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 ...

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...

I have not posted for a while in part because I have not found anywhere new within 20 minutes drive of home that inspires me. I have, therefore, ventured further a field, to Whalley, some 30 to 35 minutes away, just northeast of Blackburn. Whalley is a large village with a population of just a few thousand. There used to be an abbey here, building of which started in 1296 by Henry de Lacy, tenth Baron of Halton, but was not finished until after 1440. It closed in 1537 when the monasteries were dissolved, and in the same year the abbot was executed for high treason! The land was sold into private ownership, and much of the buildings were demolished, but is 1923 it returned to church ownership. It was a very cold day in mid-January when I visited the village. I had no particular route worked out; I just wandered around the town. Frankly, the cold was not conducive to long walks! There is no car park in the town as far as I could see, so street parking it was. Not a problem in  J...

 Croston is a delightful village about 5 miles south-southwest of Preston. If the church looks crooked in the image above, that was how it looked to me at the time. Croston actually means Town of the Cross, and the original cross supposedly was planted hereabouts by a monk in AD 644. According to Wiki, the parish of Croston once included many of the nearby villages and towns, including Chorley until 1793; today these are all independent and Croston has declined in importance, but this has left much of the town unchanged. The pack horse bridge dates to the 15th century, and crosses the River Yarrow. Croston is on the line between Preston and Liverpool, which opened in 1849, and used to see express trains going all the way to Glasgow. However, it narrowly avoided closure in 1969. Today the line is single track to Ormskirk, and trains can go no further, though passengers can change to the electrified Mersey Rail service at that station. Having explored Croston itself, I took a walk to...