Around Preston

This is a walk I did with the family back in July. I was going to link to it in the post on Upper Rivington Reservoir , and found I had not written it yet... We parked at Belmont Road car park, which, if I remember correctly, you have to pay for by text, but is only a pound or so. There are a couple of paths from the car park, you want the steep one! It is almost a scramble in places so be warned. This is the view looking back, towards Chorley. You can just see the very white "Preston England Temple" of the Mormons.  It is about 400 m to Pigeon Tower, and does level out towards the end. The tower was built by the local lord, supposedly for his wife to do sewing in, between 1905 and 1909. We continued along the track to Rivington Pike Tower. The views from the top are amazing. This is looking southsouthwest, towards Bolton, and you can see Wanders' stadium (what is it called nowadays?). This is looking northwest, towards Chorley; you can see that church again. Preston is a

Upper Rivington Reservoir is one in a chain of three that were built between 1850 and 1857 to supply water to Liverpool, though I think nowadays it supplies Wigan, lying between Lower Rivington Reservoir and  Anglezarke Reservoir , which I walked round last summer. At first glance they seem to be strung along a single valley, but in fact the chain spans three separate valleys, with all the water heading for the River Yarrow being diverted south. To these three, the nearby Yarrow Reservoir was later added, and also the more distant Roddlesworth Reservoirs , capturing water bound for the River Darwen, and sending it to Anglezarke via the Goit. Our walk took us round Upper Rivington Reservoir, but also past Yarrow, Lower Rivington and Anglezarke, and started from Anglezarke Reservoir car park. Coming out of the car park at the car exit we walked a short way along Moor Road, then up the steep Parson's Bullough Road, turning right where it levels out, to walk across the dam on the Yarro

Turton and Entwistle Reservoir is a picturesque site just north of Bolton, and is part of my new theme of places 30 minutes drive away. There is a car park near the dam, of a decent size, but was already getting full by 10 am the February Sunday we were there, and it was getting chaotic by the time we left. However, there is a second car park, Entwistle Upper Car Park, very close walking distance, which may be better. The reservoir is delightful, and when we visited it there was no wind - the reflections were amazing. We walked clockwise round the lake, heading west from the car park; the dam is just off to the right in the image below. This image gives an impression of how cold is was - just above zero. The reservoir was originally privately owned. It was built in 1832 to supply mills in Bolton. It was later taken over by Bolton Corporation Water Works for general water supply. Looking up towards the top end. And then coming back down the other side. Just right of centre you can see a