canal walk inside page 17/3/08 3:31 pm Page 2 forget that the vegetation will also dampen your legs. your dampen also will vegetation the that forget Front Cover: British Waterways Inspection Boat passing a Barge at Church, C.1955 Church, at Barge a passing Boat Inspection Waterways British Cover: Front Good shoes or boots are recommended then, and don’t and then, recommended are boots or shoes Good TERWAYS ON 01942 242239 01942 ON TERWAYS WA One of a series of Hyndburn Walks Hyndburn of series a of One Altham and Clayton it is muddy in parts after rain. rain. after parts in muddy is it Clayton and Altham THE CANAL, PLEASE RING BRITISH RING PLEASE CANAL, THE The Canal Clog Canal The FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON INFORMATION FURTHER FOR SPONSORED BY SPONSORED Generally, the towpath has a good surface, though between though surface, good a has towpath the Generally, are taking place in Clayton. in place taking are interest and pleasure as it does to me. to does it as pleasure and interest being constructed at Church Kirk and other improvements other and Kirk Church at constructed being Designed by The Graphics Section, Hyndburn Borough Council Borough Hyndburn Section, Graphics The by Designed hope a walk along the towpath brings you as much as you brings towpath the along walk a hope encourage greater use of the towpath, and a picnic area is area picnic a and towpath, the of use greater encourage 41 Fountain Street, Accrington. BB5 0QR BB5 Accrington. Street, Fountain 41 water into the centres of Hyndburn’s townships. I townships. Hyndburn’s of centres the into water his Leaflet was written by Mike Clarke, Milepost Research, Milepost Clarke, Mike by written was Leaflet his T Members of local ‘Prospects’ panels are also working to working also are panels ‘Prospects’ local of Members Ribble valley, with the canal bringing wild life and life wild bringing canal the with valley, Ribble e mail: [email protected] mail: e been resurfaced, particularly around Rishton. around particularly resurfaced, been across open countryside to Pendle and the and Pendle to countryside open across el: 01254 872595 Fax: 01254 380291 01254 Fax: 872595 01254 el: T aterways to improve the towpath, and several sections have sections several and towpath, the improve to aterways W The Town Hall, Accrington. BB5 1LA BB5 Accrington. Hall, Town The Hyndburn Borough Council have been working with British with working been have Council Borough Hyndburn not just mills and factories but also fine views fine also but factories and mills just not Accrington Information Centre, Information Accrington today are much more pleasant! The route offers route The pleasant! more much are today Bridge 118 (Altham Barn) (Altham 118 Bridge or more information please contact:- please information more or Hyndburn’s industrial past, though conditions though past, industrial Hyndburn’s ALTHAM: For a free guide on Places to Stay & Eat, Eat, & Stay to Places on guide free a For stroll along the canal is a stroll through stroll a is canal the along stroll WHERE TO STAY AND EAT AND STAY TO WHERE Bridge 114B (Whalley Road) (Whalley 114B Bridge collieries, brickworks and quarries. In fact, a fact, In quarries. and brickworks collieries, CLAYTON-LE-MOORS: el: 01942 242239 01942 el: T grown up alongside the canal as well as well as canal the alongside up grown canal, please contact British Waterways British contact please canal, (Church Kirk) (Church For a free permit to cycle along designated routes on the on routes designated along cycle to permit free a For the years other textile-related industries have industries textile-related other years the off Bridge Street and at bridges 112 and 113 and 112 bridges at and Street Bridge off : B B IKE Y CHURCH: factories were established at that time. Over time. that at established were factories M6 (J29); M65 (J70 and M6 (J9) M6 and (J70 M65 (J29); M6 Hyndburn you will pass several places where places several pass will you Hyndburn rde17 Nre)ad18 (Rishton) 108A and (Norden) Bridges107A The area is easy to reach from the the from reach to easy is area The RISHTON: As you walk along the canal towpath in towpath canal the along walk you As : C B AR Y following locations are most suitable: most are locations following For details Tel: 0345 484950 0345 Tel: details For East Lancashire was where it began. began. it where was Lancashire East wheelchair users and those with prams, the prams, with those and users wheelchair The nearest main line station is Preston. is station line main nearest The bridges, though at some it is by steep steps. For steps. steep by is it some at though bridges, success