PEEL Tower is 150 years old this year . . . so what better way to pass on your regards to Sir Robert Peel's celebrated monument than with this rural ramble around Ramsbottom.

Head up the wooded Irwell Valley then climb on to the moors to end your walk with the spectacular view from the Tower. On a fine autumn day, the whole of the Manchester metropolis and beyond will be laid out beneath your feet.

DISTANCE: 7 miles

START: Peel Tower car park (OS GR 782163) on Lumb Carr Road (B6214), Holcombe. This is half a mile up the hill from the Hare and Hounds pub.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Take a bus from Bolton/Bury to the Hare and Hounds pub and start the walk from there.

Cross the road from the car park and go through the gate opposite to join a path which leads to a cobbled road. Turn left on this cobbled road and follow it downhill for half a mile. It crosses a minor lane and continues downhill until the cobbles stop and the road swings left to reach the road junction at the back of the Hare and Hounds pub. Cross the bottom of Lumb Carr Road then take care and cross the main road to join Woodhey Road. Follow this residential road and when it forks, take the right fork to follow a track which bends sharp right then left around a wall. It enters a wooded valley. Follow the main path downhill alongside a stream to reach a bridge.

Turn left at the bridge, following a driveway and entering a woodland above a stream. The path climbs uphill and at the edge of the woodland bear right and follow a track along the top of a slope which borders gardens on your left. This path leads to a cobbled footpath close to the East Lancashire Railway line. Turn left and follow this cobbled footpath heading north. The cobbles give way to tarmac and the path bears right and drops downhill to reach a minor lane. Turn right and the lane becomes a woodland track leading to the River Irwell. Cross the footbridge over the river and for the next one and a half miles the Irwell is kept close at hand. Follow the stony track past Nuttall Park and a road is soon reached. Turn left along the road and follow it to the next road junction.

Cross over here and by the shop take the road signed as Kenyon Street which leads to a factory. Take the path immediately to the right of the factory entrance which leads around the perimeter fence and enters a large muddy field. Continue straight ahead along the field edge to reach an access lane which leads to another road. Turn left and cross the river then take care and cross the busy A road. A footpath is now joined on the opposite side of the road bridge with the river on your right. The path leads past cottage gardens then follows a riverside track alongside a meadow and the railway line.

When cottages are reached turn left and follow the lane under the railway viaducts. After the second viaduct bear right and follow a track which skirts around a house and starts to climb uphill. The path crosses footbridges and enters the Stubbins Estate owned by the National Trust. Follow the main path up through the wooded valley, it bears slightly right but keep climbing uphill until a road is reached. Take care crossing this road on a bend and directly opposite cross the stile and follow the permissive path continuing uphill through the woodland. You eventually emerge upon a moorland track.

Turn right along the track for a short distance then turn left by a rough assortment of tracks (near the ladder stile in the wall) and start to climb onto the moors. The path leads uphill with walls to your left and right. Keep near the wall on your left and as the top wall corner is reached another path leading to the Rifle Range Notice is met. Bear left on this path which climbs gradually along the line of Rifle Range signs. Take heed of any MOD warnings. The path runs uphill to the stone memorial to the ancient Pilgrim's Cross which stood here in medieval times and became a resting place for priests travelling to Whalley Abbey.

Continue straight ahead from here across the open moor, heading directly south towards Peel Tower. The path drops down from Harcles Hill and the colossal Tower is reached after about a mile. The monument was opened in 1852 to celebrate the Repeal of the Corn Laws by Bury born Prime Minister Robert Peel. Turn right in front of the Tower to take the main track off the moor which zigzags down the hill towards Holcombe village. When a farm track is reached, turn left then quickly right to pick up the cobbled road at the start of the walk. Turn left off the cobbled road to pick up the path back to the car park.