Socially distanced family days out

Catherine Aspinall, a local mum of two lively children and an equally energetic pug, shares her top family day out ideas, all with social distancing in mind.

With a love for exploring and the outdoors, Catherine and her family are always out and about, having fun adventures in Rochdale & the North West.

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WATERGROVE RESERVOIR

Wardle, Rochdale, OL12 9PL - Although parts of this walk are do-able with a pram, in order to get all the way round you will need a carrier. Similarly, only parts of this walk are suitable for kids’ bikes (as there are a variety of terrains including cobbles and steps). A dog’s paradise (although watch out for deer!).

If you fancy a walk in Rochdale, but perhaps somewhere quieter than Hollingworth Lake, try Watergrove Reservoir, situated at the top of Wardle Village. It has a much more rural feel than Hollingworth Lake, partly because there are no facilities, and offers spectacular views.

BARKERS WOOD

OL15 8LW, Littleborough

We access it by walking over the playing fields at Dearnley, but the official entrance, as it were, is off Starring Lane on the Bents Farm estate. It is like a natural adventure playground with dens to go in, stumps to jump on and trees to climb.

You might also come across some decorated 'Littleborough Rocks'. If you find one, take a photo for the Littleborough Rocks Facebook group and re-hide it for someone else to find! Or why not have a go at painting some of your own rocks and hiding them? Check the Facebook page for tips on how to decorate and weatherproof your rocks.

BLACKSTONE EDGE

OL15 0LG, Littleborough - A lot of the routes around Blackstone Edge are definitely not pram friendly but the path we like to take is. Our dog loves being let loose up there.

A great option for a Sunday stroll offering amazing views over Rochdale. We park at the White House pub (OL15 0LG) and then walk a tiny bit further up the road and take the path on the left. This is part of the Pennine Way and is a flat, traffic-free path that runs quite a good distance before it turns into a less toddler/pram friendly path. If you're adventurous enough to carry on though, you could get to Gaddings Dam in Todmorden.

PANOPTICAN 1 - HALO

Haslingden, BB4 5AD - About half an hour from Rochdale A carrier would probably be best on the uneven ground.

The Panopticons are four unique pieces of art scattered around the Lancashire landscape, each offering impressive views. They provide good, free locations for a walk and are great for evoking children's imaginations. Standing on an old quarry, Halo overlooks the Rossendale valley. There isn’t much else up by the Halo, but this just further adds to the feeling that it is actually an UFO landing on a desolate planet!

PANOPTICAN 2 - THE ATOM

Just off Lancashire Moor Road, Laneshawbridge (near Colne). 45 minutes from Rochdale. You could take a pram, but are best off with a carrier so you can do further exploring.

I think The Atom might be our favourite Panopticon, although it didn’t really remind me of an atom, more like a hobbit hole! The views were lovely, especially Pendle Hill rising up in the distance. After playing hide and seek around The Atom, we took the path to the right which takes you down to Wycoller village, complete with ruins, a stream and a fairy trail!

PANOPTICAN 3 - THE SINGING RINGING TREE

Burnley, BB11 3QZ - 25 minutes from Rochdale Probably pram-able, but may be more comfortable in a carrier.

The singing ringing tree is such as unusual (and musical) sculpture, which offers views all over Burnley. It whistles in the wind or can be played with sticks! It is only a short walk from where you park to the “tree”, but you could easily do much longer walks in the area or head to Towneley or Thompson Park.

PANOPTICAN 4 - COLOURFIELDS

Blackburn, BB1 8AT - 40 minutes from Rochdale Pram-friendly (although some steep inclines).

Colourfields has basically added a rainbow touch to the former cannon battery in Corporation Park. You can walk along a rainbow to the viewing platform, overlooking Blackburn, or down some rainbow steps to look at the old turrets. Colourfields could definitely do with a new lick of paint, but what made it rank so highly in my children’s eyes was its location in a park, where there was an excellent playground, a large lake and a pretend road to cycle on.

CALF HEY RESERVOIR

BB4 4AU - 30 minutes from Rochdale Pram friendly / Bike friendly Dog friendly (although there's a few sheep).

Just off to the left of Grane Road, when travelling between Haslingden and Blackburn, we found a super circular, pram-friendly (albeit with one steepish hill) reservoir walk. The only downside was there was no access to the water for throwing stones but not to worry the kids sniffed out a tiny stream to get suitably wet and dirty. Beautiful views and only about ten other people there (a good thing as the car park was very small).

THE KIRKLEES TRAIL

Bury, BL8 1AP - Perfect if you're looking for somewhere (more or less) flat and smooth for children to ride a bike or scoot.

We went along the whole trail from Greenmount (opposite Greenmount Medical Centre) down to Brandlesholme which was 2 miles. At this point we decided to extend our ride by exploring Burrs Country Park. The return journey is definitely slightly uphill, but there is a cute ice cream shed near the beginning of the trail in Greenmount, so we used that as motivation. The 'Totti Snake' has been made out of painted rocks during lockdown and it was quite impressive to see. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the different rocks which included Batman, rainbows and minions.

COWM PARK RESERVOIR

Whitworth, OL12 8BE

Totally love this little reservoir up in Whitworth. It has all the essentials - a flat, pram-friendly, bike-friendly, circular path and access to the water to throw stones (I don't ask for much in life). Tree planting schemes have encouraged plenty of birds and wildlife to the area.

MANDALE PARK BMX TRACK

Rochdale (use OL11 4JQ for parking) - It would be a bit of a workout with a pram!

I noticed what looked like a bike track on the side of the dual carriageway in Rochdale (just up from Asda) a while ago but have only just gotten round to investigating properly. It’s SO much bigger than I imagined it would be - I wish we had gone sooner! Perfect for balance bike practice.