Country Kids - A Walk to the Meccano Bridge

Last Saturday evening, after dinner we decided to enjoy the last of the sunshine and head out on a walk. I had been challenged to go exploring with my new Maxi-Cosi Loola and it was the perfect opportunity to get out into the country park near our home with the children.


We're regulars at Moses Gate Country Park and I've blogged about it several times before but, this time, the country park was just the route to our ultimate destination - the Meccano Bridge which opened recently over the old Bolton - Bury Canal at Little Lever. It was a lovely time of day to walk along by the lodges and I dawdled a little as I played with my camera, taking shots of the abundant flowers and fruit that we passed along the way. The purple Orchids, in particular, were teeming with bumble bees but, every time I tried to get a decent shot of one gathering nectar they got a bit cross and started buzzing my purple dress. Oh well! One for another time.

All of the ducks, geese and swans were starting to settle down for the evening and had full tummies so we escaped the usual mobbing afforded by the sight off a family walking by and carried on. As we crossed the river and headed up towards the canal we spotted a Crab Apple tree which was heavy with fruit. Bud was quite amused by the sight of apples on the tree. I assumed he knew that apples grew on trees but began to doubt it, by his reaction! We had to dissuade him from eating them though, I don't think they would taste good. I am, however, considering a trip back to the tree when they ripen. I can see a few jars of crab apple jelly in our future.

This was uncharted territory for me and the children, although my partner has visited the bridge with his Explorer Scouts and they regularly wander all over the country park. He knows it like the back of his hand. Bud, having thus far stuck to being pushed along on his Smart Trike, was very keen to walk as soon as we got to the canal and spent a good amount of time chasing back and forth along the towpath between me, bringing up the rear with my camera, and his Daddy and baby Sister who were wandering ahead. I was a little apprehensive about him being so close to the canal but we made it very clear that he needed to stay away from the edge and I'm happy to say he did so. The canal is green with algae here, as it is standing water, but the towpath is well maintained and there are some beautiful views over the valley from there.


The Meccano Bridge replaces an old horse bridge over the disused canal and is part of a larger plan to refurbish the canal. The ultimate aim is to re-link Bolton and Bury but I think some of the route has been built upon so it's a huge job. The bridge itself is unique, in that in addition to being a piece of art by the artist Liam Curtin, it is also a functional bridge which was built by the local community. Made of scaled up Meccano pieces, it was entirely built and assembled in Bolton. You can even eat a picnic on Meccano picnic benches (they look great but aren't terribly comfortable) It's brilliant. If you're in the area go and see. I think it will be somewhere we return to regularly in the future, Bud loves it already.