Wednesday 23rd September 2026

Wednesday 23^rd September 2026

10^th Anniversary of the West Pennine Way, Jumbles, Turton Tower, Cheetham Close.

WE CREATED THE WEST PENNINE WAY WITH A LINK TO THE PENNINE WAY

Five members of our walking group walked the Pennine Way in 17 stages between August 2009 and September 2010.  On route we noticed link routes joining the way which gave us the idea of a link to the West Pennine Moors, then thought, why not a circular route around the West Pennine Moors!

It took five years finding a suitable link route and a circular rural route which went close to all the urban areas around the West Pennine Moors. The most difficult stretch was finding a rural route between Darwen Tower and Clough Head.  We came to the conclusion that this was why a circular route had never been made.  Unfortunately, this is still the most difficult route to walk, because of this a few years ago we made an alternative route just before Longshoot Farm to Clough Head Café.

Today’s walk only covered a short section of the WPW, starting at Jumbles Country Park, we headed along the side of the reservoir to the concrete bridge, which we crossed, and made our way up to Chapeltown Road. Once across the road we followed the WPW to Turton Tower and stopped at the railway bridge, which was the spot where we celebrated the opening of the WPW ten years ago.

Continuing along the route we headed up to Cheetham Close, where we stopped to admire the view before making our way down the hill. Part way down we left the route of the WPW and headed down to Cox Green Road, in Egerton. After turning left, we walked along the road to the driveway, leading to Whittle Hill Farm. At the top of the driveway, we turned right and followed a path to Torra Barn.

From the barn we joined a path, on our right that took us over fairways of Turton Golf Club, and through a very picturesque wood, before going under the railway line, and back to Chapeltown Road.

Once across the road we turned right into Horrobin Lane and headed back to Jumbles Reservoir, where we celebrated the anniversary with tea and cakes in the café.