Clifton Country Park is a local nature reserve in the Irwell Valley at Clifton, Greater Manchester, North West England. Situated next to a double bend in the River Irwell, it is north east of the Manchester to Preston railway line and the A666, Manchester Road, Clifton where it is accessible via Clifton House Road opposite Clifton Cricket Club. Junction 16 of the M60 motorway is only about ¼ mile away to the south east. [1] [2]
The park comprises 119 acres (48 hectares) of wooded area, fields and lakes. Industrial heritage is also a feature of the park, the remains of Wet Earth Colliery can be found in the woods, along with Fletcher's Canal. The park also features two sculptures from the Irwell Sculpture Trail. There is now a fairytail trail around the lake where wooden carvings are situated with a full size gruffalo standing proud.
Clifton House Farm, Clifton Marina and Wet Earth Colliery together form the strategically important site of Clifton Country Park, providing a focal point within the Croal/Irwell Valley and on Salford's Recreation Routes network. An action plan was drawn up to help protect the site and establish several improvements to the area. The action plan also identifies two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for their biological diversity. The marina has also been cited as a place to plant trees and develop a green area along the western edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation. [3]
Clifton Marina, a gravel pit developed during the construction in the 1960s of the M62 across the Irwell Valley (now part of the M60), is popular with walkers, joggers and fishermen, there is a surfaced path around the lake providing a circular walk which is fully accessible for disabled users including those in motorised wheel chairs. A visitor centre is fully accessible with both sex toilet facilities. [4] For the angler, the marina is well stocked with carp, bream, roach, tench, pike and perch. Many of these species running into specimen weights. In October 2006 this venue produced the Lancashire record carp with a 41 lb 7oz mirror carp caught by Jason Clarke. [5]
The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was 15 miles 1 furlong (24 km) long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. Seventeen locks were required to climb to the summit as it passed through Pendleton, heading northwest to Prestolee before it split northwest to Bolton and northeast to Bury. Between Bolton and Bury the canal was level and required no locks. Six aqueducts were built to allow the canal to cross the rivers Irwell and Tonge and several minor roads.
The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, just north of Manchester, to the east of Bolton and west of Rochdale. The borough is centred around the town of Bury but also includes other towns such as Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich. Bury bounds the Lancashire districts of Rossendale and Blackburn with Darwen to the north. It is the 10th most populous borough in Greater Manchester.
The River Irwell is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately 1+1⁄2 miles north of Bacup and flows southwards for 39 mi (63 km) to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary between Manchester and Salford, and its lower reaches have been canalised and now form part of the Manchester Ship Canal.
The Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established 30-mile (48 km) footpath stretching from Salford Quays through Bury into Rossendale and up to the Pennines above Bacup.
Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Manchester city centre, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Salford and 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Bolton.
Clifton is a suburb of Swinton in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the edge of Irwell Valley in the north of the City of Salford. Historically in Lancashire, it was a centre for coal mining, and once formed part of the Municipal Borough of Swinton and Pendlebury.
Kearsley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,212. Within the Historic County of Lancashire, it lies 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Manchester, 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Bury and 3+3⁄4 miles (6 km) south of Bolton.
Agecroft is a suburban area of Pendlebury, within the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the Irwell Valley, on the west bank of the River Irwell and along the course of the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal. It comprises a section of Pendlebury's high ground bisected by the A6044, its main thoroughfare; Kersal and Salford are across the river to the east. Agecroft Cemetery and HM Prison Forest Bank are in the area.
Agecroft Colliery was a coal mine on the Manchester Coalfield that opened in 1844 in the Agecroft district of Pendlebury, Lancashire, England. It exploited the coal seams of the Middle Coal Measures of the Lancashire Coalfield. The colliery had two spells of use; the first between 1844 and 1932, when the most accessible coal seams were exploited, and a second lease of life after extensive development in the late 1950s to access the deepest seams.
Kersal is a suburb and district of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Manchester and was historically part of the county of Lancashire.
Wet Earth Colliery was a coal mine located on the Manchester Coalfield, in Clifton, Greater Manchester. The colliery site is now the location of Clifton Country Park. The colliery has a unique place in British coal mining history; apart from being one of the earliest pits in the country, it is the place where engineer James Brindley made water run uphill.
Fletcher's Canal was a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used.
Drinkwater Park is situated in the Irwell Valley on the western border of Prestwich, near Manchester, bounded by the River Irwell to the west, Agecroft Road and Rainsough Brow (A6044) to the south, Butterstile Lane and Carr Clough estate to the east and Bunkers Hill to the north. The park is administered by Forestry England and is part of Prestwich Forest Park, which also incorporates Philips Park, Mere Clough, Prestwich Clough, Forest Bank Park in Pendlebury and Waterdale Meadow.
Moses Gate Country Park, part of which is also known as Crompton Lodges, is a 750 acre site situated at Moses Gate in the Croal and Irwell Valleys 3 miles south of Bolton town centre on the A6053 road which connects Farnworth to Little Lever. It is a Local Nature Reserve.
The Irwell Valley in North West England extends from the Forest of Rossendale through the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal.
Philips Park is an area of parkland situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury on the boundary of Whitefield and Prestwich, in Greater Manchester. The park consists of rich woodland and grassland habitat and is home to an assortment of wildlife. Two thirds of the site was once the Philips family estate, and the remainder, known as Waterdale, is Irwell Valley land reclaimed following the demolition of two bleach and dye works. The park is a local nature reserve.
Peel Park is a public urban park in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, located on the flood plain of the River Irwell below Salford Crescent and adjacent to the University of Salford. It was the first of three public parks to be opened on 22 August 1846, for the people of Manchester and Salford, paid for by public subscription. The park was the main public venue for the 1851 royal visit of Queen Victoria to Manchester and Salford and has been the subject of a number of paintings by the Salford artist, L.S. Lowry.
Breary Marsh is a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest situated adjacent to Golden Acre Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, grid reference SE264416.
Matthew Fletcher was a mine owner and mining engineer in Lancashire, England.
Coordinates: 53°32′07″N2°20′44″W / 53.5352°N 2.3455°W