before our season comes to a close once again.