Once a community mug.........

 Sunday 10th January 2026

A volunteers endeavours.

My local village hall was built in 1930 in memory of Richard Bentley Smalley whose family was heavily involved in the textile machinery manufacturing industry. It was built by R and T Howarth of Rochdale, the same company who built Christies hospital.

Since we bought our house in 2000 the hall had been used infrequently and was deteriorating year by year, not derelict but looking sad. It is a large building as village halls go and takes a lot of resources to keep it going. 

Then thankfully a family saw the potential and along with an other trustee started to make the hall more of a community venue. It has taken 3 years of graft to get to where the hall is today. The changes have been astronomical, the community has really taken the place to their heart and it is now thriving. 

A coffee shop has opened everyday except Monday which has become a hub for numerous activities and a place to gather and chat. It is dog friendly and cycle friendly.

Because of the enthusiasm and commitment of numerous people we decided to offer ourselves as volunteers to do jobs which help to improve the hall. Yes, we have been called "community mugs" by some, but to be honest we don't care. We enjoy it and it is worthwhile.

Hopefully from what you see below will help you understand why we do what we do.

First the grounds of the hall were very overgrown with Brambles, weeds and Himalayan balsam. What used to be a car park was an 8ft high jungle, this was one of our jobs to clear. We spent weeks and weeks cutting, strimming, clearing, filling waste bin after waste bin until we found the boundary line. Once the area was dug out of the bramble roots good soil was added and the planting started.

Above photographs of where the car park used to be The building at the back is an electric transformer and the hall boundary.

After many weeks of sore hands, bad backs, insect bites, bramble rash we made progress and today it looks like the photographs below. There was also a small garden at the front of the hall which we did as well.

The refurbished car park and the boundary cleared.

The planting has begun.

Looking better. (The broken flags have been replaced)

The sheep in the adjacent field are very inquisitive.

Starting work on the front garden

Finished.

While the gardening was being done others were painting the exterior which had not been done for a very long time. Part of the hall at the rear was quite high and a local firm kindly lent us a cherry picker.

Inside the hall, the coffee cupboard was doing well and thriving. Locals had put together a drama group, a knitting circle, table tennis as well as children uniform groups. 

The next really big job was the stage or I should say under the stage. This area was jam packed with donkeys years of junk which was damp and mouldy and needed to be removed. This was completed with numerous large skip loads of waste. I should have taken photographs of before and after but I didn't.

Due to the "Cellar" as we call it, being draughty, it was quite noticeable and so we insulated the walls and ceiling and then plaster boarded the room. Lighting was installed and power sockets added. Today it is heated storage space and a small workshop area.

During under stage "The Cellar", renovation. 

Under the stage as it used to look, a cold, dark, damp waste of space.

Installing the insulation.

Installing the plasterboard.

Fitting the new storage shelving.

Most important part of the job. We rehearsed this numerous times.

The next big job was the floors which hadn't been touched since the 2nd world war when the hall was a war kitchen. Some damage must have occurred during this time because a section of the main hall floor was replaced. Originally the floor was Maple but the repair was done in Oak.

Before we set about doing the main hall which measures 178 square metres it was decided that it would be a good idea to "learn" on a smaller area. So a small side room was done first. This was a success and next we emptied the coffee shop and did the floor in there. Then the main hall was sanded, edge painted, repaired in places and then five coats of finish was applied.

Having sanded and cleaned the floor its time to apply the finish.

Then the side corridor.

With what we learned from doing the small room we then started on the Coffee Shop. The floor was heavily marked and took a lot of sanding.

Post sanding the floor was washed with white spirit and then four coats of finish was applied.

The "A" Team

The Coffee Cupboard re-installed.

After a few days break the big job, the main hall,  had to be done while the hall was closed over Christmas.

Sanding completed. Then it was a matter of repairing damaged parts. You can see on the above photo (where the lads are) the slightly different colour of the oak wood against the maple.

We spent a day cleaning the floor and then as much of the hall as we could. The edges of the floor was stained with ebony colour prior to the finish.

After five coats of lacquer the job was completed.

