Around Preston

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 ...

 My daugher used to play for Blackburn Rovers girls team, and trained in Darwen. I always wanted to visit the tower, but did not think I had the time to get there and back before she finished. Today I finally realised my dream! This is an official walk, Darwen Tower Walk 2, and a leaflet can be found here . The leaflet claims it is 2 miles; I think it is about twice that. And the steps..? But we will come to that later. It starts from a car park in Sunnyhurst, a village on the west edge of Darwen, which is itself some way up the hill. The road up to it is interesting, with a variety of odd houses. The car park is small, and, while it was okay reasonable early on a Saturday in May, I can imagine it gets very busy sometimes. The route starts by turning right out of the car park. There is not a lot to see for a short stretch as the trees obscure the view, but then they stop and you get the first view across valley... and alpacas. The road continues for, I guess, a mile and a half, gen...

This is a great walk that starts from Pleasington Station, going north, to Billinge End Road, with great views over Preston. It took me about 75 minutes, and is quite hilly. Not suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. Pleasington Station is on the line from Preston to Blackburn. Given the size of the town, and how close it is to Cherry Tree Station, it is remarkable the station is still open. Just south of the station is the Railway Hotel. However, we are heading the other way, north along Victoria Road, which, at the far end features another pub and the priory. The pub is the Butler's Arms, and seems to have closed. I would guess it is named after John Francis Butler (or his family anyway), who, in 1816, paid for the priory to be built. Its full name is the Church of St Mary and St John Baptist. Just beyond the priory is the old school building, where we turn right into Old Hall Lane. I think the old hall is still extant, but beyond where I could get to on the lane. The publ...

This is a walk I took the first weekend on March 2020. I actually did it in two parts, just because I did not know where I was going and happened to be in the area both days, but I will describe as though it was a single continuous journey. It is not long; perhaps 40 minutes end to end. Some of it was very muddy, and bits are not suitable for pushchairs or wheel chairs. It is fairly flat. I started from the mini-roundabout at the east end of St Vincents Road, when it meets Sharoe Green Lane, and walked along Fairways, and a very short way along The Paddocks, where there is a gate on the left. A footpath leads down to a small stream. Not sure if the stream has a name. but it seems to rise within North Preston Employment Area. It heads more-or-less south, and the path follows it on the east side, to meet the Savick Brook. The downstream end of the Savick Brook has become part of the Lancaster Canal, and was discussed on another page . Upstream, the Savick Brook passes though Preston Golf...

 Happy New Year! It was remarkably warm for January today and sunny too, and I took the opportunity to walk by the river and canal at Tarleton. The River Douglas flows from Winter hill, southeast of Preston, and heads west, then north, flowing into the River Ribble opposite Freckleton. A spur from the Leeds Liverpool Canal, called the Rufford Branch, joins the river at Tarleton. At one time the West Lancashire Railway crossed the river just north of Tarleton, at Hesketh Bank, and there was a short branch line running south beside the river that connected the station to a trans-shipment point at the end of the canal. Passenger services on the line to Tarleton Halt operated from 1912 to 1913 - just over a year! I guess it was not a success. There is a free car park at the bottom of Plox Brow, next to the canal. Above is the view along the canal, looking north. Below, we are looking south, and the swing bridge. You can walk beside the canal, but have to go around a boatyard. I think i...