The 2024 Anglezarke Amble


                

                    

                     
                                     
                    

 

 

 
 
The ‘Amble’, as we call it, takes in much of the finest scenery in the West Pennine Moors and although the cotton towns on either side are relics of our industrial past, they are only seen from a distance. This is because the route of the walk is almost entirely within the watershed of the reservoirs serving these towns and is, therefore, well clear of  both industry and, to a large extent, habitation. 
 
 
 
The start of the walk passes through Lever Park. Gifted by Lord Leverhulme to the people of Bolton at the beginning of the last century, this 360 acre park, with it’s many follies and Japanese gardens, is worth a half day visit in itself.
 
 
 
Above the gardens the route visits the well known landmark of Rivington Pike, where a beacon was lit in 1588 to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On now to Winter Hill, which at almost 1500ft. is the highest point of the walk. Here there are ‘monuments’ both old and new. One is the very obvious television mast, the other marks the spot of ‘murder most foul’ and is known as ‘Scotsman’s Post’. You can read all about that and an air disaster as you pass. Did you know that in 1896 there was a mass trespass on Winter Hill, more than 30 years before the famous one on Kinder?

There is now a long descent, after which the way passes south of the village of Belmont to where, in a mile or so, it reaches the checkpoint where the two routes split. The short route heads left along a track overlooking Belmont Reservoir, whereas the long route crosses open moorland, dotted by the remains of farmhouses, forcibly abandoned when the reservoirs were built. Those must have been hard times for the poor hill farmers.

 

 

Once across the busy A666, straightforward walking leads to Turton and Entwistle Reservoir, whose dam was once the highest in Britain. Now open to the public, this area is a well known beauty spot and walked by thousands every year. This is where you can take on refreshments before making the long but gradual ascent along tracks to Darwen Moors.

 

 

 

It was another trespass and a bitter struggle that led to a Parliamentary Charter in 1896, which opened the Darwen Moors to the public and where, on a tragic December day in 1917, three young lads died in a blizzard. At the northern end of the moor the route passes Darwen Tower, built in 1898 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. On a clear day there are fine views from here over the Irish Sea to the West, the Lake District Hills to the north and the Yorkshire Dales to the east.  

 

Good walking across the moor and a short descent takes you to the very pleasant Roddlesworth Woods where the long and short routes converge.

 

 

 

 

More refreshment at Slipper Lowe fortifies you for the climb  over Great Hill, with great views, to White Coppice with its picturesque cricket field. The birthplace of a Nobel Prize winner, it also housed a prominent supporter of the Temperance Movement, who forced the closure of the only beer house, known locally as the ‘Who’d a Thowt It’. 

 

 

 

 

From White Coppice good walking threads a line between, first of all Anglezarke Reservoir to the right, then Yarrow Reservoir to the left and finally the Upper Rivington Reservoir and the end of the walk in Rivington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both the long route (24 miles) and the short route (16 miles) must be completed in under 10 hours

 

 

 

Photos of the 2024 event can be seen 'here' 

Event times can be seen 'here' 

 

The 2025 event will take place on Saturday 8th Feb

 

2025 entry via SiEntries will be possible soon.

 

The route description is available by clicking 'here'

           

The Long Route map is available by clicking 'here'

 

The Long Route GPX file is available by clicking 'here'

 

      The Short Route map is available by clicking 'here'  

 

The Short Route GPX file is available by clicking 'here'