Windy walking in Wayoh

Wayoh reservoir dates from 1876 and is part of a chain of reservoirs north of Bolton supplying drinking water to the town. The moorland around Wayoh are always popular with walkers and it's one of the places we often visit for a stroll, usually with Carole's parents. Although the weather was very un-seasonal, with the threat of rain in the air and a cool blustery wind, we'd decided we'd venture out nontheless.

Kevan and Jean know these paths well, so although we have books detailing several walks in the area, we didn't really need them. Kevan led the way which took us from Chapletown village, along the shore of Wayoh, past Entwistle reservoir then up over Turton Heights before descending to Turton Tower, where the added bonus of a tearoom awaited. The wind was certainly blustery on the exposed hillside, so we were ready for a hot coffee and a slice of cake by the time we made our way down to the tower.

Turton tower is nowadays really an old house, but when it was originally built back in the 1400s, its purpose was to defend land belonging to the Orrell family. By the time of the civil war it had passed to the Chetham family (who founded the school of music in Manchester). The family name lives on in the area through the nearby hillside Chetham Close and the Chetham Arms pub in Chapletown. The tower now belongs to the local council and is open to the public.

We made the walk back to the car a little longer with a detour to the northern tip of Jumbles reservoir, where we picked up a path taking us to the other side of Chapletown before we turned back down the main road.

All in all a refreshing walk of around 5 miles.