With so much controversy surrounding the Metropolitan Police, we seem to have picked an odd time to visit Ramsbottom. This thriving Lancashire market town is crowned by Peel Tower, an unmissable tribute to the group’s founder, Sir Robert Peel.
We get our first glimpse long before we reach our destination, as my husband Martin drives our car through the countryside on the M66 from Manchester.
Not just because of the tower’s lofty position on Holcombe Hill in the West Pennine Moors just above Ramsbottom. But also because this monument is no less than 128 feet high. As such, Peel Tower is hard to miss as it soars into the sky, breaking up an otherwise ambivalent horizon of billowing greenery and metallic clouds.
Sir Robert Peel founded the Met in 1829 and unwittingly gave the nicknames “Bobby” and “Peeler” to those who served in its ranks.
Born outside Ramsbottom in the nearby, much larger town of Bury, the politician hoped the Metropolitan Force would be the model for policing in other parts of the country – and it was.
Immersed in the past: Angela Epstein visits the thriving market town of Ramsbottom in Lancashire, pictured
In recognition of his work, the tower was built in 1852 from stones cut from the hill.
For a closer look we park at the bottom of Holcombe Hill and follow a path up.
The walk is tedious, but our frequent stops are rewarded with views across the Irwell Valley.
Although it’s closed (a white flag flies on days it’s open), it’s compensation enough to sit outside and look out over the countryside and the faint outline of Manchester in the distance.
Downtown Ramsbottom has a contemporary TV feel. It’s a mecca for quirky shops and independent shopkeepers selling local groceries and gifts, all from weavers’ cottages and stone terraces.
We stop at the family-run Chocolate Cafe for a refreshing cup of something hot and frothy (it takes tremendous willpower to resist World Of Crafted Chocolate’s tasting plate of Ecuadorian white chocolate and Colombian brownies).
Directly in front of the shop, or rather leaning against it, is a large inverted bronze urn with water pouring from it.
It was designed by the sculptor Edward Allington and placed there in 1998 to symbolize Ramsbottom’s connection to water, as the town is situated on the River Irwell.
Angela climbs to the top of Holcombe Hill to see the Peel Tower (foreground photo). “The walk is a lung breaker,” she says
The Peel Tower is an unmissable tribute to the founder of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Robert Peel
A little further afield is the East Lancashire Railway, a 12 mile railway which opened in 1987 between Heywood in Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. Ramsbottom is one of the stops.
As we approach the lovingly preserved railway station, the level crossing barrier swings shut and a magnificent locomotive chuffa-chuffas speeds past, roaring steam and letting visitors into the city.
The first trains on this line originally entered Bury Station in the 1840s, connecting mill towns and trading centers around the Irwell Valley. The development of the line and all its stations was an important part of Lancashire’s industrial revolution.
Ramsbottom is one of the stops on the East Lancashire Railway (above), a heritage railway line that runs between Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Image courtesy of Creative Commons
A magnificent locomotive pulls past as Angela approaches the lovingly preserved Ramsbottom railway station above
Today, at every stop along the route, you’ll find historic waiting rooms, ornate platforms – and the feeling of being an extra in The Railway Children. The journey is everything you’d expect – from the screech of the whistle to the soothing hum as the steam pumps out of the funnel.
The scenery, which can be tasted from afar on the summit of Holcombe Hill, rushes past – a canvas of gently rolling hills and fields with sheep (we see a few alpacas at the foot of the aforementioned hill). I’m just rather disappointed that we didn’t book any of the dining experiences on board, which included gourmet evenings and afternoon tea. It’s a throwback to the days when train travel was more than a curly, well-traveled cheese and pickle sandwich.
It is hard to imagine what Sir Robert Peel would think of the country’s current police force or the state of our transport infrastructure.
But what a delight to escape to this hilltop market town and step into the past.
And don’t think about the present or the future.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
