Old Kays Park is set in a lovely area on the Tottington and
Greenmount border. Parking is available at N53º37.238' W002º20.568'
or park on Turton Road near to Woodstock Drive and take the signed
public footpath.
There are some beautiful listed buildings nearby. For example,
on Holcombe Road just north of the parking place, is the birthplace
of Henry Wood, a Quaker who sailed to America in the 17th Century
to escape religious persecution and who founded there the town of
Woodbury. Of course the name of Kay is also of note in these parts,
both John Kay, inventor of the "picking peg " or Flying Shuttle,
and Roger Kay, who bequeathed a sum of money in the early 18th
century for the foundation of Bury Grammar School for girls.
For a short circular walk there are good paths around the park
itself. It's a good place to walk the dog (use the bins, please) or
take the kids to play. There used to be a playground here but that
was removed some time ago. However, there is a children's
playground just up the road towards Tottington, about 5 - 10
minutes walk away.
Old Kays Park was chosen to take part in the Family Tree Scheme,
launched in 1981, where families could donate money in memory of a
loved one to have trees planted. Local groups got involved too. The
trees thrived and were thinned out last year to give them more
light and to provide a better habitat for wild creatures and
flowers.
The best views are from the north-west corner of the park,
looking out across Holly Mount and Greenmount Golf Club, up to
Holcombe Hill with its famous monument, Peel Tower. There is a
handy bench from which to peruse the view - the bench is a memorial
to George Newbould, who died in 1972 and was "The last farmer of
'Old Kays Farm'"
The cache is a plastic lock and lock box with an official
sticker on the lid and it's nestling in the lower branches of a
tree. It's a bit overgrown in summer but the cache is not far from
the main path, so there's not much trampling of vegetation
involved. The box contains, at the time of placing, a FTF
certificate, log book, pen and pencil, World Cup kit(!) and a few
nick-nacks.
