Walks with Industrial Heritage, North West England
Its National Mills weekend, and you can’t move in the North of England without seeing one. Not as many as ye olden days obviously, but its still a marked difference from walking in areas such as the Lake District and The Cotswolds.
I am fascinated by industrial heritage (probably to do with my career in industry) and love walks with sights to see like this. Obviously, we don’t want heavy industry everywhere, and certainly in the past (and sometimes now) its not exactly eco-friendly. However, the industry brought jobs, economic activity and a wealth of infrastructure.
We take them for granted now, but many features we use on walks day-to day such as canals, old railway lines and other public trails are based on industrial revolution created transport routes.
Here I’ve highlighted a few walks around the North West with industrial heritage which are my favourites. I’d love to hear some suggestions for more!
Hardcastle Crags/Gibson Mill and Hebden Bridge Canal
Hebden Bridge is an old mill town which has been through the ups and downs of our industrial rise and fall. Its currently quite a chi-chi place to go (highly recommend for Christmas shopping). You can’t even walk around the town without a wealth of industrial heritage landmarks. The canal is lovely to walk along and this route is a fantastic day out.
The main feature locally is Gibson Mills, right on the river at the National Trust owned Hardcastle Crags area. Its straightforward to walk from Hebden to Hardcastle Crags, or just go for a walk around the crags area. There’s stepping stones, a nice café and eco-toilets – so it’s great for families as well.
Here’s some ideas for routes:
Hardcastle Crags - National Trust
Hardcastle Crags/Hebden Bridge
Ramsbottom to Irwell Vale and Helmshore
I couldn’t leave out the home turf of Ramsbottom – a bit like a mini Hebden, set in a deep valley with lots of industrial heritage.
If you walk from Ramsbottom to Irwell Vale (or further along to Helmshore) you will see a variety of sights. Walking along the south side of the river, follow the Eats Lancashire Railway as well as the Irwell Sculpture Trail - the steam trains make are nostalgic and you will also pass the sculpture ‘Remnant Kings’, celebrating the textile and mining history of the towns.
Irwell Vale is a tiny conservation village which is lovely to wander through as you turn the corner and follow the other side of the river back down to Ramsbottom.
Here’s a link to the Irwell Sculpture Trail
And some shorter Irwell Vale routes – these can be easily extended along the river to Ramsbottom centre:
For even more mills views, try Helmshore which has the Textile Museum
Saltaire
Saltaire is an interesting relic which has been turned into a fantastic resource. The giant old mill owned by Titus Salt has been repurposed as and Art Gallery, Art and Book shop and eating place. The mill and village itself are interesting to walk around, and you can extend the trip by walking along the canal to Five Rise Locks, from where you can look back over the Milla nd chimneys in the distance. You barely need a map as its straightforward to follow the canal as far as you like and then return.
Clitheroe, Lancashire
Right in the centre of Clitheroe sits Holmes Mill, an old textiles mill which has been redeveloped but retaining many industrial features. As a frequenter of this establishment I can confirm they have done a pretty good job of repurposing the old mill.
From here, there are numerous walks you can do (or nearby Pendle Hill of course). Its right in the heart of the Ribble Valley with beautiful countryside in every direction pretty much. Here’s a couple of options:
Share any pics if you try these @enjoyecobox :)
