Galleries. Art & Museum reserved. rights All 2020. rights database or / and copyright Agency Environment Photography: G. Britland, M. Sutcliffe, H. Smith and Blackburn Blackburn and Smith H. Sutcliffe, M. Britland, G. Photography: Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020; 2020; right database and copyright Crown © data Survey SUGGESTED START: Sunnyhurst Wood car park (SD 6791 2240) LOOK OUT FOR: Ordnance Contains developing and trialling the route. route. the trialling and developing You are here are You DISTANCE: 9.1 km / 5.7 miles in support for Utilities United and Wood Sunnyhurst of Friends 1. Sunnyhurst Wood - in 1800, the then TIME: 3 hours (plus sight-seeing and wildlife watching) arable land was planted up by the Rotary, Darwen Heys, Harold Jacklin, Judith & John Sutcliffe, To National Lottery Players for funding the project and Mark Mark and project the funding for Players Lottery National To TERRAIN: Woodland tracks and well used footpaths owner Henry Brock for hunting purposes. The estate was bought by you! Thank DIFFICULTY: Moderate/Hard Darwen Corporation in 1902 to OS MAP REFERENCE: It is advisable to use OS Explorer Map commemorate the coronation of iPhone. and Android on route app to accompany this this accompany to app Life Ribble 287 with this guide. Sunnyhurst King Edward VII and opened as a the Download Wood public park the following year. www.ribblelifetogether.org the QR code to find out more or visit visit or more out find to code QR the 2. Earnsdale reservoir - built in 1863 to supply the Scan project. Together Life Ribble the for routes circular of series 1 (Bolton - Blackburn) a of part as Trust Rivers Ribble by created been has walk This growing population of Darwen with water. The West TA02 (Darwen - Bury) Pennine Moors, with high rainfall and impermeable rock, users other and wildlife consider Code: Countryside the Follow • provided an ideal location for a number of reservoirs. In drinks and food spare Carry Sunnyhurst Wood car park August 2016, a large landslide occurred in Sunnyhurst • Take a charged mobile phone, first aid kit, map and compass compass and map kit, aid first phone, mobile charged a Take Wood, close to the reservoir, at the edge of a United • conditions forecast for suitable clothing and boots sturdy Wear Utilities pumping station. • Roddlesworth Visitor Centre safely Enjoy 3. The ruins of Hollinshead Hall lie Catchment Ribble The Council) Borough Darwen with (Blackburn Walk Tower Darwen within Tockholes Plantation. The • Various in Darwen Way Weavers Witton ruins are from a house, stables and • farm buildings built in 1776 by John Trail Nature Roddlesworth Hollinshead. The dwelling remained • The Sunnyhurst (Darwen) trails Nearby in the Hollinshead family until the Royal Arms & Rock Inn (Tockholes) early Victorian times and was sold to Well future. the for legacy positive a leave to aim we science, on based mill owner Eccles Shorrock in 1845. House action, environmental practical Through educate. and inspire The Olde England Kiosk (Darwen) The hall and surrounding land were bought by Vaughns Country Café (Tockholes) to river the using and access improving rivers, the of heritage the Liverpool Corporation in the early 1900s for the celebrates project The wildlife. and people for 2020 by system Follow us: us: Follow is working to create a healthier river river healthier a create to working is construction of reservoirs in the area. The Well House is Together Life Ribble WILDLIFE: Deer are still visible today and features a carved lion’s head spout, occasionally spotted the water from which is claimed to cure eye ailments. in the woodland sections of this route. The 4. Jubilee Tower - completed in 1898 to celebrate Queen West Pennine Moors was Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the designated as a Site of Special tower is also seen as a symbol of River Walks the victory of local people when Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 2016 public access to Darwen Moor due to its nationally important Curlew was reinstated after an 18 year Darwen Tower habitats. Totalling 76 km², it is the largest legal battle. At 85 ft high, in clear site nominated Jubilee weather, the tower allows views since 2004. The rugged Tower of Morecambe Bay, Blackpool terrain is home to curlew, Tower, Cumbria, the Isle of Man snipe, merlin, lapwing and and north Wales. In the mid-20th century, the tower fell redshank. Keep an eye out into disrepair, was bricked up and almost demolished. In for great spotted 1972, it was fully renovated at a cost of £3,000 and This route visits the picturesque woodpeckers and tree reopened. woodlands of Sunnyhurst and creepers in the wooded areas Tockholes and showcases Kingfisher and dippers and