Join me as a ride the entire Rochdale Canal! Starting in Castlefield (near the Bridgewater canal) and finishing in Sowerby bridge.
See the canal as never seen before with Drone footage and filmed in 4k from start to finish. If you are thinking of doing the canal on foot (hiking), on a bike or just enjoy watching an adventure this is a must watch!
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Distance: ~32 miles (51 km), mostly flat but with some lock climbs.
✅ Surface: Mix of towpath, cobbles, and some rougher sections—best with a hybrid or mountain bike.
Here are links to my kit and some things i wish for! If you buy anything from these links I do get a commission and you do not pay any extra! You just watching and liking the video is always enough!
DJI Action 4 with Mic 2 – https://amzn.to/4ghJtBG
DJI Action 4 combo – https://amzn.to/4hI7D9H
DJI Action 5 – https://amzn.to/4gqeKCm
DJI mini 4k drone – https://amzn.to/3PWl7CS
DJI mini 4k drone fly more ( you get extra batteries) – https://amzn.to/417Mgt3
DJI mini 4 pro drone –
DJI mic 2 – https://amzn.to/42DoO7T
DJI Lavalier – https://amzn.to/42EdW9V
DJI mini mic – https://amzn.to/4aM7Ciz
Boya mic – https://amzn.to/3CySgkP
Brooks B17 saddle:
Voodo Bizango pro
Chapters
intro 0:00
Manchester 0:40
Failsworth to Rochdale 2:41
Rochdale experience 3:37
Turning point – Smithy Bridge to Tod 4:54
Ride to Hebden bridge 7:21
Final stretch and introspection 8:40
Silliness 10:15
Lock 1!!!! 11:27
#mtb #canal #manchester #cycling #bike
11 Comments
Super!
stellar content, thanks!
FANTASTIC VIDEO KARL 🌈✝️🕊️❤️Me and Danny just managed to watch this together ..that’s an achievement in itself 🤪 I’ve never been to Sowerby canals or locks, didn’t know where number one was ..but now I do ..thanks 😃
I reckon me n Danny know the homeless folk you met, as we used to go to St Chads graveyard and sing amazing Grace there and got to know many homeless struggling with addictions etc I’ve seen them hanging out there where you met them when I was with the bike club x x x
One guy read out some wedding renewal vows for us on our anniversary 🌈✝️🕊️❤️😇😇😘🥰😍 and they all cheered, the drugs and alcohol will have made them paranoid, they don’t know you nor you them so it’s a scary situation to pass when folk are off their heads, they told us it can be pleasant one minute and kick off the next, though we never experienced anyone kicking off bad when we were there, and we went a few times to chat and hang out to get to know the folk and their stories. I’ve been unwell for so long I haven’t seen any of them for ages, and when I saw one lady I cried as she had lost so much weight, it broke my heart 💔 We have a nightmare neighbour causing more problems & trouble than anyone I’ve ever met, spreading constant lies about us to anyone she can get to listen ..sales reps ..anyone 🤪 I call it spiritual warfare ..evil just constantly trying to bring us down 👿 …all humans endure it! But when one thing stops bothering you, the bar raises ..to another level ..another devil ….and keeps on like that!
I do love the pleasantness of Littleborough, Tod and Hebden bridge canal ride though 🌈✝️🕊️❤️😇😘🥰😍 x x x
And like you, defo the countryside ..I LOVE IT ❤
Loved the music in this and I also sang …DAYLIGHT COME AND WE WANT TO GO HOME….in a tunnel 🤣😂🤣🤣 I laughed when you did too 😂
Well done doing that long ride, your microphone is the exact same as the one I lost, Danny’s FIUND some magnet ones, so waiting on him ordering them next x x x
Bye for now love Julie ❤
We ride from Rochdale through to Sandbrook then into Hollingworth lake on a regular basis with my wife and although the homeless are there on many occasions on the whole they don't bother us but as you say it gets sooo much nicer the closer to Hebden you get, its ashame but ive seen this even in nice areas unfortunately… Great vid and great comments
Thanks
Another great video. Ah the drinkers and drug users at Lock 50 right outside my offices, can't say it's not eventful! Some of them get VERY loud which isn't great when you want to have the windows open in summer. I won't use the canal in the evening but get on it from Sandbrook park to Lock 50 in the mornings on my commute, not bad on a weekday morning and have seen kingfishers and sparrowhawks these last few weeks. In the school holidays I'll come in over the tops up Rooley Moor from Norden then join the canal around Clegg Hall then back towards Lock 50, definitely from Clegg Hall (ish) onwards is a much nicer experience. The drunks are usually okay in the morning first thing, there are some regulars that are okay and quite pleasant in the mornings always saying hello and then there are some less pleasant regulars but they don't tend to be around first thing. Luckily it's mostly just verbal abuse that we have to endure rather than physical violence, they only tend to hit each other, you definitely got a bad day.
As soon as you leave the towns and enter the countryside it's like going through the back of the wardrobe…. Totally different vibes.
You might of said but how long did it take? I don’t trust google maps lol.
Hi Great video. Where was the cafe that filled your water bottle?
Great video, Karl! What you were saying at 8:58 I couldn't agree more.
Be careful around those druggies in Rochdale. Last time I was there (10 years ago), I received a fractured skull, bleed on the brain, fractured eye socket, broken nose, and a broken hand. I used to walk down there to get to work from the bus stop, and this happened at 5 to 8 in the morning, when I least expected it.
I've not worked since, and it sort of messed my life up.
Enjoyed that Karl👍…What bike are you riding? I was brought up in Huddersfield so many of those places are familiar to me. I’m now living in the Midlands and in retirement have taken up biking as a means to keep fit. I’ve determined to record some of my rides as a bit of a record just to see how this develops.
I live in Saltaire and have have cycled the canal several times. The difference between Yorks & Lancs is staggering! From Leeds to Gargrave it's a well maintained and popular leisure facility for everybody, really busy on weekends. Then you enter Lancs and it's like nobody cares about it. I don't know why this is?