Celebration of the mass land trespass of 1896

Part I

 

Personally, I don’t know anyone from Bolton who speaks in the way suggested by the title, it’s always puzzled me, sounding kind of north-eastern, Geordie-esque, but I guess trying to write in dialect is not an exact art form…what is?

Anyway, history tells us of the great Kinder Scout (William Clough) mass land trespass of 1932 which hogs all of the glory regarding everyday common (okay?) folk marching all over previously private land in a bid to gain access for the people to bits of boggy wilderness (not a fan of the peak district, can you tell?). If the truth were to be known, this was not the UK’s first event of this particular type as one took place in Bolton – to Horwich  in 1896 when 10,000  souls braved Colonel Ainsworth’s thugs (ouch!) in a bid to stomp over the South-Eastern face of Winter Hill and Smithills Moor.  Can “yo” imagine the RSI the guy with the clicker would get today  after 10,000 walkers passed by?

And this also was not the first one as such a protest had already occurred at the neighbouring Darwen hill in 1878, but we don’t want to talk about that here!

I digress, regularly, I’m prone to wandering verbally as well as physically! In celebration of the historical event, a mass land…walk has been organised to mark the 125th anniversary of the epic rebellion. And I’ve decided I’ll go along…it could be quite something to be a part of, seeing as I missed the centennial version in 1996 and who would want to miss that? 

The walk itself is featured below, perhaps some stats would be nice…it’s okay, I’ll do them!

Oh god no… plotaroute! Have I mentioned editing a route in that software is a bit like trying to get rid of a headache by hitting yourself in the face with a cannonball??? 

The Commemorative March Up Winter Hill on 5th September 2021.

Distance	10.671km	Total ascent/descent	360m/226m
Lowest Point	107 m (at 0.00 km)	Highest Point	447 m (at 7.83 km)
Uphill	6.93 km (64.9%)	Downhill	2.88 km (27.0%)
Flat	0.81 km (7.6%)	Height Gain	340 m
Steepest Uphill	+12.2% (at 5.76 km)	Steepest Downhill	-14.4% (at 9.27 km)
Longest Uphill	5.13 km (at 1.98 km)	Longest Downhill	2.07 km (at 7.83 km)
Ascent Rate	34 m/km	Descent Rate	21 m/km

As you can see, that’s around 6.5 miles, meaning that the whole route back into Bolton is going to come out at around 13 miles, if we all do a there and back again type walk. Not the furthest I’ve ever walked but it might get a bit interesting on the way back with 10,000 people being something of a large body moving down the area’s A-roads.  Okay, I’m going to guess that there won’t be 10,000 this time around, I’d estimate 482…don’t ask! I wonder if there’ll be some form of police escort as without it…I’m not even guessing. I’m banking on the over all feel of the spectacle being amazing. Even if it’s raining, the atmosphere will be dry with all those Bolton folk around! So, make a date, the 5th of September, 2021, down in Bolton (sorry, Horwiches? / people from Horwich) for an afternoon – or morning as they haven’t yet given the itinerary out, of rebellious walking!

 

Distance 10.671 km Total Ascent/Descent 360 m / 226 m Lowest Point 107 m (at 0.00 km) Highest Point 447 m (at 7.83 km) Uphill 6.93 km (64.9%) Downhill 2.88 km (27.0%) Flat 0.81 km (7.6%) Height Gain 340 m Steepest Uphill +12.2% (at 5.76 km) Steepest Downhill -14.4% (at 9.27 km) Longest Uphill 5.13 km (at 1.98 km) Longest Downhill 2.07 km (at 7.83 km) Ascent Rate 34 m/km Descent Rate 21 m/km