COWPE LOW CIRCULAR
This region consists of moorland and hilly terrain located between the West Pennine Moors and the South Pennines. It lies entirely within Lancashire, although the administrative boundary with the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is only about a kilometer to the southeast of the highest point.
🅿️Ashworth Moor. Edenfield Road, Cheesden, OL12 7TY
🥾10.3 MILES
🗻375m ascent approx--Knowl hill, Higher hill, Hail stone hill, Top of Leech and Cowpe Moor.
☕Food and drink Van in the car park during the day. Also a pub facing the car park.
🛤️Some good solid paths but also muddy, pathless and very boggy after rain, possibly the boggiest place we have walked?.
From the parking area you cross the road and take the path directly In front part of the Rochdale way. This leads all the way to the first summit approx 1.2 miles. This section was quite muddy and slippery when we did the route, good walking boots would be recommended.
Its always a bonus with kids, when you reach the summit and there is a Trig point. The summit overlooks Scout Moor and the Scout Moor Wind Farm. The first summit is 419m.
Follow the path off summit heading for the wind farm road. Once on here the walk is more enjoyable with great views all around if you get a clear day.
You walk this path for approx 1.5 miles
Higher Hill 456m with some kind of tower mass, possibly connected to the wind farm.
This was a great place to stop for dinner to keep the energy going as Ariya had only just turned 5 and this was a harder walk for little legs due to the bog.
Walking from Higher hill, to Hail storm hill and Top of Leach is extremely boggy, but we did do the walk in the November time after rain. Now on the moor if the visibility is poor it is very easy to loose navigation, so we would always recommend a map and compass.
Top of Leach summit just after the very small pile of rocks marking the summit of Hail Storm hill, this initially had us walking around in circles to try and find the highest point.
We pick up the Pennine Bridleway/Rossendale way from the summit, this is a good 2 miles walk to the next resting point.
Waugh’s Well is situated near a natural spring atop Scout Moor. It was a beloved spot for Lancashire's renowned dialect poet, Edwinaugh, who was born in Rochdale in 1817. From here we followed the path back over Higher Hill and took the Cheesden Brook path all the way down to the main road, and back to the car park with tired but happy muddy legs.
The well is at grid reference 829 196
