Blackleach Country Park is a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

Walkden Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, northwest of central Salford, and of Manchester. Walkden has been designated as one of seven main town centres in the City of Salford, and now largely functions as a r ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. It is situated half a mile from the town centre just off Bolton Road in the Hill Top area. It is a Local Nature Reserve and a winner of the Green Flag Award.

History

Blackleach Country Park was in an old industrial area of Walkden which had chemical works. One of the more famous factories of the Blackleach site was a factory which produced

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

s. Adjacent to the factory was a large mound of waste, known locally as "Stink Bomb Hill", due to the strong sulphurous smell that emanated from it. Some of the dyes were accidentally released into the air, and one of the hills in the park became a striking purple at its peak. Rumours spread about the hill and people began taking children, suffering with

whooping cough Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable Pathogenic bacteria, bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common c ...

, up the hill, believing it would cure them. White clothes hung up on neighbouring washing lines would also be tinged purple.

References

Parks and commons in Salford Country parks in Greater Manchester Local Nature Reserves in Greater Manchester {{GreaterManchester-geo-stub