FRIDAY 14th JUNE 2019
Come Walking Series of Walks: Roddlesworth & Darwen Moor
Leaving Roddlesworth
This evening walk started at Roddlesworth Information Centre where twenty-six walkers set off from the car park expecting to enjoy a break from the heavy rain. We turned left, walking past Hollinshead Terrace, an attractive group of millworkers cottages and joined the route of the West Pennine Way (WPW) at the start of a bridleway which climbed gently onto Darwen Moor.
At the top of the first climb we arrived at Stepback Clough, a small area of woodland believed to be associated with Oliver Cromwell, but tonight its main notoriety was a very muddy footpath from where we turned right leaving the WPW and continued to climb up on to the moor. It was here the forecast for a dry evening was proved wrong and we had to quickly put on our waterproofs.
The stony track soon became like a stream and we were surrounded by water as the path followed a fast flowing brook which cascaded over a number of waterfalls.
Darwen Moor
Once at the top of the climb we turned right and headed towards highest point for the evening where we were rewarded with misty views over the Ribble Estuary, Morecombe Bay and the outline of Cartmel Fell.
Views over Fylde Coast
After spending some time admiring the views we descended down the track to Blackburn Road which we crossed climbing over a stile into Tockholes Plantation where we turned left onto a section of the WPW and walked through the wood to Hollinshead Hall ruins.
The Well House at Hollinshead Hall ruin
By now the rain had eased a little so we were able to spend time exploring what was left of the old hall especially the Well House that was rebuilt by Liverpool Corporation Waterworks in the early 1900s, after they had demolished the hall along with many of the farms in the area in order to reduce pollution entering the reservoirs.
Tockholes Plantation
From the old hall we retraced our steps through the woods following the waymarked WPW back to Roddlesworth Information Centre having covered an informative 4 miles.