Twenty Bridges is the local nickname given to this rail crossing of
the River Douglas. It is also known as the Haigh Viaduct or the
Douglas Valley Viaduct
The bridge was built to carry the now defunct Lancashire Union
Railway to Boars Head station and beyond to reconnect to the West
Coast mainline. The line was known as the Whelley Loop and was
built to allow freight and other nonstop services to bypass the
limited 2 line section of the West Coast through Wigan.
For such a large structure there seems to be only a small number
of local people actually know of its existence. It is much better
to view the bridge in winter when all the foliage has died back
although a a summer visit will have its own rewards with the
wildlife and a sense of being miles from anywhere in the
undergrowth. If you are lucky you may see deer just beyond the
cache.
There is only one way into the cache which is along the path
starting at the given co-ordinates. Follow the faint path down to
the river and then turn right and follow the path that appears
along the edge of the riverbank. The cache is just at the side of
this path. No need to go scrambling up and down the bankings.
Please recover container carefully.
Don't try and access the area from any other direction. There is
no safe crossing of the river and much of the site is surrounded by
private property.
There is only very limited parking near to the cache and the road
is used for access to the properties beyond the bridge. If you do
drive close to the cache please consider this when leaving your
vehicle. It may be better to park on the Tarmac road and walk the
short distance to the cache site.
The name 'Twenty Bridges' is a bit of a misnomer for the obvious
reason!!. Try to work out why on your visit.