Irwell Valley - Bury to Salford

Walking the Irwell Valley Sculpture Trail

May 28, 2015 Palfreyman

OS Map 277 - Manchester & Salford (Oldham; Rochdale & Stockport) 1:25000 refers

This linear walk of approximately eleven miles from Bury to Salford follows the Irwell Valley Sculpture Trail. For convenience the author used public transport taking the train from Wigan Wallgate to Manchester Victoria then the Metrolink tram to Bury Interchange, returning to the start point using the regular train service from Salford Crescent. Decent footwear is advisable although the route is generally paved and well maintained long stretches of cobble stones being the main obstacle for walkers. The walk starts from the ELR station in Bolton Street, if you are driving there is ample parking on the Irwell Street Car Park (pay and display by the hour or flat fee of £1 on Sundays). Follow the signs to the station, the car park is close by. On leaving Bury Interchange or the car park head west using the underpasses to reach and join the footpath as it follows the Irwell Valley and the disused railway line to the south. Once on the trail the signage is generally easy to follow but walkers should be aware that there is ample scope for error especially when leaving the Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal towpath just south of Radcliffe to rejoin the disused railway after crossing the Irwell by footbridge. Walkers should also note that the footbridge over the Irwell at Lower Kersal in Salford will be closed between March and December 2015, the author has appended an alternative route to map 3 avoiding the route closure. My particular walk ends on the A6 at the side of Salford University's Maxwell Building from where it is just a short walk to the right to Salford Crescent station. The Irwell Valley Trail continues for a further short distance into Manchester City Centre or alternatively it is just a short walk to Salford Quays.

Some Waypoints

To see the walk in pictures:

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Farthingale Publications: ..... Is a hobby web site containing articles of local interest to Lancastrians, some favourite walking and cycling routes, selected words and poetry, and some writings of more general nature as well as the authors own picture gallery. Access is available via the homepage and menu at the head of the page or via one of the direct links below.

Local Interest: A Cricket Calypso; A Lancashire Lullaby; Dust Upon God's Fair Earth; God's Choir; Isaac Watts 1674 - 1748; It's a Funny Life; John Byrom 1692 - 1793; John Lancaster Wigan MP; Jubilee Park Memorial, Ashton in Makerfield; Little Ships at War 1918; Mind Your Language; Not Much of a Warrior; Peveril of the Peak; Private Thomas Whitham VC; Richmond Hill Dairies; Scot Lane School Wigan; The Brocklebank Line; The Holy City Liverpool; The Lindsays of Haigh; The Nurburgring 1960; Thomas Aspinwall Miners Agent; Thomas Aspinwall Obituary; Thomas Linacre School Wigan; Upholland Telephone Exchange; Wigan Advertisements 1960; Wigan Old Bank 1792; Wigan Soldier Missing in Action.

Walking & Cycling: Abbey Lakes to Coppull Moor; A Lancashire Linear Walk; Blackrod or Bust; Chorley Ice Cream Walk; Cycle the Monsal Trail; Cycle the Sankey Valley; Douglas Valley Dawdle; Freshfield to Crosby; Haigh to Borsdane Wood; Irwell Valley Trail (Bury to Rawtenstall); Irwell Valley Trail (Bury to Salford); Moss Eccles Tarn; Three Counties Cycle Ride; Wigan Circular by Bike.

Words & Poetry: A Lancashire Mon; A Legend of Montrose; A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea; Aw’ve Turned me bit O' Garden O'er; Boat Song; Calm is the Sea; David Copperfield; Dombey and Son; Dover Harbour; Dust upon God's Fair Earth; God Bless these Poor Wimmen that's Childer; High Flight; Hymn Before Action; Jeff Unsworth's dialect poetry; King Cotton; Martin Chuzzlewit; Martyrs of the Arena; Mind Your Language; Only a Cranky Owd Foo'; On Th' Hills; Redgauntlet; Rogue Herries; The Antiquary; The Armada; The Bride of Lammermoor; Th' Coartin' Neet; The Cottage; The Darkling Thrush; The Donkey; The Fair Rosamond; The Fair Rosamond Comic; The Family Man; The Glory of the Garden; The Heart of Midlothian; The Pickwick Papers; The Rolling English Road; The Wanderer; The Wreck of the Hesperus; Toddlin' Whoam; Tommy; When Winds Breathe Soft; Wisdom.

Wallgate Chronicles: Adolphe Adam; A Tale of Two Cities; A Walk in the Hills; Barnaby Rudge; Bookcase; Cat Bells; Desert Island Discs; Eay Times Uv Changed; Fidelio; Frank Whittle and the Jet Engine; Fun with Trigonometry; Hard Times; Hugo Boss comes to Wigan; In the footsteps of the Manchester Rambler; Ivanhoe; Little Dorrit; Lohengrin; Nicholas Nickleby; Our Mutual Friend; Rob Roy; Romance on a Budget; Semele; Surprise at the Philharmonic; The Battle of Solferino; The Bohemian Girl; The Fair Maid of Perth; The Force of Destiny; The Getaway Car; The Marriage of Figaro; The Old Curiosity Shop; The Ravioli Room; The Spectroscope; The Switchroom Wigan; Travels in Time 1960; Travels in Time 2010.