Fairy Glen

The Fairy Glen at Appley Moor in Lancashire is a short, woodland walk beside Sprodley Brook, formerly the southern extension of Sprodley Wood down to Delf House Wood and down towards the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The area has been known as Fairy Glen since around the turn of the 20th Century which pre-dates the Conan Doyle fairy fad by at least twenty years although there seems to be little of note prior to then.

The interestingly rocky-ravine-like scenery is probably due to natural faults in the sandstone country-rock together with extensive quarrying. The most noticeable – and attractive – area being that at the south of Fairy Glen in the area known as Delf House Wood, once the site of Delf House Wood Quarry where there is now a small waterfall. It could be mentioned that “delf” in the local area usually means “quarry” so the nearby Delf House would perhaps be named after a much older quarry on the site, giving its name in turn to the house, the wood that belonged to the house and the later quarry in the wood – where there is a house near a quarry – if you’re still following, let’s move on.

The quarries seem to have had their most productive time around the mid-19th Century when there was a tramway leading down beneath the railway and onto the canal at Appley Locks.

The woodland walk itself is very nice, resplendent with wildflowers in springtime and with a couple of waterfalls as icing-on-the-cake, but it’s a rather short distance and there is some litter at times. Great for a quick explore.

The ruins of an old water pumping station can be seen across boggy ground on the north side of the road at the north end of Fairy Glen.

Disambiguation: There is another Fairy Glen in the Lower Haigh Plantations that is lesser-known.