Nine riders turned up at Healey Dell on a beautiful autumn day for one of my favourite rides in the area, never far from Rochdale or Heywood but seemingly lost in a rural paradise!
Up and up we went at the start, on cobbles past the award winning restored hamlet of Prickshaw then up and up again along Rooley Moor Road - the killer climb on the Mary Towneley Loop until we crested the enigmatically named Whimsey Hill to descend along a rough bridleway towards Naden reservoirs. Here the United Utililtes' ranger, Dan, was waiting to open the gates for the crossing of the dam - special permission had been granted to ride over the dam! However Dan had to wait rather longer than expected as I had a puncture - a snakebite brought about by my own stupidity - jumping over the drainage ditches and landing rather too heavily!
Once across the dam we headed along a bridleway which takes us alongside Greenbooth reservoir and climbs up towards Higher Naden, if you spot the right track. Several failed attempts later we did eventually climb up out of the valley and rolled down to the start of Rolling Boar Lane - a name that came back to haunt me - a rather muddy track with a steep push up at the end to the rather picturesque former mill hamlet of Red Lumb.
Some challenging tracks took us to Ashworth Moor reservoir whence began the search for Trish’s trysting tavern of her youth - the Ashworth Arms! Eventually we found it - now the Ashworth View Nursery School, passed it and began a lovely looping descent on tracks and tarmac to Birtle and thence Heywood for lunch. A little detour around Birtle Church led to a challenging descent over bare and rather slippery rock on a little gem of a track before we popped out onto tarmac and set off for Heywood along another little used and rather puddley bridleway. Having crossed the main Rochdale to Heywood road we followed a cycle route into the woods above the Roch Valley. This in the past has ended at a private house and we have previously used a bit of footpath to get by. This time I chose to get on the path a bit too early leaving us with a very narrow ledge to traverse with a precipitous drop on one side. Sensible folks retreated - others pressed only to find that after the constriction, there was a gateway onto the wide track, seemingly legitimate as the new Bury Cycle Map shows it now as a through route! So much for foresight and planning on my behalf! Down through the woodland trail we went, carpeted with fallen leaves and crunching fallen chestnuts under wheel we popped out at the bridge over the Roch now in a spectacular and secluded gorge only half a mile from the centre of Heywood!
After a good lunch in Wetherspoons - where else can yo get a mixed grill for £4.99! - we set off back towards Castleton and then along the Rochdale Canal to pick up cycle route 92 to skirt Rochdale on the eastern side, amazingly off road 90% of the way. Although in theory this is an easy return, in practice you are slowly grinding your way back to regain all the height you lost on the lovely drop down to the Roch Valley! Still happy but tired we all arrived back at the start in good spirits - well nearly all as Phil had said his farewells earlier when he was in touching distance of home!
Thanks everyone for great company.
Rob Newton
View Roger's photos and videos on Flickr here:
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