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Wigan's industrial past

Recommended by

Our view

"A walk to challenge preconceptions, full of wildlife and historical nuances."

Walk directions

Leaving the bottom corner of the car park, turn right between the golf shop and The Stables, which house the visitor facilities. Walk down to the hall, which commands a fine view. Return up the drive, but leave immediately up steps on the right. Keep ahead at the top past a signpost indicating Woodland Trails. Over to the left, the Lily Pond once fronted glasshouses containing exotic plants, while beyond a crazy golf course are the walled gardens, worth a look if you have time. The route sticks to the main track through the woods, eventually crossing a miniature railway line.

Carry on past the Swan Pond, shortly reaching a junction by another railway crossing. Go left over the track to Mowpin Lodge and there turn right on a broad track. Keep with the main trail, which descends gently through the trees and eventually meets the main drive. Turn left, walking down to a bridge across the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Lanes, tow paths and good tracks

Landscape - Woods and arable farmland

Dog friendliness - Dogs on leads

Parking - Pay-and-display car park at Haigh Country Park

Toilets en route - At the Stables near the start

Walks in Greater Manchester

About the walk

During a trip to the North of England in 1936, George Orwell spent a month amongst the miners and mill workers of Wigan. The Road to Wigan Pier appeared the following year, giving a first-hand account of the hardships of working-class life. The book did little for Wigan's image and the town became... a standard butt of music hall jokes. But Wigan was little different from many others whose fortunes rested on industrial graft in an age when labour and life was cheap. Today, the mines, mills and heavy engineering have gone and it is difficult to envisage the life that existed until not that long ago. Perhaps one of the best places to search is, not the town itself, but the nearby countryside, where the canal, old railways, capped coal mines and isolated cottages can still be seen in the context of the landscape. Mining had been carried out around Wigan for centuries. The Bradshaighs, who held the Haigh Estate from around 1300, were digging coal and cannel from the 15th century and the Reverend John Chisenhale, who live at moated Arley Hall had considerable mining interests. Hidden amongst the Haigh plantations are the scars of collapsed bell mines. In fact, it is reported that there were once more than 1,000 pit shafts in and around Wigan. The coal was used locally or taken out on packhorse until the River Douglas was made navigable in 1742, giving an outlet to the sea via the Ribble estuary below Preston. But it was the arrival of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in 1781 that brought change beyond recognition, stimulating the growth of the coalfields and the expansion of the textile industry. The damp climate suited cotton production, with fast-flowing streams like the River Douglas powering early mills. The advent of the Steam Age saw massive mills springing up beside the canal, which brought in raw cotton and coal and took away the finished product. Railways also played their part and this corner of Lancashire was criss-crossed with innumerable branch lines serving the many pits and cotton factories. Most, like that at Red Rock on the Lancashire Union Railway, which ran between Blackburn and St Helens, closed in the mid-20th century. The station is now a private house, but when operational it included a private waiting room for Haigh Hall. The present Haigh Hall was completed in 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, and much of the work in the plantations provided employment during the Cotton Famine of 1860. Since 1949, the park has been run by the local authority and is a popular venue with Wigan's residents.

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About the area

The Greater Manchester conurbation incorporates the towns of Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport and Wigan, and has the vibrant city of Manchester as its administrative headquarters. Manchester was founded in Roman times, and developed during the 17th century as a textile town, becoming the centre of the English cotton industry.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

6.75 miles (10.9kms)

Ascent:

450ft (137m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Wigan's industrial past

Recommended by

Our view

"A walk to challenge preconceptions, full of wildlife and historical nuances."

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

6.75 miles (10.9kms)

Ascent:

450ft (137m)

Walk directions

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2 of 7

Cross and immediately drop right onto the tow path, walking away to cross a small stone bridge over the mouth of a loading basin. Just beyond, drop left and then bear right through a kissing gate into the new plantation of Lady Mabel's Wood. Follow the perimeter path left, eventually dropping out at the far bottom corner onto Hall Lane. Go right, crossing a bridge over the disused Whelley Loop Line to reach a junction above a high viaduct taking the lane across the Douglas Valley.

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The route, however, is along the valley to the right on Wingates Road. After 0.5 miles (800m), keep ahead at a fork, beyond which the lane degrades to a track and begins to climb from the valley. Pass beneath a viaduct and the abutments of a disused bridge, both remnants of the same line crossed earlier. Beyond, the track leaves the woods and eventually approaches the canal.

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Drop left to the tow path and follow it north for just over a mile (1.6km), passing beneath a roadbridge at Red Rock and then over an aqueduct spanning the Lancashire Union Railway. It eventually leads to Bridge 64 by the moated Arley Hall.

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Cross the canal and drop right to a path back through trees on the opposite bank. Beyond the aqueduct, the path curves away to cottages. Walk around the front and follow a track out to a lane. Cross to a drive between houses opposite, which winds across the fields to Bawk House Farm. Continue ahead past the buildings and a farm beyond to a T-junction by Pendlebury Cottage.

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Turn right, but just before a bridge, go left on a canalside path. Leave at the next bridge along a track that climbs left to meet School Lane. Turn right back to the car park.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Lanes, tow paths and good tracks

Landscape - Woods and arable farmland

Dog friendliness - Dogs on leads

Parking - Pay-and-display car park at Haigh Country Park

Toilets en route - At the Stables near the start

Walks in Greater Manchester

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Greater Manchester

Wigan's industrial past

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Walking in Safety

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Wigan's industrial past

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