School Rail Trail

The Irwell Valley wasn’t just built by people – it was carved from the land by natural processes.

The aim of this full day session is to study how the Irwell Valley has been changed and adapted both by natural forces but also through the Industrial Revolution of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Following the route of the River Irwell students will travel by steam train to the end of the line at Rawtenstall and then walk back alongside the river for about 4kms to study the effects erosion has had on the river’s path and the local countryside. They will learn all about how human and natural landscapes are formed, and carry out interactive geography fieldwork to help them learn about erosion and deposition- as well as discovering how an ox-bow lake is formed. They will also see how people use land throughout the valley.