Anglezarke Amble Recce 2
Walk Leader: Ian Wardle
Number on walk: 8
Distance: 15 miles
Weather: Cold but dry
We were all so pleased I had moved this walk from last Tuesday to today as the weather, whilst a bit chilly, was perfect.
We set off following the Witton Weavers Way south past Pasture Houses Hey to Charlie's Pole. From here we followed the long Amble route across the tricky Longworth Moor which as expected was very wet and boggy. The repair work we did on the bridge over Holden's Brook is still in good condition so no work needed. The Stiles repaired by Steve last year are also in a good state of repair. We crossed the A666 following the route along the side of Turton Heights before dropping down to Greens Arms Road.
It was here where we hit our first problem which emphasized how important it is to recce the route. The path the Amble route follows down to Entwistle is currently closed as a car has smashed through the wall causing extensive damage. The path entry point is now fenced off. Thinking on our feet we decided that a diversion will be needed so we continued a little further along Greens Arms Road to join the Witton Weavers Way which we followed down to where the Entwistle checkpoint will be. This needs to be the route on the day.
We stopped here for a short break before continuing on past the Strawbury Duck and along Edge Lane and the Witton Weavers Way coming onto Bolton Road. We crossed the road and continued to follow the Witton Weavers Way to Top o' th Brow where we stopped for our lunch. After lunch we set off towards Darwen Tower crossing Darwen Moor. It was quite windy and cold up here so we didn't hang around for long setting off following the route down off Darwen Moor to Slipper Lowe. I was surprised to find that the car park was very busy with cars as the barrier was open! We may need to be here early on the day. It was then on past Hollinshead Hall ruin on our way back to our cars.
It was a pleasure to have a couple of the Irregulars join us today who were great company.
An enjoyable day was had by all.