9th July 2026
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It was another boiling hot Thursday evening and the temperature was still 26 degrees centigrade at 6.00 pm , it was going to be a hot one. Earlier in the week I had set aside some time to repair my Carrera bike. I had taken the plunge to replace the hydraulic braking system completely so hopefully there wouldn’t be a repeat of last week’s disappointment. Also that week it had come to my attention via facebook that the Meccano bridge and the path had been reopened , so I enquired whether Graham fancied having a look at the work had been carried out at the breach. He simply replied “Sure man”.
The arrangement was made to meet at the Meccano bridge and take it from there . I packed my backpack including a couple of cold cans of Fosters lager for our refreshment break. As I arrived at the Meccano Bridge I observed Graham chatting with a man on a bicycle near the benches. As I approached I could see Graham bent over messing with his bike chain , as I approached the man rode off with a cheery goodbye to Graham . I presumed Graham knew the man, but he went onto to explain that he hadn’t looked round when the man had ridden up behind him and had presumed it was myself and proceeded to go in full Graham & Ebay conversation mode, much the surprise of the man. Graham explained to me that he had a problem with his bike and was proceeding to figure out what was wrong with the chain. Once he had fixed it he had oil on his hands “don’t get that anymore in my job.” he said . He then proceeded to wipe his hands on the grass, but due to the short grass he ended up pricking his fingers. ” Put some ice in my water bottle before I came out, it’s all melted already ” Graham went onto complain .As we were about to commence our adventure he pointed out that he’d gotten his super hearing aid in his left ear this week so that he could hear me better.
We set off along the canal path to the breach where they had substantially repaired it and the new path was open. Whilst we stopped taking a few photos and discussing what work had been carried out 2 joggers passed by, as they did they said “Hope you’re going to ring your bells when you pass us later ” with that Graham rang his bell and said “yeah, we’ve both got them on” ,”nice one cheers” they replied with a little laugh.
A short way along the path Graham pointed out that they had now demolished the old Bridge over the canal and replaced it with a brand-new one on top of which sat 2 large construction machines. As we followed the path along the canal, we noticed some scaffolding that was in the bed of the canal. I explained to Graham what they would use this for, “It will be to build a dam across the canal using the large tarpaulin at the side of it” .He asked me how I knew this with a bit of doubt in his voice. I explained that I’d seen it on YouTube video on breaches of canals. He said I should also probably watch some videos on Swans flying, a reference to our last week’s adventure “Grahams Shorts Cause A Stare”
We continued along the canal path heading towards Mount Sion Road as we did we caught up with the two joggers who were now stood having a chat on the path, they saw us approaching and moved to one side. As we got to them we both rang our bells which brought a laugh from all the four of us.
As we approached the bridge at Ladyshore Road I asked Graham if he would like to have a ride down to the river at the bottom “ wow pal was just thinking the same, that’s spooky “. The area is now very much overgrown but nevertheless we found our way to the site of the old weir. We were like a couple children again skimming stones across the water , that was until Grahams shoulder gave in and my elbow shortly followed, the joys of getting old. As we enjoyed our time down at the river Graham pointed out the the steep banking on the opposite side of the river, with tall trees along it “ it’s like in the film Deliverance “ he remarked. Then “ got your canoe there pal , better get it out “ he chortled , a terrible innuendo, but even so we both laughed like silly children in adult bodies. We agreed though that if this place were in the Cotswolds , people would be raving about it , but as it’s in Little Lever it’s all but forgotten about.
Leaving the river behind we attempted to follow a path around the area but there were too many trees down blocking our way so we simply had to head back up to the canal, not before getting stuck in some sand.
After a short ride along the canal we dropped down onto Mount Sion Road. It was here we crossed the bridge over the river Irwell ,as we did Graham pointed out some children playing in the river “ they never learn do they “ referring to the young boy who had lost his life swimming in the same river a few weeks earlier.
Across the bridge we followed a small path until we picked up Wood St that runs parallel with the Outwood trail . Part way down the road we came to a gated path on our right it looked like a public path so we went through the farmgate securing it closed as we passed through ( country code) . Graham spotted what looked like a small hut in the distance, so we set off to explore .As we followed the meandering path it became clear it was some kind of wooden structure with a bench , I’ve since found out that it is called an ARBOUR . We approached the arbour which was located at the side of a lovely pond. It was in fact a memorial to a lady who had passed away , a “ Susan Elizabeth Barton” . We duly paid our respects and sat down on the bench to have our catch up in this lovely place.
I then remembered the cans of lager in my bag, they were still cold unlike Grahams water. We sat in this lovely tranquil area and made a toast to the lady whos memorial we were at. I menitoned to Graham how quiet it was and that you could only just hear the faint whisper of the motorway in the distance, Graham then said jokingly ” well it’s very loud to me pal with my super hearing aid in. Can you hear that ?” he enquired, ” sounds like a Prius to me “ he said laughing as he did. We sat there for some considerable time enjoying the peace watching the swifts diving down onto the surface of the water catching the bugs and the dragon flies skimming around the sky like fighter planes in a dog fight.
Eventually we rejoined the path and I decided we would carry on along the path to see where it would lead us. We eventually came upon a gate where the path seemed to disappear so we headed back the way we came. On our return journey Graham spotted a very old bulldozer sat in a field “ wow looks like that’s been there some time “ Graham remarked.
Once back at the farm gate we turned right but this only led us into a farmyard. We tried to negotiate our way out but couldn’t seem to find a way so we again headed back the way we had come . Later at home , looking at a map of the area I noticed that we probably could have followed the path through the gate and that there was in fact a road out of the farm. An adventure for another time.
We got ourselves onto Ringley Road and rode down until we came to the path on our right that led back onto the canal and back to Nob End. It was here we parted company with the promise of a message when we reached home. Unfortunately for myself, my adventure wasn’t over. Just as I left Graham I got a puncture. Damn what to do , try and fix it or just push it home. I started to push my bike but after some deliberation I took the decision to repair the puncture. After removing the tyre I spotted what had caused the puncture, a large thorn. I couldn’t find the hole in the inner tube so just decided to fit the spare inner tube. Extreme Bikes are always prepared, but in this case not as prepared as we should be. My spare inner tube is a Gel one, meaning it has gel inside so if you get a puncture it automatically seals it.
Unfortunately for me the extreme heat had caused some of the gel to leak through the valve, which in turn meant I couldn’t inflate it.. …. So it was now a slow slog pushing my broken bike home. I messaged Graham to let him know of my predicament and he asked if i needed a lift, I thanked him but said I’d be fine , it’s all part of the Adventure. It wasn’t too long before I was home having a lovely salad made Peggy Lou with a beer alfresco style , that is obviously after I’d messaged Graham.
Fosters? You heathens!