Todmorden to Littleborough towpath walk.

Monday 3rd November 2025.

Todays Route. 10.6km.

We checked the weather forecast and it was awful. 80% rain and windy. Ideal hiking weather I told myself, after all that's why we spend so much money on decent wet weather gear isn't it.

We drove to Littleborough, parked the car and missed the train to Todmorden by roughly 10 seconds as it left the platform a minute early. The next one was in 30 minutes.

After alighting in Todmorden, coffee and fruit tea cakes were had in the Boardroom/Boardgame cafe. very nice it was too. (They do have a facebook page but I don't have Facebook so I can't drop you a link.)

The Boardroom/boardgame cafe, Todmorden.

The start of our canal walk was a little later than planned and we didn't get going until 11'ish. The first point of interest being the "Deep Lock" or the Library lock to give it it's proper title. The guillotine lock gates are quite a unique feature. The lock is 20ft deep here.

Just round the corner is the Great Wall of Toddy. It was built in 1881 to support the ground needed for the railway and goods yard above and to prevent subsidence into the canal. It's made from blue engineering bricks and is said to have 4 million bricks. No, I didn't count them.

The Great Wall of Todmorden.

The canal was extremely full and many spots had overflowed the bank leaving some quite deep puddles along the towpath. The locks and bywash gutters were struggling to cope with the amount of water being introduced from the surrounding hillsides. It did give us some nice photos though.

Rochdale canal with Gauxholme No.2 viaduct in the background. Built in 1840 with a span of 102ft.

Strangely, the designer is debatable, a similar bridge of this type and skew was done by either Robert or George Stephenson but is shorter than this one which was by Thomas Longridge Gooch. 

Along this stretch of towpath, a local school must have been having a day nature walking as column after column of youngsters and teachers passed us going the opposite direction. Most said hello as we met. 

The building on the right has been nicely modernised 

but I guess it used to be a narrow boat repair yard.

 As we approached Walsden there was an aroma in the air which reminded us of pies being cooked and then we saw the sign for Gordon Riggs garden centre which has a cafeteria. We have been once but found it far too expensive for what we got and so have never been back. 

Across the canal lies Birks Mill which is now derelict and signs say it is dangerous. The mill dates back to 1799 when it was owned by Edmund Kershaw who worked the mill as a cotton carding and spinning mill. It was powered by water which was plentiful coming off the surrounding hills.

A date stone which used to be above a doorway was dated 1800 with initials JSC, John and Sarah Crossley who owned the land and lived at Scaitcliffe Hall Todmorden, which is also now shamefully derelict.

Derelict Birks Mill

Scaitcliffe Hall, home of the Crossley's, as it was in 2007. Now derelict. (image courtesy of roots web.)

The scenery was becoming more and more wonderful as we made our way to the highest point of the Rochdale Canal. It is easy to forget with time just what a magnificent section of canal this route is and how old the surrounding villages and farm houses are on the adjacent hillsides.

Taking a short break.

Image below, an unfortunate captain, I wonder if he went down with his ship. I thought about putting a For Sale sign on it with a post script "has a slight leak in the galley". But thought better of it.

Two images showing wide turning and mooring points when the canals used to service the many mills and quarries in the area.

Due to the predicted weather forecast we were dressed in our wet suits but the 80% rain has not showed up yet. Yes, the clouds have been black at times and on a number of occasions we have thought it was going to chuck it down but it hasn't and so we are now feeling like a boil in the bag meal. Its actually quite a warm day.

There is plenty of water coming down the hillside from Ramsden Clough reservoir and the waterfalls would have looked far better if I had brought my Olympus camera and not just my iPhone. 

The autumn colours are looking splendid throughout this walk.

From the towpath we didn't notice the impressive gates on the drive leading up to Stone House farm. It was only when we looked back and saw the stag. It called for further investigation and so we went back and crossed the bridge to the drive.

Stone House Farm Drive.

This place is ranked as the most expensive property in the area at £2.3 million. However, trying to find anything about it is like pulling teeth.

Approaching Warland with its castellated folly wall adorned currently with its Kindness banner we stood at the lock and was visited by a very friendly moggy. It was very playful and followed us a short distance before disappearing as quickly as it came. 

Then under a strange type of bridge. There doesn't seem to be any purpose to it being there. Upon further investigation I found out that it is carrying a pipe which feeds the canal with water sluiced from the large Warland reservoir high up on the moorland behind the village.

I am still a little perplexed about it because I cannot understand why a bridge is needed at all. Surely the pipe doesn't need to cross the canal to feed it and it doesn't need to be high up because the gravity pressure from the reservoir will be great. There won't be any back pressure if there is a sluice. I'm at a loss, so if anyone has any knowledge of this piece of engineering and the design I would be pleased to have a comment.

Warland Pipe Bridge.

The next poi was Warland swing bridge an unusual addition to the many bridges dating from 1804. Then the highest point of the day, "The Summit Lock" . The highest broad canal in England at 600ft.

Summit Lock

From here as they say, it's all down hill to Littleborough. The sun actually came out and the rain held off. On our left we passed a beautiful manicured remembrance garden worthy of noting before we started to enter the outskirts of Littleborough. I was getting rather hungry at this point and wished we had brought some snacks with us. A quick look around on old demolished mill ground and then into town for some lunch, even though it was 3.00pm.

A very demolished old mill at Lock 42.

We called in the Coffee on the Corner as we did on the GM Ringway trail a few weeks ago and enjoyed a well deserved feast.

And just as we sat down to eat the rain started. We could not have timed it better.