Cairo Mill

A security guard at Cairo Mill In Waterhead Oldham witnessed a UFO lit with a blue light after hearing a humming noise outside the mill. It was described as 30 metres in diameter, saucer shaped with a large window. After about 5 minutes the UFO turned and shot away into the sky. The factory cat also disappeared at the same time. There have been other UFO sightings in the area.

If you follow the course of the Medlock River that runs beneath the mill upstream you reach the Waterworks at Waterhead. This is less than quarter of a mile way from the mill, and the reservoirs once supplied water to the area. Two witnesses walking dogs on June 20th 1992 (Saturday) saw a red light in the sky, which hovered and then descended down behind some trees not far away from them. Here is their account of the event:

At 9.30 pm we (names withheld) went for a walk to Strinsdale reservoir in Waterhead with my two dogs. Being near the Solstice, it was still very light and visibility was excellent. The reservoir was practically deserted apart from a young couple who were not in a position to witness the phenomena we encountered. At 10.20pm D (name withheld on request) brought my attention to a bright red/orange light over a meter in diameter that hung in the air, hovering. It swirled and flickered. At first it was thought to be a helicopter or aeroplane, but it was too low. It was roughly thirty meters up in the air and about a quarter of a mile away. Then it fell from the air SLOWLY after we had been observing it for about 40 seconds. No noise was heard, it fell in amongst some trees, or so it seemed to from our position. We ran across to where it appeared to fall but found nothing, no wreckage, no burns, in fact nothing to suggest what we had seen had any substance. Roughly 30-60 minutes was spent searching for what we had seen.

They were adamant that it could not have been an aeroplane as they could see the nearby landscape behind it as it descended. The sighting remains unexplained.

Directions: Cairo Mill is a private factory, but there is a pleasant walk along the Medlock Valley, reached via a pathway at the bottom of Greenacres Road, opposite the Bulls Head pub. Strinesdale reservoir can be reached via a minor road off the A62 at Waterhead or the A672.