Oxbow Wood

Walk one: Torbay Road car park, Urmston, to Old Ees Brook and return.

Following 2 miles of well-marked paths through the pastoral farming landscape in the Mersey Valley south of Urmston.

Conditions: Mainly flat route, with some steps and paths prone to being muddy.

Torbay Road car park to Cob Kiln Lane
Enjoy a spot of bird watching from the bird hide by the car park. It overlooks a wetland meadow and a pond that attracts heron and waterfowl and is fringed with Norfolk reed and other wildflowers.

Follow the path at the far end of the car park flanked by wild roses and gorse bushes down some steps and across a wood bridge. Pass through a squeeze stile onto a gravel path in a new plantation of alder and willow trees and walk by a wildlife pond. In summer, dragonflies and damselflies hover around the pond. Turn right after going through a second squeeze stile and follow the path until it curves to the left. Now pass through a squeeze stile on your right. Walk across the field, between the new mixed forest plantations on either side. At the field end, pass through a squeeze stile onto Cob Kiln Lane.

Cob Kiln Lane to Oxbow lake
Turn right onto Cob Kiln Lane. This street name derives from when it was a cobbled street with a kiln used in the brick-making industry. It is now an attractive tree lined avenue. Follow for approximately 200 metres until you reach a set of steps to your left.

Option to return to the car park
If you only came for a short stroll you can return to the car park by continuing along Cob Kiln Lane to reach the main road. (Stretford Road) Turn right and follow Stretford Road for approximately 300 metres then turn right into Torbay Road. Follow this road until you reach the car park where you started, which is on your right. This is a round walk of 1 mile.

To continue the main walk, turn left off Cob Kiln Lane, go up the steps and follow the main gravel path to a squeeze stile at the field end. Pass through and turn right. The path goes past an ox bow lake on your left and emerges at a clearing. From here you can see the erosive power of the Mersey. Sand Martins can be seen nesting in the opposite bank during spring.

Oxbow lake to Ees brook wood and return to the car park
Ignore a road and bridge to your right and follow the path straight through the next field. As you pass under power lines there is a row of Hawthorn trees to your left, which were once a neat boundary hedge. At the end of the Hawthorns is a hollow tree stump covered with fan fungus inside and out. Continue along the path to the far end of the field. Turn right onto a dirt track and follow (the stream on your left further on is Old Ees Brook) to a T-junction and turn right. Follow this track with farms and stables to either side until you reach a car park on your left. Turn right here and cross over a metal bridge. Turn left and retrace your steps past the Oxbow Lake. As the path rises gently and turns right through 90 degrees ignore a squeeze stile to your left and follow the path until you reach a pylon in the far corner of the field. Turn left, go down some steps and cross Cob Kiln Lane. Pass through the squeeze stile opposite and retrace your steps across this field. Pass through the stile and turn left onto the path, which takes you back past the wildlife pond, across the bridge and back to Torbay Road car park via the right hand fork in the blue gravel path.