Burrs Country Park covers a 36

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

(86 acre) site on the banks of the River Irwell, 1.5 km (1 ml) north west of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It was acquired by Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in 1986 and transformed from a derelict industrial site into a modern country park.

Description

The park covers an area once housing the mill complex of the Burr and Higher Woodhill cotton mills. The old mill remains were in the main removed from the site with certain features of interest left in situ, these include the Burrs Mill chimney, the mill floor and water wheel pit. The park also contains the feeder canal for

Elton Reservoir The Manchester Bury & Bolton Reservoir, commonly called Elton Reservoir, is located near the A58 Bolton Road in Greater Manchester, about 3 km (1.8 mi) south west of the town of Bury. Constructed in 1842 at the height of the canal e ...

, which is the source of water for the

Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. ...

. The site is on 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 ...

and has three sculptures, 'Waterwheel' by David Kemp, 'Stone Cycle' by Julie Edwards and 'Picnic Area' by David Fryer. The site is also home to the Bury Agricultural Society Show Ground, moved here in 2001 following the loss of the Bury Show Ground. Bury MBC have a limited Countryside Warden service office located in a mill old cottage on Stock Street. It has been awarded

Green Flag Green Flag or Green Flag Rescue, is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used ...

accreditation for 2007/08. and a "Much Loved" award as part of

Fields in Trust Fields in Trust, is a British charity set up in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the Duke of York, later King George VI, who was the first president, which protects parks and green s ...

's UK's Best Park competition.

Leisure uses

The site has leisure activities including * The Irwell Sculpture Trail runs through the park * The East Lancashire Railway has a Halt in the park * Outdoor pursuits (walking and orienteering trails) * Canoeing (training pool and slalom course). The long established Bury Canoe Club is based at the Burrs. * Playground * Industrial archaeology - interpretation boards explain the history of the mills and cottages * Picnic tables * The Lamppost Café * The Brown Cow public house is also housed in the country park * Caravanning - The

Caravan and motorhome Club The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing caravan and motorhome users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and now represents nearly one million members (caravanners, motorhomers and campervanners). Hi ...

has recently opened a purpose built camping and caravan site. * Fishing by licence only * Birdwatching - resident herons, dippers and kingfishers * Cycling (lies on the

National Cycle Route The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

6) * Nature study (

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

and open space habitats) * Friends of Burrs : The Friends of Burrs group is a collection of local residents and park users who are passionate about Burrs Country Park. The group carries out fundraising and practical park improvement projects including a gardening club, balsam bashing and litter picking.

Access

The park lies on several bus routes from Bury town centre. There is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the

East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, , Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with ...

nearby to the park which was opened on January 1, 2017 and since January 2017, has seen regular passenger services. The park is easily accessible by car or bicycle from Bury Bridge on the A58 and by footpaths leading from the suburbs of

Brandlesholme Brandlesholme is a suburb north of Bury in Greater Manchester, England, half-way between Bury town centre and Ramsbottom. Brandlesholme Road (B6214) is the main road through the area. At its furthermost south junction it meets with Tottington R ...

, to the west, and Walmersley, Seedfield and Limefield to the east.

Information

Bury MBC provide several guides to the area including the Irwell Sculpture Trail, wildlife, fishing and industrial heritage. These are available from Bury MBC at the site or can be downloaded at the Bury MBC website.

References

{{Reflist Parks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Country parks in Greater Manchester Tourist attractions in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Bury, Greater Manchester