Blackleach Country Park: a green space oasis in a built-up area
Easy
3 hours
10.9km
Where is Blackleach Country Park?
Blackleach Country Park is located in Walkden, Manchester just off Bolton Road close to the Hill Top area. Situated in a built-up area the park offers escapism for anyone who doesn’t have the time to travel further afield.
Why this route?
This walking route offers mainly off-road walking up the Roe Green loopline and then a scenic walk around the impressive Blackleach Country Park. There is a short section of the route that follows the main road.
Set around the impressive reservoir Blackleach offers 50 hectares of countryside. Blackleach Country Park was the first one in Salford to become a Local Nature Reserve in 2004.
What kit will I need?
You won’t need much kit at all for this walk – we always recommend a good pair of walking boots for any walk. We suggest taking the following kit as standard:
- Comfortable walking boots (ensure they have been worn in first)
- A day pack for additional clothing and refreshments
- First Aid kit
- Good quality waterproof jacket & trousers (the weather can change dramatically even in the summer months)
- Warm hat & gloves (weather dependent)
Route Description
- You can begin this route from Monton where the loopline starts.
- From there it is a straight line following the path until it forks at Roe Green.
- Take the right hand fork and follow the route passing under several bridges up to Walkden Road Bridge.
- Take the steps to the right and exit onto Walkden Road opposite The Ellesmere. Head up towards the railway bridge and follow Memorial Road.
- At the top cross over using the crossing – this is a busy road with cars joining from multiple directions.
- Keep heading straight up with The Ellesmere Shopping centre on your left.
- Take a right at Hill Top Road and the entrance to the park is to your left.
- The park has several different paths for you to explore. We kept tight to the reservoir, walking all the way around and exiting back onto the A575.
- From here we retraced out steps back to the loopline and returned to Swinton.
