Appley Bridge, Nr. Wigan
Created | Updated Mar 22, 2005
If you're looking for a party, this is definately not the place to go. A quiet little village trying desperately not to get sucked up by the world. This makes it the ideal place to raise a family, and as such, this is what most of the residents are doing.
Appley Bridge's attractions include:
- A quarry that is closed to the public, but is frequented by young teenagers going for a swim. The new fences and danger signs that are put up around it mean that it remains one of the more rebelious and, therefore, popular past-times of the adolescents.
- Four pubs called The wheatsheaf, The water's edge, The Old Station and Sam's Bar. The wheatsheaf and is mostly patronised by old men and their dogs (except on weekends when the "pre-night out in wigan" helps to fill it with youngsters). The water's edge is quite friendly if a little quiet. The Old Station House is grim, and most of it's clientele go there because they don't ask for age identification. Sam's Bar was recently refurbished with second hand sofas and is the most popular of the pubs in appley bridge. On weekends it can often get quite lively.
- Ashurst Beacon. A reasonable park, but soiled at night as it is a favourite spot for dogging in the area.
- A canal runs through Appley Bridge (and under the bridge of the same name) that many people like to go fishing in (although nothing bigger than 3 inches has ever been caught in it to my knowledge) or for a walk or bike ride along. It is the canal that links up leeds and liverpool and if you have the time, it's a nice ride to either of these places.
- An 18 whole golf course. A well designed, fairly short course. Being located in a valley, it can get quite windy. It is members only, except on special offers.
- Fairy Glen. A beauty spot and biological heritage site full of dense woodland and wildlife, with a stream running to the river douglas. Many people go for walks through here. The stunning scenery including waterfalls and cliff faces, and the very secluded nature of the valley make it a very popular spot for new couples.
- It's closest library and church are situated in neibourghing Shevington which is less than a mile away.
- Also nearby is Camelot, which is a very second rate theme park hidden in Charnock Richard. It's rides include some children's rides (The best of which being 'Pendragon's plunge', 'Ghostly Galleon') and a few 'white knuckle rides' ('The Gauntlet', 'Excalibur') but nothing that would atract real thrill seekers.
If you are looking for somewhere to eat in appley bridge, your choices are rather limited. The pubs mentioned earlier serve presentable food, The Water's Edge serving the best quality meals. There is a chip shop near the top of wood nook road that is perfectly decent. If you don't fancy pub lunch or chips though, it is necessary to go further afield:
shevington has a pizza shop, balti house and numerous pie shops. Other than that, it is a good idea to head for Standish or Wigan.
Appley Bridge is quite a picturesque village within easy driving/train/bus distance from Wigan and has good links to both Manchester and Southport. The fact that it is so popular with young families, however, means that new housing estates keep popping up, and appley bridge may not stay so picturesque for long.
Finding Appley Bridge is pretty straightforward. By car it is just off J26 on the M6 and trains on the Manchester/Southport route stop there.
There is no reason why Appley Bridge would be a popular place to visit, and so finding accomodation inside the village is hard. Places to stay in the nearby area include Park Hall Hotel in Charnock Richard, and Kilhey Court Hotel in Standish.
