Weekend Reflections: Waterside Wander

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Where better for a Weekend Wander with the Autumn colours reflected in the water than along the bank of the disused Fairbottom Branch Canal? The canal runs along the boundary of Ashton under Lyne with Oldham, between Bardsley and Daisy Nook Country Park, where it joins the Hollinwood Canal.

It never fails to surprise me just what a haven of tranquillity exists between these two nearby industrial towns. The canal, of course, owns its existence to the area's industrial history, being built to transport coal from the pits that lined the river valley down to the cotton mills of Ashton and Manchester.

As the coal mines closed, so did the canal and, cut off from the waterway network, its route remains as a delight for anglers, walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

See Google Aerial View of this location. See Birds Eye View of this location.

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