Ciggie Tunnel

Once a favourite paddling spot for locals on a walk up the Dean Brook from Barrow Bridge, which had manageable paths and a number of footbridges. The last bridge was lost in storms in the late 1990s. Ciggie Tunnel is an old brick-lined tunnel carrying Dean Brook below Walker Fold Road above Bolton. The long, straight shape of the tunnel is said to resemble a cigarette.

This area is being re-devoloped as part of the Smithills Estate and may change significantly.

On the downstream side there are remains of an old water managements system with stone-built channels with places for sluices now crumbling away. The area around the tunnel was redeveloped in the 1990s including wacky, ‘waterslide’ looking channels leading down from the roadside above. I believe they were meant to carry surplus water off the road but I don’t think they ever functioned correctly.

Probably frowned upon today but the tunnel was often used as a fun way to access Walker Fold Woods on the north side of the road. The two known methods include a crab-like shuffle with one leg on either side of the water, or brief runs along each side punctiuated by alternating hops to the opposite sides. Exiting the tunnel on the north side has always been a problem.

Created: 18  April  2021  Edited: 29  November  2023