Bottom Barn, Feb 24th


16 people from the group and two guests, Sue from Accrington and John from Manchester set off from the Bottom Barn, Rivington, along Lower Rivington reservoir making our way to Liverpool Castle, one of Lord Leverhulme’s follies, and which several of the party had never been to before.

Continuing past Ormston’s farm and Hart’s Houses we made our way through Wallsuches where the old, dilapidated bleach works have now been converted into very smart apartments and houses. A short road section along Matchmoor Lane (pity about all the rubbish thrown from cars and lining the roadside) brought us to Walker Fold where we descended towards the woods. The wind was starting to make its presence felt now as we climbed up the steep, muddy steps and across a rather muddy field to Sheep Cote Green Farm.

Where to stop for lunch was a bit of a problem as the place we had in mind would have been far too open and so we had to make do with a stop in the lane just before Holden’s Farm. We weren’t motivated to stop too long and we began crossing Smithill’s Moor before a gentle ascent of Two Lads.  (Or should it be Three Lads now as the number of cairns seems to suggest?) We were walking head on into the very strong wind but the full force of it wasn’t felt until after we left the summit and began our descent to Pike Cottage, but wow! I’m sure it put roses into all our cheeks later.

The walk finished by dropping down through the terraced gardens which gave us some shelter, followed by a couple of fields emerging at the top barn and going down the main drive to arrive at our cars at 2.25pm