Walk Leaders: Karen & Ian

Number on walk: 17

Distance: 10 miles

Weather: Blue sky with no rain

From Brindle we set off across very wet and muddy fields to join the Leeds Liverpool canal which we followed for a short while before cutting up through a timber yard coming out on the A675 at Rilet Green. We crossed the road to join a path, but the hawthorn hedge had become overgrown making it difficult to cross the stile. Fortunately, Karen had brought some secateurs, so she was able to trim the hedge making it safe for all to cross. Be prepared!

We then followed a gravel track (good to be on dry ground) down to the river Darwen. There was no sign of the Kingfisher Mr Fisher always sees here as we followed the Witton Weavers Way past the weir and under the viaduct coming out at Hoghton Bottoms.  We followed the road for a short while then took a path, new to most, which climbed up to Highfield and then carried on through a pleasant little wood before turning south towards the railway line. Just before the line we turned sharp right past a small pond before coming out onto Gib Lane. We then turned onto Cripple Gate Lane where we stopped for lunch at the tables in a small park area. 

After lunch it was back onto Cripple Gate Lane which we followed to a junction where we turned left coming out onto Quaker Brook Lane. It was left here passing some very high-end properties before coming out onto Hoghton Lane at the post office. We then followed the path around Brindle Lodge to Brindle St Joseph's Church where we stopped to have a look at Haddock Park Wood Cross, an impressively sized cross, cut from a single piece of stone which today stands in the grounds at the side of the church. 

The name Haddock Park Wood Cross gives a clue that it is not now in its original position. It is a boundary cross that once stood on the boundary line between Leyland and Blackburn Hundreds. Its position was close to Haddock Park Wood, a little over a mile away from its present position which we would pass later on the walk. A hundred was an administrative area that dates from Saxon times and continued to be used well into the Medieval period. (The historical definition of what was a hundred is somewhat obscure – some sources state that it was the amount of land that was required to support a hundred peasant families or could provide a hundred ‘men-at-arms’.)     

To get to Haddock Park Wood we followed the path past Hewn Gate Farm then over very wet fields to cross the railway line before climbing up to Oram Road at Jack Green. We then followed Millhouse Lane for a short distance before cutting back through a very pleasant, wooded area called Mill Wood. We came out at Eagles Nest, a very impressive property, then crossed fields to the bridge over Drum Head Brook at the southwest corner of Hoddock Park Woods. It is believed that Haddock Park Wood Cross was located at the north end of the wood near Bank Head Brook.

From here we crossed a field and went under the motorway subway to join Pippin Street which we followed back to Brindle.

There are a lot of stiles on this walk, many in very bad condition!