FRIDAY 10th JUNE 4.5 miles
6.10pm at The Toby Carvery Greenmount or approach road to White Coppice Cricket Ground at 7pm. (Go down road marked as a cul- de-sac and park just after the Nursery.) Grid ref. 618191 Post Code PR6 9DE
White Coppice started as an industrial village with lead and coal mining, quarrying for stone and a mill, but now it is an attractive hamlet nestling in a valley below the moorland with only the mill lodges as a reminder of yesteryear. The cricket ground, although not at all level, must be the most picturesque in the whole of Lancashire.
STARTING POINT: Approach road to Cricket Ground.
Walk to the cricket ground and go in front of the pavilion to take footpath through kissing gate then over bridge and through next kissing gate, turn left to follow track, at fork turn right to go steeply uphill and on through a gap in stone wall continue on this moorland path, passing 2 farm ruins then up steps to a T junction with a good metal way marker.
It is hard to imagine that this moorland was at one time a hive of activity with quarrying, mining for lead and coal as well as farming. Now only a few remains of these can be seen.
Here turn left in the direction of Brinscall. No more hills to climb from here! From this high moorland track you can admire a fantastic panoramic view stretching from the Welsh Hills, along the Fylde Coast up to The Lake District whilst listening to skylarks trying to protect their nesting sites.
Continue along this level moorland track passing redundant shooting Butts. At the sharp right bend turn left off the track to follow the narrow path down moorland towards the woodland, once over the stile turn right to follow path through the woods, keeping the fence and then the fence/stone wall on the right to almost the corner of the stone wall. At the fork near here keep left, at next fork keep right then at next fork go left down path which passes between stone gate post then over broken down stone wall down to track. Turn right and over bridge to get to far side of gulley, then follow tarmac narrow road down to Brinscall. At junction with main road turn left then left again through a metal ‘snake’ gate under a stone archway and head towards the lake.
This stone archway, gate, adjoining wall and seat were done by local sculptor Thompson Dagnall who gained inspiration from drawings done by local school children. Go down the left side of the lake, sign posted, ‘White Coppice’. Sections of this path, which was opened in 2010, are boarded, then cross a track, here the Goit emerges on the left as it leaves the culvert. The Goit is a 6.4km conduit carrying drinking water from the Roddlesworth reservoirs to the Rivington chain of Reservoirs. Liverpool Corporation bought the moorland between 1898 and 1902. The need to prevent contamination of the drinking water supplies led to the moorland farms being cleared as their leases came up for renewal and then the demolition of the abandoned buildings. The area is now owned by United Utilities.
Continue on the good track following The Goit. Shortly after the path goes across a narrow wooden footbridge over an overflow channel, go through a gate and leave the Goit to take the path straight on, soon White Coppice Cricket Pavilion can be seen through the trees ahead. Go over stile across a field and another stile to come out in front of the white cottages at the side of the cricket field.
Continue on road back to start.