Rochdale Pennine Edge East
Steep moor edge with attractions
Where?
Get there
- Public Transport
Bus/Train - Private Transport
Carparks
Public transport: Train station ‘Littleborough’ at the base of Blackstone Edge. Trams to ‘Milnrow’ and ‘Newhey’ not near walks (Milnrow is close to Ellenroad). Buses on all major roads. Private transport: access and parking everywhere. Hollingworth Lake can be a traffic jam—elsewhere not busy.
Review
In Milnrow try the Ellenroad Engine House Steam Museum, a mill engine fired every month. Or walk any of the following places, or between them. Piethorne Valley—a series of ranger‐maintained reservoirs with a visitor centre, may get a listing sometime. Hollingworth Lake—see the separate review. The Summit Pass and the millstone of Blackstone Edge—to live Blackstone Edge as history or experience, try walk the reservoirs in winter. This is where the Pennine Way crosses briefly into Greater Manchester—after Blackstone Edge the Way follows a high road into the deep of the Pennines to Hebden Bridge and Brontë country—but that’s beyond the remit of this site (though, for an all‐day walk with something for foreign visitors, strong contender). Warning: the overall climb is only about 250m but the slope can be 1:12. Some (e.g. cyclists, the Tour De France passed here) love that.