Lancashire Walk

Members: Trish Cranston, Roger Dyke, Alan (Liverpool) Jones, Iain McCallum, Al Metelko, Dave Shotton, Peter Walker, Keith Williams, Dave Wylie

This proved to be an enjoyable walk in fine weather for the time of year, though it was quite cold on exposed heights and in the face of the chill wind blowing over the reservoirs. The day was dry although some of the paths were very muddy underfoot!

The group assembled in the car park behind Brinscall Swimming Pool for a 10am start (parking on Lodge Bank as the car park is signed for ‘no all day parking’). We walked through the woodland of Wheelton Plantation and followed The Goit water channel to the hamlet of White Coppice with its very fine cricket pitch. However deep mud forced us to leave the path by The Goit and cross over a bridge to follow tracks across open fields towards Anglezarke Reservoir. As it was Remembrance Sunday we paused for a minute’s silence at 11am by the lane at the north end of the reservoir, after which Keith left us to go back to his nearby home as he had other commitments later that day. By this time Pete and Alan had (as they had forewarned) dropped behind somewhat intent on a shorter version of the walk, but did meet up with the others later in the day.

We followed obvious paths along the eastern shore of Anglezarke Reservoir, stopping for late elevenses at about 11.30am, passing the dam at the south end and continuing along the shore of Upper Rivingon Reservoir until we reached the dam and the Rivington Bowling Club and Tea Room at its south end at about 12.30pm. They weren’t keen on customers eating their own food at the outside tables so some of the group drank tea at the tables while the others had lunch in the car park.

Afterwards we crossed the adjacent dam via Horrobin Lane, and started the return stage along paths and lanes by the western shores of the Upper Rivington and Anglezarke Reservoirs. Some of the paths towards the end were quite muddy, especially the corner of one field which had been churned up by cows and ponies! Along the way the main group met up again with Pete and Alan at the junction of Charnock Back Lane and the track to Heath Fold Farm & Kays Farm; the two had taken a different, shorter route by following The Goit water channel to Anglezarke Reservoir but then taking the anglers’ path next to the water on the western side of the reservoir and then on to the meeting point.

Pete and Alan walked with the others for a little while but then made their own way back to the cars. Iain was also somehow left behind in the vicinity of White Coppice; the others (the two Daves, Al, Trish and Roger) couldn’t find him on retracing steps and in the end continued to the cars to find that Iain had got back first a little under 10 minutes ahead at 3.05pm, according to the note left on Dave S’s windscreen! A phone call later that evening revealed that Iain had followed an alternative (and apparently less muddy) path and beaten them to the finish. The total distance covered by the main group was about 10 miles.

The two Daves, Al, Trish and Roger walked round the corner to the Cottage Tea Room in Brinscall but unfortunately it was too busy to get seats so we didn’t have refreshments in the end.

Pete and Alan later reported that they had got back to the cars some time later at about 4.00-4.15pm. Alan also reported that after the walk he decided to take a rest day on Monday and missed his usual trip to the gym!

Dave Shotton