Around Preston

 Withnell Fold is a delightful village on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, between Chorley and Blackburn, though not on a through road. I visited it as part of a loop that started from Higher Wheelton, and included the canal and the River Lostock. From Higher Wheelton I headed northeast on the A674, which runs some way up the side of the valley, and has some pretty cottages along it. I wonder if this farmer is a Newcastle fan. After about 800 m I reached the turn for Withnell Fold to the left. The land on the right here appears to belong to the local manor, Withnell Fold Hall, which seems to be privately owned, and sold recently for around £5m, as described here . It is not possible to see the house from the road, but you can see the gates and lodge. Next door is a Methodist chapel, built 1852. And shortly after we get into Withnell Fold itself. In was built as a "model village" in 1843 to serve the mill, built the same year. As you can see, they keep the place very neat. Many of t

 At last I come to the end of the Goit! The Goit flows into Anglezarke Reservoir, which is kind of the unknown cousin of the two Rivington Reservoirs, despite being the biggest. All three were built to supply water to Liverpool, though Anglezarke now supplies Wigan. All were built between 1850 and 1857. Wiki tells us the parish of Anglezarke has a population of 23 (2001 census) - I probably saw more walkers than that. It looks like it should have a bizarre pronunciation, but apparently is just "angle-zark" There is a cark park on the east side of the reservoir, towards the south end. There is virtually no signage to inform the public, and going along the access road is something of a leap of faith that you will not end up in a farm yard. When I arrived there was only one other car there - and there were a good dozen parted along the causeway on the way to it. The great advantage of the car park is the shade I could park my car in. I walked all around the reservoir, going anti