15th May 2025.
On the spur of the moment we decided to walk to Rochdale and visit the wonderful Town hall which has opened after a complete refurb. It cost £20 million of which £8.9 million came from the National Lottery.
We made our way to the towpath of the Rochdale Canal, parking can be had at the Hopwood Arms or the Canal and Rivertrust car park adjacent to the petrol station. (Please note that the clock time on any photo is incorrect.)
The weather was warm and very calm which had helped the Hawthorn and Blackthorn trees to flower and give a good show all along the banks. The bird song from Wrens and Chaffinches followed us loudly.
We headed towards the Township of Castleton, once a bustling hub of factories and mills but now is a shadow of its former self. The church tower of St. Martins dominated the view across farmland.
The above photograph shows where the canal splits. The LH branch which is now slightly covered by a floating habitat was originally the canal which went to Heywood. This canal was opened in 1834 and worked until abandoned in 1937. In 1952 the canal was disused and sections filled in as the M62 motorway was built just beyond the trees in the photo.
The RH branch is our route, the Rochdale Canal which was re-routed during the canal restoration works passing under the M62 motorway.
The pre-cast concrete tunnel under the M62 motorway with the floating walkway which can be floated out of the way if a "wide beam" canal boat needs to pass through.
Looking north towards Castleton.
The original canal bridge built in 1803/4.
Bridge over Rochdale Rd, Castleton.
As we passed through Castleton the area on the left of the above photo which is now a brown field site used to be a section of the Old Castleton Railway station and buildings belonging the Tweedale and Smalley Globe Textile Mill. There was a mass of chimneys, noise and people here. Today all quiet except for the odd mill and factory.
We follow the canal towpath getting closer to Rochdale, we have only seen two dog walkers so far on route. The day is certainly warming up. Walking this section so far does not give you any sense that you are approaching a fairly large town and suburbs, but that changes soon.
From Castleton looking across to Scout Moor and Knowl Hill.
The Chimney of Arrow Mill.
As we approach Sandbrook we have to leave the canal and take a slight detour onto the road. I guess when this section was being built it was a Friday afternoon and the pubs were open. The towpath was forgotten.
We crossed the road which from this image gives the impression of a quiet road but nothing can be further from the truth. This is a busy junction. Our canal journey continues just beyond the tiled roof house on the right.
Back on the towpath we spot a very unusual sight in this area. An Orang Utan up a tree. Keeping an eye on passers by. Whoever did this deserves a round of applause.
We are still enjoying our peaceful surroundings with lots of trees and birdsong.
We noticed a strange construction above the treeline. One which we hadn't seen before on previous walks. It turned out to be a circus big top. Here for a few weeks.
We came to a bridge with no towpath so we had to cross a minor road to pick up the canal on the other side. It was a short section remaining until we reached the A671 which would be our route into the centre of Rochdale.
The Rochdale canal continues under the bridge on the right of the photo.
The branch adjacent to the white derelict building ends at the arched bridge just beyond. The canal used to go about half a mile further into Rochdale town to a delivery basin, but is now filled in. There is a group of "Friends of the canal" who are trying to get Rochdale council on board to try and put the canal back into water and use the basin as a marina in a similar fashion as to what has taken place in Castlefield Manchester. That is now a huge money spinner, brings loads of people into the area and is very vibrant. To me it seems a no brainer, it would be wonderful and I hope they succeed in the challenge.
The above two photos show the Norwich Street cotton mill. The mill itself is still being partially used but the outer buildings are being knocked down as i type, a fire destroyed parts of it. The mill was originally built in 1870's for John Pilling from Spotland. It was a weaving and spinning mill and had 40,000 spindles.
Heading into Rochdale. The bridge is the railway.
Below are a few shots walking into town centre.
Heading down towards Drake Street.
Rochdale wall Mural.
The River Roch and the council/library building.
The tram stop and behind it is part of the new shopping area.
It was now a very warm day so we headed for the shade of the Caffe Grande coffee shop in the bus station. We know this place well and in my opinion the coffee here is the best in Rochdale.
After a welcome break it was back out into the sun and a walk around the town centre. The planners have done a good job around the Town Hall, The Old Post Office, The Parish Church Approach, the River Roch opening up from what was previously culverted and the Memorial Gardens. Here are a few images.
Gracie Fields.
Rochdale gets a lot of bad media, whether it be because of the influx of immigrants, grooming gangs, dodgy politicians etc etc and to be fair some of it is not wrong. The ridiculous decisions to build a new shopping area when there are already two very large shopping malls which are now more or less redundant eyesores makes one wonder why?
However if you look back through my images you will see that there is very little litter along the canal or streets heading into town. Very commendable but if you walk the backstreets it is a different story. Probably like numerous old industrial lancashire towns they put on a front but don't follow up what is hidden.
Rochdales immigrant population is said to be about 20% and in my opinion that figure is too high for a small town. It changes the dynamics of the area. The problem is that it tends to mass in certain areas of the town in the older housing and the percentage rises to maybe 95%. It's a bad trait.
Rochdale shopping street 50 years ago was a throng of people, obviously mainly indigenous but today it's a town of takeaways, betting shops, charity shops and anything else that can bring some taxes to the council. It's a sad reality.
Anyway, that's enough politics.
We hadn't been in the Town Hall since its refurbishment so decided to go and see what's been done and if possible have a meal in the restaurant.
Unfortunately there was a large event on in the main hall so our walkabout was limited.
We did manage to get a table in the Martlet Restaurant but we were disappointed with the standard of food. It was hardly restaurant quality and we won't be rushing back.
So that ends our walk to Rochdale. Now to get the bus back home.
