WITTON WEAVERS WAY TUESDAY SEPT 27^th

TWENTY WALKERS AND ONE DOG SET OUT THROUGH SUNNYHURST WOODS ON A MORNING WHICH DID NOT LOOK TOO PROMISING WEATHERWISE. A SLIGHT DETOUR FROM THE PLANNED ROUTE WAS NECESSARY DUE TO A MAJOR LANDSLIP IN SUNNYHURST WOODS, HOWEVER BEFORE LONG WE REJOINED THE PLANNED ROUTE AT THE BOTOM OF DONKEY BROW AND WERE SOON ON THE MAIN TOCKHOLES ROAD, WHERE WE TURNED LEFT AND AFTER 100 YDS TURNED RIGHT INTO THE WOOD WHERE WE CONTINUED ON THE MAIN PATH PASSING HALLIWELL FOLD BRIDGE, WHERE THE TRACK RISES STEADILY UP SLIPPER LOWE HILL, THEN DROPPING DOWN TO PASS THE RUINS OF HOLLINSHEAD HALL. BY NOW THE WEATHER HAD GOT STEADILY WORSE RAINWISE WITH MOST PEOPLE HAVING DONNED WATERPROOF GEAR. ON JOINING THE TOCKHOLES ROAD WE WENT STRAIGHT ACROSS AND FOLLOWED THE BRIDLEWAY TO THE RIGHT, QUICKLY DROPPING DOWN AND ALMOST REJOINING THE TOCKHOLES ROAD, BUT TURNING A SHARP LEFT INSTEAD INTO A LEVEL GREEN LANE, AND AFTER 200YDS TURNING SHARP LEFT UP A LONG INCLINE, CLIMBING STEADILY. BEING NOW ON OPEN MOORS, THE RAIN SEEMED TO BE WORSE THAN EVER. ON REACHING THE TOP OF THE HILL THE PATH BECAME A MORE ESTABLISHED ROUTE AS WE DROPPED DOWN THE CADSHAW VALLEY. A SHARP TURN TO THE LEFT AS WE CLIMBED OUT OF THE VALLEY BROUGHT US TO A SOLITARY TREE, THE ONLY POSSIBLE SHELTER FROM THE NOW CONTINUOUS RAIN.

FOLLOWING A SHORT STOP FOR LUNCH WE SET OFF AGAIN FOLLOWING THE MARKER POSTS AND WENT OVER A STILE INTO A RECENTLY MUCK SPREAD FIELD (I’VE OFTEN BEEN IN THE MIRE, BUT NEVER A WHOLE FIELD FULL OF IT BEFORE)!! CROSSING THE FIELD IN A DIAGONAL DIRECTION WE CAME ACROSS A STILE LEADING INTO A SMALL PINE PLANTATION WHICH WE QUICKLY CROSSED, COMING OUT ONTO THE MOOR AGAIN. FROM HERE IT WAS A CONTINUOUS PATH WITH SOME PAVED SECTIONS ALL RUNNING WITH WATER DUE TO THE CONTINUOUS RAIN, UNTIL WE EVENTUALLY REACHED A LARGE WHITE HOUSE KNOWN AS LORD’S HALL, WHEN WE TURNED RIGHT ONTO A PAVED ROAD FOR A SHORT DISTANCE BEFORE TURNING ONTO THE MOOR AGAIN HEADING FOR DARWEN TOWER, ALBEIT NOT VISIBLE IN THE MIST UNTIL WE WERE QUITE CLOSE TO IT. FROM THE TOWER IT WAS DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY ON AN ESTABLISHED WIDE PATH, FINALLY ARRIVING AT THE SUNNYHURST PUB, WHERE A DOUBLE BRANDY WOULD HAVE GONE DOWN WELL HAD IT BEEN OPEN! FROM THERE IT WAS A SHORT JOURNEY BACK THROUGH THE SUNNYHURST WOODS TO EARNSDALE ROAD WHERE WE HAD LEFT THE TRANSPORTS. BY NOW THE RAIN HAD VIRTUALLY STOPPED, MORE OR LESS THE FIRST TIME SINCE WE SET OFF, INDEED, BY THE TIME MOST OF US WERE ARRIVING BACK HOME, THERE WERE BLUE PATCHES IN THE SKY AND THE SUN WAS TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH.

To see the photos please press Here then click on the first picture followed by clicking on the arrow to the right