in the nineteenth century - and that and - century nineteenth the in success Church/Oswaldtwistle and Huncoat. and Church/Oswaldtwistle Access to the towpath can be obtained from most from obtained be can towpath the to Access T here are stations at Accrington, Rishton, Accrington, at stations are here was the driving force behind Britain’s economic Britain’s behind force driving the was : T B RAIN Y H YNDBURN People often forget that the cotton textile industry textile cotton the that forget often People For details of times Tel: 01254 872595 01254 Tel: times of details For Industrial Revolution. Industrial C M LARKE IKE By Bus: By C NLIN ANAL in the development of the of development the in HOW TO GET TO HYNDBURN TO GET TO HOW the most important factors important most the L IVERPOOL Lancashire were two of two were Lancashire e mail: [email protected] mail: e el: 01254 872595 Fax: 01254 380219 01254 Fax: 872595 01254 el: T both the canal and East and canal the both & L EEDS The Town Hall, Accrington. BB51LA Accrington. Hall, Town The in Hyndburn, I feel that feel I Hyndburn, in Accrington Information Centre, Information Accrington industrial historian living historian industrial T HE This guide is one of a range available from from available range a of one is guide This reason is that, as an as that, is reason interested in the canal. One canal. the in interested am often asked why I am so am I why asked often am Leeds & Liverpool Canal, I Canal, Liverpool & Leeds As the author of the book on the history of the of history the on book the of author the As THE CANAL The canal was authorised by Skipton the shortage of yarn created by the earlier introduction of Parliament in 1770, and by the flying shuttle for weaving by AND OCAL NDUSTRY WILDLIFE L I 1777 it had opened between John Kay of Bury. It was a local family, the Peels, who A canal across the Pennines, joining the valleys of the Leeds and GargraveGreenberfield and from Liverpool to Parbold where it The canal brings a taste of the country into Aire and Ribble, was first proposed in 1766 by the most industrial of areas. The woollen merchants in Bradford. They wanted a good joined the old River Douglas Navigation which allowed towpath provides a home for a supply of lime and limestone from Craven, used for variety of animals, though it is access to Wigan’s coal mines. land improvement and building construction, as well becoming more difficult to find the as a route to ports such as Lancaster and Liverpool With about halfBurnley of the canal Water Vole, once so common on English canals. where their woollen goods could be sent to the then completed, the company ran out colonies in America. Planned at first to link Leeds of money, but the investors Plants such as Meadowsweet and Willowherb Silsden and Bradford to Preston, the rapidly-growing port of BOAT WOMEN C.1900 were not too worried. The can often be seen, whilst in the shallow waters Liverpool soon became the preferred destination. Yorkshire men had access to the limestone in Craven, at the edge of the canal you may find Arrowhead or Branched Bur-reed. In hot weather, while the Liverpool men were being supplied with coal ASPOON DREDGER AT ENFIELD WHARF, The route planned by the Yorkshiremen was up the from Wigan. CLAYTON-LE-MOORS duckweed floats on the surface, its intake of Blackburn oxygen from the water sometimes causing Aire valley and across the Pennines by way of were the first to successfully exploit these inventions and problems for the underwater pond weeds. Gargrave and Barnoldswick. It was then to go It was not until the upturn in the economy in the 1790s who can be said to have founded the Lancashire cotton Keighley following the end of the American War of Independence Shipley north of the River Calder, crossing into the textile industry, making several fortunes in the process. Fish too can suffer, the main ones in the Bingley Ribble Valley over an aqueduct at Whalley Nab. that construction began again. Appleby Bridge Wigan Leeds & Liverpool being Roach, Perch Limestone was the reason for this route which By then the cotton textile It was because of these and Bream, with a fair number of Pike. passed close to quarries in Craven and industry had become developments that the route of The water also provides a home for Swan Clitheroe, with Liverpool reached by crossing established in East the canal was altered to pass Mussels and Freshwater Shrimps, with Parbold the low-lying lands of West Lancashire. Lancashire. Wool and through Burnley, Church and Frogs, Toads andLeeds Newts living in the linen cloth had always Blackburn to join the existing shallower water at the canal’s edge.