Comments
Marsha Roby
Jim, Our last name is Roby and we're planning to come to England in June from California and check out Wigan and Roby Mill where my husbands relatives are from. Thanks for the preview!
Anni Oladipo
I visited Roby Mill today for the first time ...it was beautiful and I felt that I should belong there ...well done From Anni Oladipo x
Jim
Nancy - magical? well I guess it is - glad you enjoyed it. Jim
Nancy/New York
Looks like a magical place, so quaint, lovely! Thank you for sharing!!
Doreen
That was very interesting.
Berni
What a great memory of my home town. Thanks Jim, it's nice to live in Texas and be able to look at this video.
tom lyon
from boy to man i am upholland born and bread. what a great insight to our villages. thanks jim
Jeremiah
I am to research Roby Mill, Great show,- enjoyed it immensely.
lucy
enjoyed your walk rond Ruby Mill, doing family research my grandparents the Gaskell came from there so wanted to know what it looked like cheers Lucy
Jim
...and walk along the road to reach the steep climb up to Bank Top at Roby Mill.
Jim
The K6 Jubilee Kiosk was designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who designed Wigan's War Memorial. They weigh three quarters of a ton, and at one time there were 20.000 of them around Britain..
Chris n Norman
Thanks Jim. Come rain or shine you give us so much pleasure taking us down memory lane. x
Si and Christine Spain
Once again Jim, enjoyed sharing your walks with you....and enjoyed the lovely green of the countryside you have over there. Too hot for luscious grass here but beautiful flowers like in England.
sheila
loved it jim, ed and i have often done walks round dean wood and roby mill, down to the viaducts then along the canal back to appley bridge, or proceeded up to ashurst beacon, we dont realise what beautiful walks we have right on our doorsteps to enjoy, how lucky we are to live where we do :-)
Bill F
I enjoyed that walk with you Jim and I learned a bit more of my country neighborhood ; very refreshing .
Jim
..luckily, they changed it to the Star Inn. Its' website is www.thestarinnrobymill.co.uk
Jim
From home I made my way down Gathurst Hill to reach the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Gathurst Bridge, three miles from Wigan town centre.
Jim
I then walked to Appley Bridge along the towpath, passing under the M6 motorway viaduct and then under the Manchester- Southport railway bridge, the two bridges and canal span three centuries.
Jim
The canal locks at Gathurst - this was the toll keepers cottage for commercial barges going through the locks.
Jim
A backward glance on the walk to Appley Bridge three miles away.
Jim
I soon reach Appley Bridge where I leave the canal..
Jim
I cross the main road and walk down Spring Road passing a row of old stone cottages and ahead can see the bridge carrying the M6 motorway.
Jim
Under it I arrive back at the path at the start of the walk. Hope you enjoyed it.
Jim
At the top of the steep hill is Bank Top, I reach the Star Inn built in 1830, and orginally called - believe it or not - The Procession Of The Lord High Sherrif In 1805..
Jim
Just across the road from the Star is a row of eight early 18th cent. cottages, called Tanpit Cottages, near the site of a long lost tannery, the Star was built to serve its workers.
Jim
"How many kinds of sweet flowers grow in an English country garden"? so goes the song.
Jim
Then we walk along the open road that separate Bank Top from Roby Mill, past fields waiting to be harvested....
Jim
..and after a few hundred yards come into the second part of the village..
Jim
..which is a conservation area.
Jim
..like this one whose date stone reads 1725. Originally this and the building on its left was part of A pub called The Kings Head.
Jim
No wonder - the cottages along its street span three centuries according to their date stones.
Jim
It's pleasant just to stroll along the quiet street and admire the houses and gardens....
Jim
...like this one with an old red telephone box in its front garden occupied by a life size toy soldier - up to recently it always had a nude shop manikin peering out. Its just so quirky and British.
Jim
Ahead is the Fox Inn, and it was along this road that the cart carrying the bodies of Upholland highwayman George Lyons and two accomplices were brought home after their hanging in Lancaster in 1815.
Jim
...the cart was followed by a huge crowd of local people walking in procession behind the cart. The Fox is another popular local pub, which dates from 1812.
Jim
.. and just by it is an old Methodist Church dated 1860, and built by members who were local quarrymen, who provided and dressed the sandstone blocks from which it is built.
Jim
..it's attached to a row of cottages, once occupied by colliers and quarrymen.
Jim
.. now we have left the village behind and walk along the road to Upholland with open views over Wigan and the West Lancashire Moors behind.
Jim
Far right I can see the chimney of the Heinz factory near home - so a way to go James.
Jim
Now we have reached Upholland..
Jim
..and The Monument as it is known locally - which is a war memorial.
Jim
We have turned left to walk in the direction of Orrell along Parliament Street.
Jim
Then its a left turn again to walk down the quaint School Lane.
Jim
Along here is probably the oldest house - dating from the mid 1600s - the De Holland house.
Jim
Shool Lane.
Jim
After walking to the Abbey Lakes pub we turn left up Spencer Road and pass Dean Wood golf club.
Jim
Past a partly mown hay field.
Jim
...and along a track that brings me...
Jim
to another track with great views over open farmland with Winter Hill in the background
Jim
..and which leads down to Gathurst Road and the site of the now gone Orrell British Legion now replaced with new residential properties.
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