Friday 19th August 2022
Come Walking Series of Walks: Clough Head, Moors and Reservoirs
After negotiating the car park barrier twenty-two walkers left Clough Head Information Centre along a footpath to the right of the centre, heading in the direction of Jamestone Quarry. Once passed the quarry we joined a path leading up onto the edge of Haslingden Moor where we had clear views, in the evening sunshine overlooking Ogden Reservoir. This was the last of the three reservoirs to be built (1912) and is the largest of the three, causing the demise of the Grane community due to the land having to be cleared. We then made our way back down to the Grane Road, passing through a stile before crossing the road and taking the track on our left down to the car park at Rothwell Fold.
Overlooking Ogden Reservoir
Heading down to Grane Road
Joining a footpath at the bottom of the track we passed the old cemetery of our right before walking across the embankment of Calf Hey reservoir, built around 1853 to supply Rossendale and surrounding towns with water. After crossing the embankment, we climbed up to the lower footpath on Musbury Heights, where we turned right and headed to the woods of Clough Side.
Calf Hey embankment
Musbury Heights
Once though the woods we dropped down to the top of the reservoir and joined a wide track that passes the ruins of Lower Ormerods and Hartley House Farm where in the 1800s handloom weaving flourished although it is said that they may have supplemented their income by distilling whiskey, giving them the name of ‘Whiskey Spinner’
Clough Side wood
Farm ruins
At the end of the track, it was just a short walk back through the woods to the information centre having covered 4 informative miles