That's where we are today. Obviously lots of other jobs/tasks have been done including the installation of solar panels on the hall roof, scenery for the plays, sound system improvements, many which I haven't gone into in this blog post. People have given up hours and hours to get to this point. It has been challenging and just like your home it never ends. 

The enthusiasm has been amazing and everyone deserves a pat on the back. What a great community.

GM Ringway Trail Stage 16. Wigan to Leigh.

 Wednesday 19th November 2025

Official Distance 16.3km.             Unofficial Distance around 17km due to Meandering off trail.

Who was on the hike? Martin, Sue, Paul, Jeanette, Sheila, Myself and Rufus the Bedlington Terrier.

Weather:- Cold, Dry and Bright with no wind.

Sheila and I started the day with a bus ride to the railway station where we caught the train to Manchester Victoria and then another train to Wigan Wallgate. Surprisingly all transport was on time and was an enjoyable journey. We arrived in Wigan at 10.40am where we were to meet the others at 11.07am.

Across the road from the station is the Station Cafe (aptly named) and that was where we decided to wait, partaking in a very nice coffee. The cafe is a lovely place and there were numerous people enjoying the Mega Breakfast which was very tempting. On the walls can be found many phrases about life. For example, " Live each day as if it was your last, because one day it will be"

Through the windows we watched numerous feral kids behaving without respect for others or the Police. Very sad to see as Wigan is a decent enough place but the Town Centre really does need to eradicate this sort of person. (Not that it is alone with problems on the street).

11.10am came and out of the station the rest of the party arrived, also having a coffee before setting off down the high street towards the Leeds to Liverpool Canal and Wigan Pier, famous for Northern Soul and George Orwell of course. There is a museum at the pier but we didn't have the time to pay it a visit.

The towpath area is a pleasant walk and in very good condition with many new builds and nicely restored old warehouses converted into apartments along the banks. A number of older cottages have been kept and looked splendid. We noticed the old stone drain which I presumed was far cheaper than getting wrought iron grids and also a benchmark on the bridge.

A stone drainage grid.

Ordnance Survey Benchmark.

At a three way junction in the canal a modern footbridge bridge has been erected, it wasn't built when the canal was built, but it begs the question "why not?" 

A pleasant aspect to the towpath.

Following the canal, the path leads between two of the Wigan Flashes, Scotsman's and Pearsons. Thomas Pearson was a Millwright and engineer and his Colliery, operated by Pearson and Knowles was close by. The name Scotsman is all rather vague, some say because the land was owned by a Scotsman but I find this a little too simple. The name Flash's came about because the area had massive subsidence caused by the mines. These then filled with water in a "Flash". The name stuck.

Today the large bodies of water are nature reserves and water based sports. We spotted a bird eating a large fish in Scotsman's Flash and at first we thought it was real. The sun was low down and in our eyes but it soon became obvious that it was a sculpture of sorts. I cannot find anything about it. The canal itself is a masterpiece of engineering at this location considering it was built prior to the formation of the Flash's.

The towpath between Scotsman's Flash and the canal, Pearsons flash is behind the canal to the left.

Bird with fish sculpture.

A slight narrowing of the canal used to be the location of a swing bridge which was part of the Mineral Railway from Park Colliery (Now gone). The line is now gone and it is being used as a footpath but due to yesterdays heavy rain it was a little boggy.

Along the path there is an information board telling about butterflies. There is also an engraving by Phillip Garrett but I completely missed it. I wonder if any of the others spotted it.

Photo courtesy of Clara Paillard.

The footpath curved left leaving the original route of the railway and brought us to the entrance of Park House which must have been a fine residence once but now just a shell remains. I guess that the house would have had some relevance to Park Lane Colliery. The colliery had at least 3 deep shafts and was operational from 1859 until 1962. Mercer, Evans and Thompson were the first owners then Garswood Coal and Iron company owned the pits from 1877 to 1929 then later Landgate colliery company and finally The National Coalboard.

The sad remains of Park House is being overtaken by nature, it must have been empty for quite sometime. I had a quick look around and took a couple of photographs for historical purposes and also found a named brick which was a bonus.

