Following the sculpture trail

We started the day with an early call to Jonno in Australia then worked out how to get the bus to Bury for our planned walk back along the Irwell Sculpture Trail.  Conveniently, the buses had moved to contactless tickets earlier in the week, and it was just 2 pounds to travel to Bury, no paper tickers required.

The bus pulled in as we approached the bus stop, and it was an easy 30 minute ride into Bury.  After a quick walk through the mall, we looked for the first sculpture, Genus Trogon, supposedly perched on the back of the Bury Art Museum. Despite the best efforts of a friendly traffic warden to assist us, we couldn’t find it, and settled for an interesting sculpture at the entrance to the Bury Library.

The next sculpture, gates to the Trackside bar, left us totally underwhelmed, so we gave up trying to find them and focused on following the route out of town.  We passed the Jersey Girls lazing in the field and entered Burr Park, with its more noteworthy Waterwheel sculpture. 

Being time for morning coffee, we made our way to the Lamppost Café, run by Simon’s cousin Nikki and her husband Mark.  They opened the café in 2018 and have since expanded it to include a function centre and icecream shop.  The café is located in former millworkers cottages built in the early 18002.  The site is owned by Bury Council and now leased by Nikki and Mark. The coffee was excellent.  

Back on the trail we passed an enormous mousetrap inscribed with the words “picnic area”, and the Stone Cycle – made from stones recycled from a dismantled bridge where kids were having fun playing hide and seek. 

We continued along the canal and then the river, sighting random deer sculptures and little islands populated by crocodiles and children reading a book.  Summerseat station was decorated with more interesting pieces of art.  The route brought us through Nutall Park and we could see Peel Tower in the distance and the East Lancashire steam engine passing before us. 

We had time for lunch before heading into Whitefield to Liz’s place.  We had last seen Simon’s family in 2010 and it was lovely to catch up with Simon’s cousins over a delicious buffet dinner.

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