LDWA LANCASHIRE WAY EASTERN LOOP DAY 4

Fri 20th May 2022

Walk Details:

Event Type
Group Walk
Region
Northern England
Local Group
West Lancashire
Distance
17.25ml.
Start Time
09.00
Route
(Friday 20th May 2022 LANCASHIRE WAY EASTERN LOOP DAY 4
DAY 4 - Stage 9 and 10. Cliviger Gorge (GR 895 267) to Edenfield (GR 800 182) via Whitworth. 17.25 miles - 7 hours walking – 2,422ft of ascent. Quite a hard day.
Great moorland walking along the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire and Greater Manchester to the most SE point in Lancashire – the village of Whitworth. Then it is up and over Rooley and Scout Moor into Edenfield near Ramsbottom.
Meet at 9am at the junction of the A646 (Rossendale Road) and A682(Manchester Road) – Postcode BB11 5NH. Come off the M65 at J9 and follow the A646 signposted to Halifax. Ample parking on the road just before the junction. Take sufficient cars to Ratten Clough lay bye on the A646 just after Holme Chapel (GR 889 270) i.e. the finishing point on the last day, which is about 10 minutes away. At the end of the day catch bus service 483 outside the Duckworth Arms on the A56 to Rawtenstall bus station. Then catch the X43 to the Summit bus stop at the crossroads of the A646 and the A682 in Burnley. Both bus services are very frequent and the overall journey should be no more than 45 minutes. Retrieve cars.)
Start and Finish

Entry Details:

Cost

Walk Report

DAY 4 - Stage 9 to 10 - Cliviger Gorge to Edenfield via Whitworth and Scout Moor.
Walk Leader - Neil Harwood
Number on walk - 3
Distance - 18 miles
Weather - wind, cloudy, sometimes sunny and some short spells of rain. What you expect of Lancashire!
The day started with the bad news that Brian, one of my regular Lancashire Way walkers and resident photographer of the walk, could not attend. Fortunately we were being joined by Ian, another Hundreder. The logistics were not simple today but we all found the cross roads in Burnley and then took one car to the start at Ratten Clough, which is where we had ended the previous week.
The day begins with a steep climb south out of the Cliviger Gorge more or less along the boundary with Yorkshire. There are good views down the valley with Stoodley Pike still visible and it is clear why it is called a “gorge”. It's origin is apparently due to glacial meltwater erosion at the end of the last ice age. After the climb we pass over into Rossendale and pick up the Rossendale Way, which we follow along the ridge above the Spodden valley on and off to the village of Whitworth.
We have a quick stop in Whitworth to view the historic Square and the tale of the Doctors' and their trail. We now change direction and having headed south for around 30 miles we turn west and climb back out of the Spodden valley up to Rooley Moor. Still on the Rossendale Way we join up with the Pennine Bridleway (PB) with its cobbled track, which I believe was once a railway taking stone down into the valley from the quarries further on. A quick detour up to Top of Leach, the highest point in Rossendale at 474m, and Cowpe Lowe, is followed by the climb up to Scout Moor via Waugh's Well. Fortunately, that is the end of the climbing for that day with a total ascent of just over 2,500ft.
It is then a decent down to the A680 and then on to the end of the walk on A56 near to the Duckworth Arms. But the day does not end there. We have to get back to Burnley and our cars via two buses. A brief wait and the 681 service arrives to take us to Rawtenstall where unfortunately we have just missed the onward Witches Way service and the next bus is not for another 25 minutes. This gives us an opportunity for a quick wander around the town, which is surprisingly pleasant with a cobbled main street and great shops. The Friday afternoon traffic slows us down a little but we are back to the cars before six o'clock.

Other Files

GPX

A GPX file of the above route may be downloaded by clicking the link below.

Note: GPX files of Group Walks are created by LDWA Group members, and may be downloaded only by other LDWA members. They should not be made available outside the LDWA, and are used at members' own risk.

Login to Download  (Members Only)


You can use the interactive controls to zoom in and out and to move around the map, or click on a path or a marker for more info. (interactive map help)

You can use the interactive controls to zoom in and out and to move around the map, or click on a path or a marker for more info. (interactive map help)

 
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2016.
© OpenStreetMap contributors under Open Database Licence
Rights of way data from selected Local Authorities
Large scale digital mapping is provided by John Thorn
At high zoom levels the route is indicative only.

Maps:

You can use the interactive controls to zoom in and out and to move around the map, or click on a marker for more info. (interactive map help)

Show Walkers are Welcome

Show Hostel Accommodation

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2016.
© OpenStreetMap contributors under Open Database Licence.
Rights of way data from selected Local Authorities.
Large scale digital mapping is provided by John Thorn.