Just Another Day In The West Pennines...

Tour of Turton

 After several days of rain and feeling a little 'stir crazy', I had an idea for a walk that could give me the opportunity to take some photographs. I parked on the outskirts of Edgworth Village and made my way to my first location Wayoh Reservoir Outlet. I had hoped that after the continuous rain of the past few days there would be lots of water pouring down the sinkhole creating spray and mist.

Wayoh Reservoir with it's unusual sinkhole

The resulting photo was disappointing, not much spray and an overcast day, but as my dad used to say "if every time you went out you got a great photo there wouldn't be as much fun in it". 

However it's still an impressive piece of engineering and a sight which never fails to impress and stimulate (the stimulation coming from either the ions or the fear of falling in). I carried on round the reservoir with a quick look back to Edgworth.

Wayoh Reservoir with Edgworth in the distance.

My next location for a good 'water shot' was to be the overflow from Entwistle Reservoir. On the way I also wanted to try and get a close up view of Armsgrove Viaduct. 

As told in a earlier blog it was originally built to span Bradshaw Brook in 1847-48 utilising 3 ton blocks of stone brought from Stanworth Delph at Withnell. During construction, in an effort to speed up progress, the stonemasons were offered an unprecedented rate of six shillings and six pence (about 32½ p) per day.

Armsgrove Viaduct - Blackburn, Darwen & Bolton Railway Company

In summer the surrounding trees with their leaves make it very difficult to see the viaduct clearly from up close, so in winter with no leaves on the trees I scrambled up and down the steep bank and along the waters edge to try and get a clear view.

Armsgrove Viaduct - Wayoh Reservoir

The photo I wanted was still obscured by branches but at least in winter the viaduct could be seen. The next photo gives a clearer view of the warmth of the brick and the contrasting grandeur of the stone. The work of the Victorian engineers never ceases to impress.

Armsgrove Viaduct

I arrived at my next location, the overflow from Entwistle Reservoir Dam which when constructed in 1832, at 108 feet, was the highest in Britain.

I couldn't resist the temptation of comparing the same photograph of the overflow at several different shutter speeds and two are illustrated below.

Shutter Speed 1/160 sec.  Aperture  f4.5                                                                  Shutter Speed 1/2 sec.  Aperture f29

Close up and facing the waterfall I was getting the full spray in my face and camera, so I sheltered behind a tree, set my camera up for one shot, quickly turned into the spray while steadying my camera against the tree, took a photo, swung back behind the tree, adjusted the camera and repeated the process. 

There are two schools of thought on photographing flowing water, some photographers like sharp images that are full of detail and that capture drops of water these are obtained by using fast  shutter speeds, however most photographers like the dreamy, blurry, misty effect created by using slower shutter speeds. There is no right or wrong it's just down to personal preference. Of course in better conditions using a tripod and an ND filter it would be even more of a contrast but I think my photos illustrate the point nicely.

After leaving Entwistle Reservoir it was now time to climb up on to the moor in the hope of better light.

Bolton Corporation Boundary Post with Winter Hill in the background.

 

I went straight up on to Cheetham Close passing on the way an old yellow iron post marking Bolton Corporation Boundary and the limits of it's Waterworks Department catchment area.

Waterworks Boundary

Passport at the ready, I cleared immigration and entered Bolton along Witton Weavers Way.

Looking back along Witton Weavers Way toward Turton Heights

The weather was starting to look threatening with the sun just sinking under the dark clouds.

Looking over Edgworth to Bull Hill, Holcombe Moor

I carried on in the direction of Bolton with good views towards Manchester.

Towards Manchester

Dropping back down off the moor towards Turton I spotted these trees with a distinctive windswept shape silhouetted against the threatening skies.

Symbolic of the West Pennine Moors

Windswept trees are commonly seen all over the West Pennine Moor and the image is also featured in the WPM logo.




Coming down off the moor and making my way towards Turton Tower I had a perfect view of Chapeltown with Holcombe Moor in the background and Peel Tower showing in the distance.

St. Annes Church, Chapeltown with Peel Tower in the background

Arriving at Turton Tower from behind you cross a railway bridge with two distinctive turrets.

Turret forming Turton Tower Railway Bridge

Of course you can't resist the temptation to climb the steps for a view from the top and you see the single railway track stretching north toward Blackburn. 

The view from the top.

The bridge and turrets were built in 1847-48 by James Kay of Turton Tower, who not surprisingly was a director of the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Company. (No one else got a bridge like that outside their house).

Turton Tower

There has been a defence fortress on the site of Turton Tower since the early 1400's, the original simple structure was extended by the Orrell family into a lavish house but in doing so they overspent and were forced to sell to Humphrey Chetham in 1628. The Orrell’s however rented it back from him and continued to live at the tower. During the civil war (1642-1650) the Orrell's were Cavaliers and the Chetham's were Roundheads so this must have made for interesting times especially when Chetham garrisoned his troops at the estate! It was the arrival of the Kay family in 1835 that saw Turton Tower transformed into the Gothic, Mock-Tudor building we see today.

I left the tower and turned down the main road towards Chapeltown  in less than 200 metres I turned onto a footpath by the Second World War Pillbox.

In 1940 a network of defences was hastily built all over the British Isles to prevent an anticipated German invasion, amongst these were pillboxes, squat concrete fortifications located at strategic points.

In Lancashire the main invasion threat came from what was considered to be German plans to occupy Ireland, and if this had come about the flat sandy beaches of Lancashire would have been a potential landing site for German forces. These elaborate plans however were just a red-herring, an attempt to divert resources away from other potential invasion sites.

WWII Pillbox

The pillbox was strategically sited so the Home Guard would be able to protect the reservoirs in the area and Horrobin Mill, which was used for wartime storage.

I cross the fields towards Jumbles Reservoir and took this photo looking back over Chapeltown and thought of "Captain Mannering and Dad's Army".

Another view of St Annes Church and Chapeltown.

Dropping down to Jumbles it was time to keep moving because I wanted to walk round the reservoir before retuning to Edgworth and Wayoh. I made my way quickly round to the far end of the reservoir where the dam is and took a photograph of the water coming from the outflow.

Jumbles Reservoir Dam Outflow

I was informed by one of the local visitors to Jumbles that it was very unusual to see this amount of water coming out of the reservoir. 

Interestingly this outflow of water is still Bradshaw Brook which was the brook over which Armsgrove Viaduct was originally built.

Bradshaw Brook whose source is somewhere high on the moors of Turton and Darwen flows down into the reservoirs of Entwistle then Wayoh and then Jumbles, providing Bolton with over 50% of it's water. (Blackburn and Darwen water really!") 

Jumbles Reservoir

I pressed on round Jumbles and made my way back to Wayoh and home for dinner but not before grabbing this last shot of the late afternoon sun low over Jumbles Reservoir. 

The walk, just under 10 miles, had been full of interest and history, yet another Grand Day Out In The West Pennine Moors.