Saddleworth cycle and horse-riding trail

Overview

Castleshaw Valley is on the fringe of the Pennine moors, with untamed hills and deep peat gullies. Wind your way along the Roman roads and packhorse trails taking in the ever-changing moorland colours of this dramatic landscape.

The village of Diggle (point 14 in the walk description) lies at the southern end of the Standedge canal tunnel, the longest and highest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. Having been closed to all traffic in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001.

Accessibility

Although the leaflet states that the route is suitable for horse-riders and cyclists, because of the varied terrain and gradients involved we believe that the full route is unlikely to be accessible to wheelchair and pushchair-users. There may, however, be sections close to the canal and along the “Delph Donkey” section that are accessible, though we have not been able to verify conditions on the ground.

How to get there

The walk start point is served by buses from Oldham Mumps (served by Metrolink trams) and is also only about 1 mile / 1.6 km from Greenfield train station.

To work out how to get to and from the walk start point, simply click the Google Maps link on this page. Then click ‘Directions’ and enter your postcode or location in the relevant field. For public transport options, click on the train icon.

Alternatively, input the postcode(s) shown on this page into the TfGM journey planner at https://my.tfgm.com/#/planner/