Part of the 50 mile Circular Bolton Rotary Way, can be done either direction. Designed by the then seven Rotary Clubs of Bolton. Guardianship for stage 1 is currently vacant, though a member of Bolton Le Moors Rotary has kindly offered to help improve signposting around Breighmet Golf Course.
From Affetside Cross near the Pack Horse Inn, turn south east along Watling Street and, after nearly 1 mile, at the Roman Road/ Tottington Road junction, turn right towards Harwood. After a few yards the road bears’ right, but go straight ahead up the unsigned Bowstone Hill Road, really a farm track. Where the track turns left at the Hey Head Farm entrance, keep straight on along a footpath which in places, on wet winter days, doubles as a trickling stream. Eventually you will come to some stone pillars near a pond, with a stile and field gate to the right. At the pond, go straight ahead, keeping left of the pond, just beyond it, the public footpath enters a garden. The public footpath goes left down, then right through a succession of more gardens, then left onto the access drive. At the large tree opposite the houses you have just skirted, turn right into Harwood Golf Course and head for the double gates on the far side of the golf course. Go across the concrete stile into Roading Brook Road.
Turn right onto the road which has no footway – so take care to face the traffic where possible, but use the outside of bends always. After a right-hand bend, then a left-hand bend, turn left onto a footpath at a sharp right-hand bend to join a footpath across some decking! Cross a couple of stiles on the way to emerging across another stile onto B6196 Arthur Lane at a car park for Harwood golf course. Turn left and continue to the right-hand bend after about 300 yards. Here you can remain on Arthur Lane and continue to the junction with Bury Old Road if you want a shorter route. However, the more interesting cross-country route is to turn sharp right immediately before the right-hand bend, and the public footpath takes you through another succession of gardens to emerge onto a drive (to avoid the gardens continue around the right hand bend and then left down the drive) , bearing right outside Arthur Lane Barn. Continue around Arthur’s Barn and past the drive to Hawthorn Cottage to arrive at the ornate gates to Three Gables.
There, turn left across a stile, then immediately right to move around the side of Three Gables. Cross another stile on the right hand side of the footpath and continue then straight across a driveway beside a gate to arrive in front of a field gate (The right of way (Bury council) passes through the field gate onto the golf course), Here turn left towards a reservoir, then go around the right side of the reservoir . Shortly beyond the reservoir at a junction of footpaths on Breightmet Golf Course, bear left and aim for the footpath between the overhead electricity lines, by a brick building , to arrive on Bury Old Road . Turn left onto Bury Old Road, which almost immediately turns sharp right to arrive after 300 yds at the junction with Arthur Lane on your left – where those who took the shorter cut will be waiting!
Near the Arthur Lane/ Bury old Road junction outside Ainsworth turn right into the Dearden Fold farm access . So through the farmyard to a field gate with bypass and into the fields, head towards the power cables here bear right towards a large brick chimney, the most northerly ,right hand ,of the three widely-spaced, to arrive at the lowest point of the field boundary ahead. The route continues immediately to the left of the chimney. Cross two stiles on the right bank of the stream as you descend to the factory access track, emerging alongside a disused railway bridge. Bear left across another bridge over the brook along the track and, 30 yards beyond the solitary building on the left, turn left off Manor Sate Road down the path with a high wire fence on the right and a security fence on the left, to the footbridge in the valley bottom. Follow the track ahead down the valley, bearing left when emerging onto waste ground, then right between two reservoirs to join Vale Street and onto Bury Road.
Cross Bury Road, and go down Brinks Lane. Go through a gate barrier a short way down the footpath and, a quarter of a mile on, just after a brick bridge crosses the stream on the right, continue on the main path as it bears left just beyond a pond on the left. The track rises and, at the next junction, outside Starmount Villa, bear left ahead and cross Brown’s Road. Almost immediately, bear left down the unmade track past Bradley Fold Cottage until it reaches Bradley Lane by the Queens Hotel and turn right towards Tong Road. Where Tong Road bears right at the beginning of Little Lever immediately after Duxbury Avenue on the right, take the track on the left to cross a disused cattle grid and follow it through a Swing gate past Grundy Fold Farm, across a stile at the far side of the farmyard, through a gap stile to Stopes Road.
Turn right onto the road which has no footway – so take care to face the traffic where possible, but use the outside of bends always. After a right-hand bend, then a left-hand bend, turn left onto a footpath at a sharp right-hand bend to join a footpath across some decking! Cross a couple of stiles on the way to emerging across another stile onto B6196 Arthur Lane at a car park for Harwood golf course. Turn left and continue to the right-hand bend after about 300 yards. Here you can remain on Arthur Lane and continue to the junction with Bury Old Road if you want a shorter route. However, the more interesting cross-country route is to turn sharp right immediately before the right-hand bend, and the public footpath takes you through another succession of gardens to emerge onto a drive (to avoid the gardens continue around the right hand bend and then left down the drive) , bearing right outside Arthur Lane Barn. Continue around Arthur’s Barn and past the drive to Hawthorn Cottage to arrive at the ornate gates to Three Gables.
There, turn left across a stile, then immediately right to move around the side of Three Gables. Cross another stile on the right hand side of the footpath and continue then straight across a driveway beside a gate to arrive in front of a field gate (The right of way (Bury council) passes through the field gate onto the golf course), Here turn left towards a reservoir, then go around the right side of the reservoir . Shortly beyond the reservoir at a junction of footpaths on Breightmet Golf Course, bear left and aim for the footpath between the overhead electricity lines, by a brick building , to arrive on Bury Old Road . Turn left onto Bury Old Road, which almost immediately turns sharp right to arrive after 300 yds at the junction with Arthur Lane on your left – where those who took the shorter cut will be waiting!
Near the Arthur Lane/ Bury old Road junction outside Ainsworth turn right into the Dearden Fold farm access . So through the farmyard to a field gate with bypass and into the fields, head towards the power cables here bear right towards a large brick chimney, the most northerly ,right hand ,of the three widely-spaced, to arrive at the lowest point of the field boundary ahead. The route continues immediately to the left of the chimney. Cross two stiles on the right bank of the stream as you descend to the factory access track, emerging alongside a disused railway bridge. Bear left across another bridge over the brook along the track and, 30 yards beyond the solitary building on the left, turn left off Manor Sate Road down the path with a high wire fence on the right and a security fence on the left, to the footbridge in the valley bottom. Follow the track ahead down the valley, bearing left when emerging onto waste ground, then right between two reservoirs to join Vale Street and onto Bury Road.
Cross Bury Road, and go down Brinks Lane. Go through a gate barrier a short way down the footpath and, a quarter of a mile on, just after a brick bridge crosses the stream on the right, continue on the main path as it bears left just beyond a pond on the left. The track rises and, at the next junction, outside Starmount Villa, bear left ahead and cross Brown’s Road. Almost immediately, bear left down the unmade track past Bradley Fold Cottage until it reaches Bradley Lane by the Queens Hotel and turn right towards Tong Road. Where Tong Road bears right at the beginning of Little Lever immediately after Duxbury Avenue on the right, take the track on the left to cross a disused cattle grid and follow it through a Swing gate past Grundy Fold Farm, across a stile at the far side of the farmyard, through a gap stile to Stopes Road.