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Cheesden Valley Circular Walk

8.1 miles (13 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This circular walk explores the Cheesden Valley in the Rochdale area of Greater Manchester.
In the scenic valley you will find a series of footpaths running along the pretty Cheesden Brook. There's also lakes, hill climbs, ruins of the historic old mills and some lovely countryside views to enjoy.
The walk starts from the 18th century Owd Bett's Pub next to Ashworth Moor Reservoir on the Edenfield Road, just to the north west of Rochdale. From here you can pick up trails running north west along the reservoir towards Lumb Bridge and the photogenic ruins of the Lumb Mill. Here you turn south to pick up the trails along the brook to Deeply Vale and Deeply Hill. You continue past Cleggs Wood to Simpson's Clough where you pick up the Rochdale Way for the return leg of the journey.
This waymarked footpath will take you north along the Naden Brook to return you to the reservoir and the car park.
For a shorter circular walk exploring the southern end of the valley see the Ashworth Valley Walk.

Postcode

OL12 7TY - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Cheesden Valley OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Cheesden Valley Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

One nice idea is follow the Rochdale Way east from the reservoir to climb to the viewpoint at Knowl Hill. You can then descend down to Greenbooth Reservoir for more waterside walking.

Photos

Cheesden Valley - geograph.org.uk - 2274903

Cheesden Valley

Weir on Cheesden Brook - geograph.org.uk - 1828603

Weir on Cheesden Brook

Cheesden Brook - geograph.org.uk - 813579

Looking down Cheesden Brook towards Rochdale

Deeply Vale - geograph.org.uk - 1839067

Deeply Vale

Ashworth Valley Scout Camp Site - geograph.org.uk - 44787

Ashworth Valley Scout Camp Site

Ashworth Moor Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 130657

Ashworth Moor Reservoir

Cheesden Lumb Mill 2007 - geograph.org.uk - 425015

 Cheesden Lumb Mill. This former woollen mill was built in 1786, just below the confluence of Cheesden Brook and Kilgate Brook. At first it was a fulling mill, but it later extended its activities to include carding, bleaching and dyeing. However it later changed to spinning cotton waste, and ended up producing lamp wicks. The mill closed around 1898 and was abandoned

Cheesden Brook upper valley - geograph.org.uk - 1118353

Cheesden Brook upper valley. A turbine from Scout Moor windfarm intrudes on the horizon. You can extend the walk by heading north into this area of the valley.

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Cheesden Valley.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)