The brick was marked AW and I immediately thought of Alfred Wainwright who was affectionately known as AW. However this AW was from a brick works Ackers and Whitley formed in 1840 in Abram,  just down the road from Park House. John Whitely was the owner of the Bickershaw Estates and Abraham Ackers was the owner of the Abram Coal Company.

Acker's Whitley brick. 

Park House in need of a bit of DIY.

The path which I guess was the driveway to Park House had good views across to Winter Hill with the mast just visible today. It led us to Land Gate Lane which on the OS map looks as though it is just a footpath or "Green Lane". In reality it is a wide, busy rat run for construction vehicles which took us a bit by surprise. We crossed the railway bridge but couldn't see the line below because of the new high walls. 

Winter Hill in the distance.

Land Gate Lane. (No idea why Sheila is walking in the opposite direction.)

A narrow path on the right just prior to reaching Bryn Hall Farm Units led us across fields and a boardwalk through a bullrush moss. Here we came across a large swan who wasn't a bit bothered about us being on his or her path, this led us to an aptly positioned Picnic Bench where we had our lunch. 

The sound of racing cars from The Three Sisters racing circuit was quite loud. The track was built on what was The Garswood Hall Colliery which closed in 1958. The three sisters name came from three very large spoil heaps in the area, also known as the Wigan Alps.

We had about 30 minutes for lunch and then made our way through fields then crossing the busy A58 road before another railway and a small brook via its well made footbridge to the small canal side former hamlet of Dover. We came out at the Dover Lock Public House which was sadly burnt down in 2021 and nothing has been done with it since. This pub has a long history being originally named the White Lion until 1858 when it changed to The Red Lion. The pub was then "Moved" around 1830 to a more profitable position beside the main road and the canal lock and renamed the Dover Lock. Another interesting bit of history was the locks themselves which had to be removed from the canal due to coal mining subsidence.

The Dover Lock Inn

Walking further down the canal towpath we passed what used to be two bridges associated with the railway. The first being the Wigan Junction branch line, this ran from Wigan to Glazebrook where it joined the Cheshire Line. It opened in 1884 and closed in the 1960's.  The second being the West Leigh Line which went north to join the Eccles, Tyldsley and Wigan line and south to join the Bedford-Leigh Line. It opened in 1828 and closed in 1968. The line was repurposed as the A579 road and we come to that later. The area used to be surrounded by railway lines, tramways and mineral lines and you could do a post just on this subject alone.

One of the two bridge parapets of the redundant railways.

Crossing Plank Lane Draw Bridge we stopped to admire what has been achieved with the grounds that used to be Bickershaw colliery. Now it is a narrow boat marina with very nice waterside apartments. It is named Ackers and Whitley, the same as the brick we found earlier. 

Some of us  were not paying attention to the designated route here and we must have gone 3-400 metres along the towpath before turning back and heading off south at Plank Lane bridge. It is what I call just a meander.

Plank Bridge was so different just a few years ago with numerous terraced houses aligning the main road and the Britania hotel which stood on the north side of the bridge now all gone. Quite a few local pubs have also disappeared but its easy to imagine that such a large colliery complex would have had lots of pubs, fish and chip shops, grocery stores etc.

Old image of the Brittania Hotel now demolished.

A time of reflection.

As it was we now walked through what was once  the living rooms of the Terrance houses and into Pennington Flash country park. This is a huge body of water at 170 acres. The park itself totals 858 acres. It opened in 1981and was formed once again due to coal mining subsidence. It is a Mecca for twitchers, dog walkers, hikers and those that just want a day out. The visitor centre and cafe is modern and clean. 

We found a picnic bench at the waterside and used the last of our coffee and snack before continuing on the short walk which crossed the Glaze Brook and through a busy Leigh town to catch the V1 bus into Manchester City Centre. The V1 uses the A579 road and in parts it is a self guided bus lane with limited stops. The first time I have been on it and it is a fantastic way to commute into Manchester and back.

Pennington Flash Brew stop.

The visitor centre just before sunset.

Glaze Brook.

That brought us to the end of another stage of the GM Ringway trail and it will probably be our last stage until 2026 as we have lots of commitments during December. Martin and Sue plus others will probably finish the route during December and you can keep up with Martin's blog by clicking HERE.

Today's route.