Aspull

The Snake Pit is a wrestling gym and organisation in Aspull, Wigan Borough, England. It hosts the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club. Founded in 1948 by Billy Riley in the town of Wigan, it was originally known as Riley's Gym. Riley was succeeded by Roy Wood, one of his last living students. In December 2023, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people" after coaching for almost 50 years. An exhibition about Riley and the gym began at the Leigh Town Hall in April 2024. The gym has been a significant influence on the evolution of catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle, and professional wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA), especially in Japan. Riley was the head coach for over 20 years, teaching the Lancashire style of catch wrestling, and the gym became known in Britain and internationally for producing skilled wrestlers. Riley closed the gym in the early 1970s due to theatrics overtaking legitimate skills in pro wrestling but it was soon revived through a community effort, with Roy Wood becoming head coach, assisted by Riley and other veteran wrestlers. The gym switched to freestyle wrestling, producing champions and international competitors, and hosting the Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International for over 35 years. The gym moved to Aspull during this time, establishing the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club. The gym continued to be one of the most essential sources for preserving catch wrestling and began to formally promote the style again in 2012 through competitions, training, and certification. The Snake Pit has hosted the Catch Wrestling World Championships since 2018. The 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships are scheduled for August 10, followed by the World Championships on September 7.

Haigh () is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is next to the village of Aspull. The western boundary is the River Douglas, which separates the township from Wigan. To the north, a small brook running into the Douglas divides it from Blackrod. At the 2001 census it had a population of 594.

St David's Church is in Copperas Lane, Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington, and the diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission.

Haigh Hall Miniature Railway (HHMR) is a 15 in (381 mm) gauge miniature railway, situated in the grounds of Haigh Country Park in Haigh, Greater Manchester, England.The railway officially re-opened on 20 April 2014, but it had run trains under a new operator since late July 2013, running shuttle services between two stations; Haigh Hall North and Haigh Hall South. The full 1 mile (1.6 km) circuit was re-opened in early 2014. The railway first opened in 1986 under different operators; it runs over the same general track layout, but some alterations have been made over time. HHMR's two resident locomotives are Helen and Rachel, they have been a part of the railway for some time. The Railway recently took delivery of two new locomotives from the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway; The Cub (otherwise known as John) and KD-1. KD-1 is a long term restoration project, but The Cub is on loan to Haigh Hall for a general overhaul and running in. KD-1 was previously known as the Rapido Railcar. It is under a fast-track overhaul to a fully operational locomotive. It was once part of a four-car unit, the three other carriages are beyond repair, so they are being stripped of parts in order to make KD-1 serviceable as a locomotive. What is left of the other vehicles will be used as flat wagons for the railway's permanent-way train. The railway runs passenger services 11am - 4 pm Saturdays, Sundays, Bank Holidays and school holidays. Tickets cost £1 for all ages and free for under 2 year olds.

Blackrod is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) northeast of Wigan and 6.6 miles (10.6 km) west of Bolton. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, it had a population of 5,001.Historically part of Lancashire, Blackrod was once a centre for coal mining.

Blackrod was, from 1872 to 1974, a local government district centred on the village of Blackrod in the administrative county of Lancashire, England.

Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was sold to Wigan Corporation. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building and is owned by Metropolitan Borough of Wigan.

Borsdane Wood is an Ancient Semi Natural Woodland in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is believed to have been continuous woodland cover since before 1600 AD and is composed of native tree species that have not obviously been planted. Borsdane Wood was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1986.The wood consists of approximately 34 hectares (85 acres) of mixed broadleaf trees including species such as oak, ash, birch, cherry, hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn and dog rose, as well as areas of open ground. With trees many hundreds of years old the wood has remained relatively unchanged for centuries and is home to a wide variety of wildlife. The wood follows the course of the Borsdane Brook which is the boundary between Hindley and Westhoughton and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Wigan and Bolton. From Hindley, Greater Manchester there are several entrances to the wood, one of which can be accessed from Hindley centre through Raynor Park or through the cemetery. A tunnel under the railway leads into woodland little changed in centuries. A path leads to Aspull, Greater Manchester where the access is located near the Gerrard Arms Public House. The town of Westhoughton is adjacent to the wood.

Blackrod railway station serves the village of Blackrod, England, 6.5 miles (10 km ) north west of Bolton railway station. It is just 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) from the town centre of Horwich - closer than Horwich Parkway station. It lies on the Manchester-Preston Line and is served by Northern Trains, who run local stopping and express trains from Manchester Airport & Hazel Grove to Blackpool North. Despite its high passenger usage and the recent refurbishment (see below) the station is currently unstaffed. A drop in passenger usage in the year 2017/18 is largely due to industrial action and engineering works.

Hindley railway station serves the town of Hindley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, England. Hindley is one of the principal stations that lie on the Wigan to Manchester line, just before the route branches to use either the Atherton line or the Eastern Branch line via Westhoughton and Bolton. The station is located 14 miles (23 km) west of Manchester Victoria with regular Northern Trains services to these towns as well as Salford, Swinton and Walkden, with onward trains to Kirkby and Southport. Hindley is one of the nearest stations to Aspull, although (from 2013) there is no direct bus link, the 559 bus having been withdrawn between Hindley and Aspull. The station is situated some distance (about ¾ mile) from the centre of the town. Figures (to June 2008) showed that usage increased year-on year by 9%, with a further healthy increase for 2007/8, which continues. Interchange passengers (changing from the Atherton line to reach Bolton) amounted to around 13,000 further passengers annually. Figures (right) demonstrate that usage more than doubled from 2004 to 2011, with a further 17% increase from 2011 to 2012,and 13% from 2012 to 2013.

Whelley railway station was in Whelley, Wigan (now in Greater Manchester, England) on the Whelley Loop section of the Lancashire Union Railway. The station was situated where the B5238 bridged the line.

Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward (north of Warrington Road in this ward). Adding on this area brings the total in 2011 to 15,664. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Ince is contiguous to Wigan and is a residential suburb. Divided by a railway line into two separate areas - Higher Ince and Lower Ince, from 1894 Ince was an urban district of the administrative county of Lancashire and in 1974 became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan.