Ringley Village residents on rural life, walks and community

Residents say the mix of rural surroundings, historic landmarks and a close-knit community is what makes Ringley Village a special place to live.

The village sits beside the River Irwell and has a historic core around its old bridge, church and surrounding cottages.

Ringley Village (Image: NQ)

Wendy Clive, a resident, said: “It’s beautiful up here, but it is a bit of a nightmare when it’s raining, it has a couple of floods and comes up the bank.

“It’s tranquil, and you’ve got the pub, La Roma, and the church.”

Ringley has long been shaped by the river, with its historic sandstone bridge linking the communities on either side of the Irwell.

The area also offers routes for walkers, with woodland, riverside paths and the former canal corridor all close by.

(Image: NQ)

Mrs Clive added: “There’s a canal behind the pub which is disused, but there’s plenty of great walks nearby, there’s one that leads to Little Lever.”

Chedia, who was passing through to collect her child from the school, said she had returned to the area after moving away.

Chedia said: “I love Ringley Village.

Beautiful scenery (Image: NQ)

“I was brought up in Stoneclough, moved away when I got married then came back, the schools are great around here, there’s a real sense of community.”

The village’s sense of community was also echoed by Paula and Jules, who were out walking their dogs.

They said they had lived in the area for more than 30 years and often found that a simple walk became much longer after meeting people they knew.

La Roma (Image: NQ)

They said: “We’ve lived here 30-odd years, it’s just nice is the village and it’s quite rural.

“There is lots of good walks and that, we know lots of people, they just come out on a dog walk, and you bump into people, and then it gets to about two hours to do a 30-minute dog walk.

“Because of everybody bump into that knows you and knows the dogs!

(Image: NQ)

“It’s far enough away, running in the dip, and it’s sort of like a little bit of away from it all, I think.”

With the river, woodland and historic village at its heart, residents said the area offers a quieter setting while remaining connected to the wider borough.

For those who live there, however, it is the people as much as the scenery that can turn a quick walk through the village into an afternoon of conversation.