The Four Meres Footpath

Length: Approximately 16 miles.
Sections: Can be completed in sections, though the route is circular. Transport (e.g., taxi or carpooling) would be needed between start and finish points.
Duration: Expect at least 8 hours to complete, due to distance, challenging terrain, and navigation. For a same-day completion, begin around 8 AM.
Starting Points & Parking: Main starting point is the car park off Ship Lane, near the Bishop Park obelisk. The route intersects multiple roads, offering alternative starting and parking options.
Difficulty: Intermediate, long distance with some challenging terrain, but not a mountain hike.
Suitability: Recommended for able-bodied adults only.
Dog Friendly: Yes.
Facilities: The route passes several pubs, including The Roebuck Inn (Strinesdale), Cross Keys Inn (Pobgreen), Diggle Hotel, and The Junction Inn (Denshaw).

Map

The Four Meres Footpath: full route (.pdf)
The Four Meres Footpath: north east section (.pdf)
The Four Meres Footpath: north west section (.pdf)
The Four Meres Footpath: south west section (.pdf)
The Four Meres Footpath: south east section (.pdf)

History of the Four Meres

Standing on the western side of the Pennine watershed, the Civil Parish of Saddleworth belongs to the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Saddleworth was referred to as ‘The Land of The King in Yorkshire’ and following the Norman Conquest it became a part of the Honour of Pontefract. It was then divided into four distinct quarters or ‘Meres’: Friarmere, Shawmere, Lordsmere and Quickmere.

Confusingly, the whole district was also once known simply as ‘Quick’.

Saddleworth’s history can be traced back beyond 1066 to the Stone Age, with a Bronze Age bowl barrow situated within our borders, and to Ancient Rome - the civilisation which built a road from Chester to York, changing the Castleshaw Valley forever.

While the Meres have long since ceased to have any official role in governing our Civil Parish, in the 19th century they formed the basis of local governance.

However, with administrative reforms and the creation of urban and rural districts, the significance of the meres diminished.

Today, the names only survive on some of the milestones and monuments erected by the West Riding County Council, but the modern-day communities we now look upon are creations of the industrial revolution.

Lordsmere

Directly controlled by the Lord of the Manor – was the eastern, and by far the largest, part of the district, encompassing Diggle, Dobcross, Uppermill, part of Greenfield, plus the whole of Saddleworth Moor.

View from Lordsmere

Quickmere

In the west, spreading from Strinesdale to Wharmton, had three Divisions; from north to south these were:

Upper, a small very sparsely populated area;
Middle, including Scouthead, Austerlands, Springhead, Grotton, Lydgate and Grasscroft;
Lower, the area also known as Quick; which was transferred to Mossley in 1885.

View from Quickmere

Shawmere

A small area based on Shaw Hall, between Quickmere and Lordsmere, had two divisions:

Upper, a sparsely populated area between Scouthead and Dobcross;
Lower, including the areas around Shaw Hall, Dacres, and Noon Sun.

View from Shawmere

Friarmere

To the north, was monastic land belonging to Roche Abbey and stretched from Grains Bar to Standedge; it had two poetically named parts to it:

Dark Side, the most northerly part, including Denshaw down to Delph;
Light Side, including the Castleshaw Valley.

The Four Meres provided an administrative purpose for linking together the scattered settlements that then made up this Pennine Township and are an illuminating period in history that played an important part in shaping the Saddleworth of today.

View of church at Friarmere