The Saddleworth Folk Festival takes place at Uppermill, which happens to be a friendly festival which offers cheer to everyone present at the festival, as the Singarouds, Concerts, and Workshops as well as Sessions cater to the varied taste of the participants, and you can come across some of the renowned names in acoustic and folk music.

That’s not all as the Saddleworth Folk Festival at Uppermill also provides camping facilities, top notch accommodation found at just the stone throw from the venue, festival craft fair and some enticing opportunities to eat out which would do the gourmet proud, as the various features afforded by the Saddleworth Folk Festival catapults it to being recognized as one of the best as well as the finest festivals in the country.

The Whit Friday brass band contest is celebrated annually, which even is hailed as ‘the greatest free show on Earth’ takes place during the afternoons as well as evenings of Whit Friday.

At the Uppermill Park, a brass band plays as the contest gets underway, and the contests for the brass band performance extend to several other venues across Saddleworth.

The delightful open-air surrounding and the several bands that participate in the Whit Friday brass band contest make it a colorful event.

Rushcart Festival and the Whit Friday brass band contest

There are a number of festivals unleashed by the town of Uppermill every year. The most notable of these events include the Whit Friday brass band contest, the Rushcart festival, the Beer Walk as well as the Saddleworth Folk Festival.

The Rushcart Festival is celebrated over a period of 2 days, and by the end of August.

Morris Men from across various locations, which include the several locations in the country as well as from abroad gather at Uppermill, and the pulling of the Rushcart with that of the ‘jockey’ taking  his place on the top is pursued with enthusiastic fervor.

 The Rushcart, on the Saturday is pulled as the journey proceeds through many villages of Saddleworth, as that of Greenfield, Uppermill, Delph as well as Dobcross, and it stops at each of these villages as Morris Men then plunge into their merrymaking by dancing to their heart’s delight.

The cart then gets pulled on Sunday to Saddleworth Parish Church which can be reached by ascending the hill in Uppermill, to reach the top.

Merry making splurges ahead as Morris dancing followed by gurning, wrestling as well as the worst singer competitions keep the crowd in rapturous delight, with the event reaching the pinnacle by the dancing of the Saddleworth Morris Men, who dance to unveil all that is there in their repertoire with some drinking binge too.

Access -Buses and Trains

There are two buses that serve the Uppermill area, as it connects destinations like Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham and Huddersfield, as well as other villages falling under the Saddleworth area. Service 184, run by First Manchester & First Calderdale & Huddersfield is one of those services as there are four buses available per hour connecting Manchester and Oldham during the day time, and during the evenings on an hourly basis, as they are available on Sundays too.

There is also a Monday-Saturday daytime service on an hourly basis serviced by 184 to Diggle that goes through Dobcross, and Monday-Saturday daytime service on  an hourly basis and two-hourly Sunday daytime service for the route 184  to Huddersfield, which goes through Diggle and Marsden.

First Manchester bus 350 is the other one, which runs towards Oldham from Uppermill, as it passes through Delph to further proceed towards Ashton-under-Lyne through Mossley. Half-hourly service is provided by 350, Monday-Saturday daytime, as it also extends hourly at evenings as well as on Sundays.

First Bus 82 also serves Uppermill, although commuters can make use of this service only during the peak time, as it takes the same route as 350 to Oldham, and proceeding further to Manchester. First’s X84, a limited stop service option, is a service that by-passes Oldham town centre.

The service which has been designed especially for people residing in Saddleworth runs only during peak times. The service connects Carrcote and Manchester as the route taken by this service passes through Delph, Uppermill, Grotton and on to Lees, with Hollinwood, Failsworth, Newton Heath and that of Manchester being the other points traveled through by the service.

As there is no train station at Uppermill, the nearest of railway stations that can be accessed from Uppermill is located at Greenfield, distanced by about a mile from Uppermill.

People can reach this train station from that of Uppermill by foot, which consumes 10-15 minutes of your walking stint, or by making use of the services of 184.

An hourly train station, Greenfield station connects Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria, halting at Slaithwaite, Marsden, Greenfield, and also at Mossley, Stalybridge as well as at Ashton-under-Lyne

Uppermill in Saddleworth

As a picturesque and a quaint town situated in Saddleworth, Uppermill lies close to Manchester and Oldham. It is a part of the Manchester County and fall under the Metropolitan borough of Oldham in the United Kingdom.

Uppermill taking its geographical position on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal that lies in a valley found in the Pennine Hills is an acclaimed weekend or day tourist destination, which lures scores of tourists to enjoy memorable experiences at this naturally gifted region.

 There is plethora of accommodation possibilities, as visitors can come by hotels, local guesthouses and other types and it is also a renowned residential area for the public who happen to work at the city of Manchester or Oldham.

As the one of the prime regions found in Saddleworth, Uppermill had witnessed the spread of Cotton spinning industries and wool mills into this region in the 18^th century, as the region is now an assortment of varied features as one can find the gift and souvenir shops, gift cafes, a Museum, Pubs and Eateries, lively entertainment joints and other facilities that has catapulted Uppermill to become one of the sought tourist destinations in the United Kingdom.

 Uppermill is also the proud host of a farmers’ market, as the town also offers traditional greengrocer, butchers and bakers. All the usual amenities as in the likes of post office, banks and chemist can be found in this beautiful town of Uppermill.

Uppermill also unleashes very many festivals and events that offer enchantment to the hilt as the local football club, known by the name of Uppermill Football Club happens to be another feather in the cap of Uppermill, and the club walked away with the ‘Charter Standard Community Award’, a prestigious one to boot, from the Football Association.

The canal boat trip gets initiated at Uppermill as it then proceeds on the Huddersfield canal to let the enthusiasts in for a thrill.