Blackleach Country Park is a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

Walkden Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, northwest of Salford, and of Manchester. Historically in the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture. In 2014, ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

. It is situated half a mile from the town centre just off Bolton Road in the Hill Top area. It is a Local Nature Reserve and a winner of the Green Flag Award.

History

Blackleach Country Park was in an old industrial area of Walkden which had chemical works. One of the more famous factories of the Blackleach site was a factory which produced

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

s. Adjacent to the factory was a large mound of waste, known locally as "Stink Bomb Hill", due to the strong sulphurous smell that emanated from it. Some of the dyes were accidentally released into the air, and one of the hills in the park became a striking purple at its peak. Rumours spread about the hill and people began taking children, suffering with

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...

, up the hill, believing it would cure them. White clothes hung up on neighbouring washing lines would also be tinged purple.

References

Parks and commons in Salford Country parks in Greater Manchester Local Nature Reserves in Greater Manchester {{GreaterManchester-geo-stub