ALMOST BACK TO BURY, THEN AN ABOUT TURN

The first stop today is at Irlams o' th' Height for a pint of Holt's in the Red Lion. There's a crowd waiting for opening time.

 The police have turned up to ensure good behaviour!

Just to the north is Agecroft, where the L&YR (later LMS) had an important loco shed.

LMS 2-6-4T no. 2383 passes the nearby Agecroft Junction.

Alongside the main line was Agecroft Power Station with this RSH 0-4-0ST.

Moving on to Prestwich (here's the route) and we have an old view of Bury New Road.

More Holt's in the Ostrich at Prestwich.

We now move northwards to Whitefield and its railway station in L&YR times.

At Whitefield, we find the Beehive, a former Whitbread pub, but no real ale these days.

Luckily, the New Grove Inn can supply plenty of Holt's beers.

Continuing towards Bury, we're now at Radcliffe Central station, with this L&YR 2-4-2T.

Radcliffe station, in 1987, was served by DC EMUs.

Metrolink trams later took over.

There were earlier trams in Radcliffe, operated by Bury Corporation. Here's the first one.

Bury car no. 16 is seen in Radcliffe.

Radcliffe and the River Irwell looking east in 1902.

The church of St Thomas in Radcliffe (Creative Commons License).

Back in 1999, I photographed this disused Tetley pub in Radcliffe, still advertiing Seed's Beers. Brewing ceased in 1938.

The Bridge Tavern in Radcliffe has no real ale nowadays.

We now take a sharp right and head for Hollins, where we find a Lee's house, the Hollins Bush.

Another sharp right, heading back towards Manchester and we find ourselves at Heaton Park, a large green area with lots of amenities. This is the Temple, standing proud (Creative Commons License).

The park contains Heaton Hall, seen in 2016 (Creative Commons License).

Here's the boating lake (Creative Commons License).

A short section of former Manchester Corporation tram track survives in the park and is used for heritage rides. Manchester 765 operates in 1985.

A Blackpool "open boat" was also in service.

There was also a light railway, which had closed by 1937.

A couple of local buses (GMT & Bolton Corporation) attending a rally in Heaton Park in the 1990s.

Some historic commercial vehicles have also been seen at Heaton Park.

The former Holt's family home just outside the patk has now been converted to a pub called the Woodthorpe.

That's it for this post. Next time, we'll start attacking Manchester, from the east.

"HELLO ECCLES" (With apologies to the Goon Show)

 Somewhat to the east of Leigh is Astley and the former colliery here has been converted into a museum. An 0-4-0ST loco stands outside.

The Cart and Horses at Astley is a well known Holt's pub.

Further east was Worsley Coal Chute on the Bridgewater Canal.

I once found this Wilson's Brewery dray outside a pub in Worsley.

Now, we head for the town of Swinton. You can follow the route here. There's shops to be found in Swinton Square (Creative Commons License).

Here's St Peter's church (Creative Commons License).

Lancashire United/GMT ran into Swinton. 2335 is on Chorley Road in 1985.

Two Holt's pubs to visit in Swinton, the Park Inn and the White Swan

We now turn south, to Patricroft loco shed in LMS times.

Just to the east is Eccles station, where class 40 locos were common.

Here's the exterior of Eccles station in pre-grouping days.

The old town hall in Eccles (Creative Commons License).

The shopping centre (Creative Commons License).

Salford trams once ran into Eccles.

Manchester's Metrolink now serves Eccles.

Various bus companies have served Eccles. Arriva has a big share of the routes.

Blue Bus ran several services here, but have now ceased trading.

Eccles Greys/Irwell Valley didn't last long.

Another vanished operator, the Lyntown Bus Company, had their depot in Eccles.

Get your Eccles cakes at Ye Olde Thatche!

There's plenty of real ale available in Eccles, but not at the Albert Edward any more.

The Eccles Cross is the town's Wetherspoons.

Sadly, the Royal Oak is no longer open.

Never mind, there's Holt's beers in the White Lion.

We conclude our visit in the Lamb, a historic pub close to the tram stop. More Holts.

Next time, we'll be in the area to the north of Manchester.