Clifton Country Park is a local nature reserve in the

Irwell Valley The Irwell Valley in North West England extends from the Forest of Rossendale through the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal. Geology Shallow seas covered most of south-east ...

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

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 ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

. Situated next to a double bend in the

River Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary be ...

, it is north east of the Manchester to Preston railway line and the A666, Manchester Road, Clifton where it is accessible via Clifton House Road opposite

Clifton Cricket Club Clifton Cricket Club is an English cricket club based on Manchester Road (A666) in Clifton, Salford. The club were founder members of the Greater Manchester Cricket League (GMCL) in 2016 and play in that league's Premier division, finishing 3 ...

. Junction 16 of the

M60 motorway The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway or Manchester Outer Ring Road is an orbital motorway in North West England. Built over a 40-year period, it passes through most of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bol ...

is only about ¼ mile away to the south east. The park comprises 119 acres (48 hectares) of wooded area, fields and lakes. Industrial heritage is also a feature of the park, the remains of Wet Earth Colliery can be found in the woods, along with

Fletcher's Canal Fletcher's Canal was a long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used. The canal was built on the south bank ...

. The park also features two sculptures from the

Irwell Sculpture Trail The Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established footpath stretching from Salford Quays through ...

. There is now a fairytail trail around the lake where wooden carvings are situated with a full size gruffalo standing proud.

Importance

Clifton House Farm, Clifton Marina and Wet Earth Colliery together form the strategically important site of Clifton Country Park, providing a focal point within the Croal/

and on Salford's Recreation Routes network. An action plan was drawn up to help protect the site and establish several improvements to the area. The action plan also identifies two

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) for their biological diversity. The marina has also been cited as a place to plant trees and develop a green area along the western edge of the

conurbation.

Recreation

Clifton Marina, a gravel pit developed during the construction in the 1960s of the M62 across the Irwell Valley (now part of the M60), is popular with walkers, joggers and fishermen, there is a surfaced path around the lake providing a circular walk which is fully accessible for disabled users including those in motorised wheel chairs. A visitor centre is fully accessible with both sex toilet facilities. For the angler, the marina is well stocked with carp, bream, roach, tench, pike and perch. Many of these species running into specimen weights. In October 2006 this venue produced the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

record carp with a 41 lb 7oz

mirror carp Mirror carp, regionally known as Israeli carp, are a type of domesticated fish commonly found in Europe but widely introduced or cultivated elsewhere. They are a variety of the common carp (''Cyprinus carpio'') developed through selective breedin ...

caught by Jason Clarke.

References

External links

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