“… there are no fish, no insects, no weeds, no life of any kind except sewage fungus, nothing but chemicals and any dirt which cannot be put to profitable use ..”

The inspiration for doing this walk came from reading Cyril Bracegirdle’s “Dark River” … written in the 1970s, and in far grimmer times for the river. It paints a prophetically optimistic picture for the Irwell’s future revival.

This is the first of three walks that trace the course of the main rivers flowing into my home city of Manchester.

The River Irwell rises on Deerplay Moor above Bacup. It meanders for 39 miles until it merges with the River Mersey at Irlam. Along the way it flows through Manchester, forming a natural barrier with its neighbour … Salford.

The river was navigable in the early years of the cities’ developments. During the Industrial Revolution, the banks of the Irwell became home to a wide variety of factories and mills … the effluent from those establishments transformed it from a fish thriving waterway into a deadly drain!

In more recent times, huge efforts to reinvigorate the river have born fruit … fish and other wildlife have returned and the poison-spewing factories have been replaced with swanky apartments and hotels through the city centre!

My route hugs the river as close as possible, using a variety of pleasurable trails and paths (not always easy to follow, due to poor waymarking!).

I was mesmerised by the industrial ruins and more modern quirky features that I encountered along the way and have tried to replicate and share, in photo format, some of the intriguing sights I witnessed en-route.

Irwell Springs, Deerplay Moor

Deerplay Colliery, Deerplay Moor

Irwell Springs Bleach Dye & Print Works, Weir

Cow Toot, Bacup

Irwell Inn, Bacup

Acre Mill, Nun Hills

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, Glen Top

Disused Football Ground, Ewood Bridge

Ramsbottom Bridge

Square Works, Ramsbottom

Nuttall Park, Ramsbottom

Wellington Old Mills, Elton

Bealeys Weir, Warth

Irwell Bleach & Dye Works, Redvales

Old Bridge, Blackford Bridge

Mount Sion Weir, Bottom o’th’ Fields

Pilkington Tile Works, Clifton

Agecroft Bridge, Rainsough

Kersal Cell, Salford

Kersal Wetlands ~ the site of Manchester Racecourse

Racecourse, Lower Broughton

Peel Park, The Crescent

Greengate Fountains ~ the site of Victoria Bus Station

Ordsall Hall, Salford

Media City, Salford Quays ~ ‘Manchester Docks’, Salford

City Airport, Barton

Irlam Locks

Irwell meets Mersey … journey’s end!

POSTSCRIPT – when the Manchester Ship Canal was constructed in the late 19th century, the meandering old courses of the Irwell and Mersey were sliced through in brutal Victorian fashion and their waters stolen to maintain the canal’s own level. Very little now exists of the old course of the Irwell except for the odd strange stranded ‘pond’. The images below show the old joining point and the last remnants of the original Irwell.

Boat House, Irlam

Could this be the old ending? … obliterated by modernity!

I dedicate this walk to a dear friend John Dalton, who was born on Wainman Street, Salford 6 … I think he’d have enjoyed this project!

John Dalton 1945 – 2019

Wainman Street … only yards away from the river!

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – my thanks to Linda, my much loved ‘other half’, for accompanying me around the Radcliffe and Prestwich sections. Through Salford I was also joined by Chris (another Lower Broughton lad) … a raconteur extraordinaire!

STATISTICS FOR MY ROUTE: 48.47 MILES / 2029 FEET OF ASCENT / 3335 FEET OF DESCENT

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River Ogden Walk

Although the River Ogden is a “minor river”, it is a tributary of the Irwell and therefore warrants exploration … by way of a five mile walk.

Beginning on the moors of Haslingden Grane as Ogden Brook, it heads east, feeding Ogden and Calf Hey Reservoirs (Bury Water Board). It then passes through the Holden Wood Reservoir and collects Swinnel Brook in an area historically known as The Trippet of Ogden, becoming the River Ogden. Turning to the south, it passes through the Helmshore area of Haslingden where it is met by Musbury Brook and then Alden Brook, overlooked by Musbury Tor. Heading southeast it joins the River Irwell at Irwell Vale.

Source and Confluence

Lower Ormerod Farm and Loom

Musbury Quarry Tramway

Helmshore Textile Mill Museum

Helmshore Clocktower

“Little Blackpool” and a tenuous connection in a nearby field!!!

Irwell Vale Mill (remains)

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION … River Roch Walk

Another tributary of the Irwell, this can be enjoyed as a lovely walk or the myriad of historical gems it encounters on its journey

The River Roch starts its life on Chelburn Moor, Pennines … high above Littleborough. The River Roch’s Journey

The river flows south through a town called Littleborough. Then it reaches Rochdale. In Rochdale, two other rivers join it: the River Beal at Belfield, and the River Spodden from Whitworth.

After Rochdale, the river turns west. It flows past Heywood and Bury. Finally, it meets the River Irwell just east of Radcliffe.

History of the River Roch

The name of the town, Rochdale, comes from the river. Long ago, in the Domesday Book (a famous old record), the town was called Recedham. This name came from old English words meaning “hall” and “homestead.”

Over time, the town’s name changed to Rachedale and then to Rochdale. The river’s name, Roch, came from the town’s name. It’s pronounced with a long ‘o’ sound. But the town’s name, Rochdale, is said with a short ‘o’ sound.

The River Under the Town

For many years, the River Roch has flowed under the town centre of Rochdale. This happened in the early 1900s. Seven bridges were joined together to create one very wide bridge over the river. This made it one of the widest bridges in the world!

In the 1990s, workers did maintenance on this bridge. For a short time, parts of the river were uncovered. Then, in 2015, a big project began to uncover the river again in the town centre.

However, on Boxing Day in 2015, there was very heavy rain. The River Roch burst its banks, causing floods in the town centre.

Rivers Joining the Roch

Many smaller streams and rivers flow into the River Roch. These are called tributaries. Here are some of them, listed as you go upstream from where the Roch meets the River Irwell: