Where to go · Greater Manchester

Forest bathing at Smithills Estate

The Woodland Trust's largest English site, on the moors above Bolton, with ancient woodland and wooded cloughs.

Smithills covers about 1,700 acres on the edge of Bolton, rising towards Winter Hill. It is the Woodland Trust's largest site in England: a patchwork of farmland, grassland, moorland and bog, with areas of ancient and wet woodland and wooded cloughs such as High Shores Clough cut into the hillside.

Walker Fold car park is the main starting point, with a coffee kiosk and a temporary toilet. For woodland, the Barrow Bridge trail is a short walk through trees on the edge of the village, with two steep flights of steps, so wear boots. The longer history walk climbs over Winter Hill and is open and exposed. The cloughs are the sheltered places to stop. Car parks can close when the ground is unsafe.

Practical

Managed by
Woodland Trust
Parking
Car parks at Walker Fold (60 spaces) and Barrow Bridge (20 spaces)
Terrain
Woodland paths with steep steps; open moorland and farmland tracks
Nearest station
Bolton, about 5 miles
Facilities
Coffee kiosk and temporary toilet at Walker Fold
Opening and entry
Open access, free; car parks open seasonal hours
Official page
woodlandtrust.org.uk

Last updated 4 November 2026. Paths, parking and access can change, so check before you visit. Spotted something out of date? Please let us know.

Guides nearby

Three guides within 15 miles of Smithills Estate

More woodlands in Greater Manchester

All venues in Greater Manchester
Winter trees in the deer park at Dunham Massey, Greater ManchesterDunham MasseyMedieval deer park of ancient trees near Altrincham, with free-roaming fallow deerEtherow Country Park, Compstall, Greater ManchesterEtherow Country ParkWoods, river and an old mill pond in the Etherow valley at Compstall, near MarpleFootpath through trees in Bottling Wood, Haigh Woodland Park, WiganHaigh Woodland ParkBeech woods and old plantations around Haigh Hall, on the edge of Wigan

Photos: Dunham Massey, Jeff Buck (CC BY-SA 2.0); Etherow Country Park, Stephen Burton (CC BY-SA 2.0); Haigh Woodland Park, Bill Boaden (CC BY-SA 2.0).