Feniscowles and Cherry Tree

 I took a walk that included a section of the Leeds Liverpool canal, as well as much of Feniscowles and Cherry Tree, to the west of Blackburn.

I started near the Feilden's Arms pub, in Feniscowles (pronounced feni-scoals by the way).

The Feilden family were important land owners, but we will get to that later...

I headed west, down Preston Old Road. It is a short way out of Feniscowles into the countryside, and the land on the right falls away dramatically, down to the River Darwen. This image does not really do it justice, but you are at the height of the top of the trees.

The trees clear, to reveal this derelict building.

This is Feniscowles Hall, built by the Feilden family in 1808.

Unfortunately for the family, over the next few decades the River Darwen became ever more polluted as all the industrial and household waste of Blackburn and Darwen got dumped in it, and eventually the stink was such that the house was no longer habitable. After attempts to improve the situation failed, the family left the area altogether, going to Scarborough. The full story can be found here.

I turned left off the road shortly after, to the site of two paper mills, the Sun and the Star. This first image is the site of Sun Paper Mill; not much left but at the back you can see the earthworks of the reservoir that served the mill, and the neat slope to the right was the mill race.

This was the entrance to Star Paper Mill (I think it had another on the other side of the site).

The building on the left straddles the river Roddlesworth. It is odd the two sites have been so comprehensively levelled except these two buildings.

There is a footpath that follows the fence on the right, this side of it. It is signposted, but the sign is not that obvious. It is a steep trek up to the canal.

This is the view from the top -the boat is turning round, by the way, not crashing!

There was a short tramway from the Sun Paper Mill up to the canal, which I think worked on a pulley system, and connected to the canal a little to the west.

I think this was the transhipment area, with the tramway sloping down on the right. It looked like there were some remains of a bridge there, but I could not get that close.

Heading back east along the canal, it loops south to cross the River Roddlesworth, near the M65.

Heading further, and we get back to Feniscowles, and many of the properties have access to the canal on the other side. 

This image is where Livesey Branch Road crosses the canal; I suspect the wharf dates to the mill that stood there earlier.

There was a station in Feniscowles on a line from Chorley to Blackburn. Nothing is left of the line here except a bridge abutment a short way east along Livesey Branch Road. However, a bit further along the canal you can see the abutments on either side where the railway crossed it.

We will finish the walk with the still extant viaduct over Preston Old Road.

Livesey Hall Bridge; a foot bridge over the canal.

This is Cherry Tree Bridge, taking Green Lane over the canal. the building on the left looks as old as the canal.

I left the canal at this point, heading north, passed Cherry Tree Station.

This building, just north of the station, was the goods shed. Due to its orientation, it could only be accessed by a turntable, and at some point a new one was built with a bigger goods yard to the east of the station. The newer building has disappeared under a house estate.

Heading now westwards back to the start, the Station pub is just after the station, as you might expect.

And the Beehive a bit further along on the other side, with an impressive chimney.

Some distance further, and on the right, is Feng Shui Care Home, previously the Woodlands, built in the second half of the ninetenth century. Its generic name has stopped me finding any more about it on Google.

Last we come to this impressive viaduct, where the railway from Chorley to Blackburn crosses the road.