kingfishers 5. Visible from Jubilee Tower is India spectacular views from Darwen along the water’s edge. Mill. Completed in 1867, the mill India Moor. took 14 years to build and is named Mill WHAT TO EXPECT: after the India Cotton which ran The industrial history of Darwen This walk begins by Sunnyhurst Wood, winding through through its looms. At the time of combines with the rugged woodland, following Sunnyhurst Brook. After passing completion, the 303 ft high chimney countryside of the West Pennine Earnsdale Reservoir, the route continues through was the tallest and most expensive in Moors on this scenic walk. woodland at Tockholes Plantation before heading up the country. The owners of the mill, onto Darwen Moor to Jubilee Tower. The terrain is Eccles Shorrock, Brother & Company mainly woodland paths and well maintained footpaths. were left bankrupt by the cost of the Due to the length and gradient (in places) of this walk, mill and the impacts of the cotton famine. In 1874, the sturdy footwear such as boots is recommended. India Mills Cotton Spinning Company Ltd was formed to Livestock are present in some of the fields on this route, purchase and run the mill. The structure is still reported to be the tallest surviving chimney in the UK. (Please note: India so please keep dogs on a lead. If cattle get too close or Distance: 9.1 km / 5.7 miles Mill is not visible on the map overleaf, but lies a little further east, become excitable, let the dog off the lead. level with Jubilee Tower on the A666). Difficulty: Moderate/Hard ROUTE DIRECTIONS The views open out magnificently to the Ribble Estuary and Lancashire coast and across the border into Yorkshire and A. Through Sunnyhurst Wood the Three Peaks. Follow the track as it winds its way to the From the car park, go through the gap in tower. On the final approach, at the fork in the paths, head the fence in the opposite corner to the towards the tower. For those with a head for heights, the entrance. Head downhill into the woods, views from the top are outstanding – stretching as far as taking the right hand path at the junction, Snowdonia and the Isle of Man on a clear day. then join the main path heading downhill to the valley floor. Follow the path left Sunnyhurst F. Back to Sunnyhurst car park past the Greenway Shelter and continue along From the tower, head back towards the Wood the footpath next to the brook and then over the white stone marker and turn right down footbridge, staying left beside the brook. the gravel path, descending north east (towards Pendle). Follow the track all the way to the road, bearing left and B. To Earnsdale Reservoir Views from At the Ellis Gibson fishpond, fork right and climb away from downhill where it forks. Turn left at the brook, following the path through the woods to the Darwen Hill the Sunnyhurst pub to return to the corner of the reservoir. Go through the kissing gate and car park. continue straight ahead on the footpath, climbing steeply along a cobbled cart track for 250m. At Earnsdale the viewpoint, where the gradient levels, THE RIVERS: Sunnyhurst Brook winds through Sunnyhurst Reservoir continue straight ahead on the gravel Wood before joining the River Darwen in Darwen town bridleway to reach the road. centre. Further along the walk route, we follow the course of the River Roddlesworth, which joins the River Darwen near C. To Roddlesworth Reservoir Feniscowles. Cross the road and head left along the pavement for just less than 200m, then The Industrial Revolution saw the expansion of areas such as take the bridleway on the right into the Blackburn and Darwen as the textile industry grew locally. A woods. Follow the path, downhill, number of weirs were constructed along the Darwen to through the woods. When the path joins a larger footpath, harness and control the power of the river. The development turn left. Continue to follow the path over two streams, and of paint works and chemical factories along the riverbanks after the second, larger stream, continue uphill. Where the path levels out after the uphill, look out for a wooden weave- meant that it was common for the River Darwen to run ‘the style gateway BUT DO NOT TAKE THIS. Instead, with the colours of the rainbow’. wooden gateway to your left, head in a 2 o’clock direction, downhill, to the right (the path is not very well defined, do In recent years, there have been a number of factors which not take the gravel path behind you to the right). At the have helped to improve the water quality of the River bottom of the slope, turn left to join another footpath and Darwen, such as a reduction in industry and stricter follow it round to the River Roddlesworth. Cross the stone environmental regulation. Two weirs have been altered by footbridge.