Mooboo

Bolton Art Gallery, Library & Museum

Eagley · 0.1 miles

Has an archive section

Leverhulme Park

Tonge Fold · 1.2 miles

Leverhulme Park occupies the greatest expanse of green space in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and lies close to the Tonge Fold area. The land was presented to the town’s residents by the late Lord Leverhulme, after whom the park is named, and it is bordered by the districts of Breightmet, Darcy Lever, the Haulgh and Tonge Fold. Its position within the town makes it readily reachable from the surrounding neighbourhoods and the nearest settlement identified on mapping services is Tonge Fold. The site now includes a community centre, an athletics stadium and a set of five-a-side football pitches, providing facilities for a range of organised sports. A free weekly parkrun is held each Saturday at 09:00, inviting walkers and runners to use the park’s pathways. Historically the park hosted the Bolton Show, an event that evolved from a 1950s agricultural exhibition and ran intermittently for more than half a century, usually each August until 2003. At its height the show drew crowds of up to 90 000 and featured craft stalls, motorbike displays, stunt performances, falconry, dog handling, a fairground, car-boot sales and a concluding fireworks display. A later family-focused programme, Bolton One Big Weekend, attracted an estimated 20 000 visitors and offered activities such as quad-bike racing, bungee jumping, tank rides, a vintage car showcase, morris dancing, martial-arts demonstrations and a dog show. No admission charges or specific opening hours are recorded, reflecting its status as a public park with open access for visitors.

Hall i' th' Wood Museum

Bank Top · 1.2 miles

Hall i' th' Wood is an early 16th-century manor house in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is a Grade I listed building and is currently used as a museum by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. It was the manor house for the moiety of the Tonge with Haulgh township held by the Brownlows in the 16th century. The original building is timber framed and has a stone flagged roof; there were later additions to the house, built from stone, in 1591 and 1648. The name represents "Hall in the Wood' spoken in the local regional English dialect and is pronounced.

Moses Gate Country Park

Daubhill · 2.5 miles

Set on the Croal and Irwell valleys, the 750-acre Moses Gate Country Park lies three miles south of Bolton town centre along the A6053 between Farnworth and Little Lever, with Daubhill the nearest settlement. The site stretches from the main road to Nob End, following the River Croal to its confluence with the Irwell, after which the water continues into Clifton Country Park. Its name combines a corruption of “mosses”, referring to the historic marshy ground, with the Old English “gata”, meaning a way across. Part of the park is also known as Crompton Lodges, a reference to the former mill ponds that once supplied water to Crompton’s Paper Mills. The Kingfisher Way, an 11 km trail linking Clifton Country Park with Jumbles Reservoir, passes through the area. Three lodges provide distinct uses: one is set aside for angling, another supports water-based recreation such as canoeing, and the third functions as a nature reserve attracting migratory birds. To the east, a short surviving stretch of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal remains in water, while much of the surrounding ground has been reclaimed from former coal-mine workings, including the old Farnworth Bridge Collieries. A weir on the Croal once fed the paper mill. Rock Hall, built around 1807 and later the park’s visitor centre, has been closed since the ranger service ended in 2014 and is currently offered for commercial lease. Nob End, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1988 and a Local Nature Reserve in 2000, contains alkaline soils that support a range of orchids such as the fragrant orchid, northern marsh orchid and early marsh orchid, alongside other specialised plants across its 8.8 ha area. Access is via the A6053; the park is open without a listed admission charge, though facilities are limited following the closure of the former visitor centre.

The Fusilier Museum

Buckley Wells · 5.6 miles

Visitors can view the uniforms, medals and artefacts of the Lancashire Fusiliers within a museum set in Bury, Greater Manchester, close to Buckley Wells. The displays occupy the former Bury Arts and Crafts Centre on Broad Street, a building that originally opened as a Technical School for Bury Borough Council in 1893. Designed by local architect Joshua Cartwright in a Neo-Renaissance style, the façade bears the inscription “Technical School” and a frieze of five panels depicting crafts such as mathematics, science, engineering, printing, pottery, literature and music. After serving as an Arts and Crafts Centre, the structure was repurposed as the Fusilier Museum in 2009; the Duke of Kent officially opened the new premises on 25 September 2009. The museum’s collection chronicles more than three centuries of the regiment’s history, including a set of Victoria Crosses awarded to five members for actions during the First World War. Adjacent to the exhibition space lie the Gallipoli Garden and the Grade II*-listed Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial, providing a quiet context for reflection. Although the Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment merged into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1968, the museum forms part of a network of Fusilier museums that also includes sites in Alnwick Castle, Warwick and the Tower of London. The building’s Grade II listing recognises its architectural and historic significance, while the collection offers insight into the regiment’s long-standing military heritage.

Burrs Country Park

Brandlesholme · 5.6 miles

Set on the banks of the River Irwell, Burrs Country Park occupies a 36-hectare site north of Bury in Greater Manchester, close to the Brandlesholme suburb. Acquired by Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in 1986, the area was transformed from the derelict grounds of the former Burr and Higher Woodhill cotton mills. While most mill structures were removed, the chimney, a section of the mill floor and the water-wheel pit remain as visible reminders of its industrial past. The park also contains the feeder canal for Elton Reservoir, three sculptures that form part of the Irwell Sculpture Trail, and the Bury Agricultural Society Show Ground, which relocated here in 2001. A limited Countryside Warden office occupies an old mill cottage on Stock Street, and the park holds Green Flag accreditation for 2007/08 together with a Fields in Trust “Much Loved” award. A range of leisure pursuits is available within the park. The Irwell Sculpture Trail, National Cycle Route 6 and marked walking and orienteering routes provide opportunities for exploration, while interpretation boards detail the site’s industrial archaeology. Canoe training facilities, a slalom course and the long-established Bury Canoe Club support water-based activity; fishing is permitted by licence, and birdwatchers may spot herons, dippers and kingfishers. Additional amenities include a playground, picnic tables, the Lamppost Café, the Brown Cow public house, and a Caravan and Motorhome Club site. The park is served by several bus routes (472, 474, 477) from Bury Interchange, and by Burrs Country Park railway station on the heritage East Lancashire Railway, which operates weekend services year-round with extra trains from Easter to the end of September. Access by car or bicycle is possible via Bury Bridge on the A58, and footpaths link the park with Brandlesholme, Walmersley, Seedfield and Limefield.