17/11/23 - Greater Manchester Ringway - Stage 8

Ancient paths, wild moorland and £5 pints in Oldham 

I asked AI to provide a summary of this stage of Greater Manchester's boundary path;

Stage 8 of the GM Ringway is a 12.5-mile (20.1 km) hike that starts in Broadbottom, a small village in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, and finishes in Greenfield, a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. The stage is challenging in parts, with some steep climbs and descents, but the rewards are well worth the effort, and the views from the top of the moors are truly unforgettable.

Not bad..... this is a proper walk - the first half on ancient paths, with names on the OS Map like Hague Road and Coach Road. Ahead, you can see what awaits.

In the far distance, the Arnfield Moors

Hollingworth is the last place to bail out for civilisation. Should you press on, you are in wild moorland country of crashed aeroplanes and vague paths. You see no one. Anything goes wrong and you are on your own. Look behind, and you get the occasional glimpse of the Manchester skyscrapers. The city looks alien. Alas, it was directly into the sun, so photos were hopeless but will stay in my memory

Looking away from the Sun on Arnfield Moor

There is a "diversion" that runs for 1/2 mile to Chew Reservoir, only to immediately double back. On plotting, I thought this is because the walk designers really wanted you to see the body of water. On arrival, there is no choice - its a high ridge path over the waterfalls, with the exit - the access road - far below. Stunning walking.

Chew Hurdles - with Chew Road feint on the RHS

Chew reservoir - seen one, seen them all

The access road is picked up, forever downwards and becoming the Oldham Way.

My destination - Greenfield. Home of two Good Beer Guide Pubs;

The Wellington is a solid enough locals pub.... a handful of pensioner diners in one room and locals hovering around the bar, outdoing each other with infectious but cheesy jokes. I should take notes, there was a cracking one about a pirate with the punchline "cause they arrrrrrrrr".

The End of Terrace Wellington

Most of the cask was from Millstone brewery. Their pump clips offer no clue as to what the style of each beer is. Asking about Tiger Rut was met with "Bitter".

Takes too much time to use Untappd at the bar

It was a Golden Ale and exceptionally cold.

Next to the station is the imaginatively named The Railway 

You can see the trains pulling up.  Usually delayed

A choice of doors take you to different rooms over a central oval bar. I work my way through the handpumps before deciding on an Ossett White Rat.

Three things happen.

1) I notice this is a serious beer pub from the the extensive beer list on a wall next to the bar.

2) I am surprised that pints of standard cask are £5. In Oldham.

3) The delayed train to Manchester I can see pulling out the station is the last for 1 hour.

I'll have to stay for a second and worry about end of month finances later. I want to know whether they have comments on their pricing policy and consider how I can ask politely without coming across as an idiot.

I decide my starting my conversion by asking if they all the beers on the board available. I am assured they are.

Boltmaker? is met with "Apart from that one".  

Landlord? is met with the same response.

Another White Rat for a fiver it is and I'll have to use Twitter to see if £5 pints are now the norm.

£4.75 worth of White Rat.  I'd had a sip for quality purposes

I make this last until 10 minutes before my advertised train comes in.

It's delayed, but enough time to join the resistance.

Seems fair

Walk Information

Start - Broadbottom

Finish - Greenfield

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7

Distance - 12.5 Miles

Geocaches - 3

Good Beer Guide Tick - #917 and #918

Walk Inspiration