National Trail Guides UK

HOME

NATIONAL TRAIL GUIDES

NATURE SOUNDS

THE AUTHOR

THE SPONSOR

NATIONAL TRAIL GUIDES UK

Footpath Guides

HOLIDAY COTTAGES ALONG THE TRAILS

Contents :: RIBBLE WAY :: Day 2


		INTRODUCTION		DAY 5
		DAY 1		DAY 6
		DAY 2		DAY 7
		DAY 3
		DAY 4

THE RIBBLE WAY RUNS FLOWS FROM ITS SOURCE IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES TO ITS RIVER MOUTH BEYOND PRESTON

NATIONAL TRAIL GUIDES UK

Day 2 :: Into the Country and Tricky Navigation :: Preston to Ribchester:: 14 miles

We started the walk today where we left off yesterday, at Broadgate in Preston, a road that runs parallel to the River Ribble and just off the Penwortham New Bridge. We walked along the road until reaching a fork with a pedestrianised section going off to the right and over Penwortham Old Bridge. To its left was another bridge carrying service cables and the like; rather unsightly. The road narrowed and changed from Broadgate to Riverside, and then it changed to a narrow tarmac track.

For this first part of this section of the Ribble Way there were many bridges, carrying vehicles, trains, cables and pedestrians. Beneath them mute swans idled away oblivious to the industry surrounding them. Passing beneath the arch of a bridge we entered Miller Park. This was a beautiful area, brightly lit with pockets of light green shade and a wide riverside path. Bridges continued to come and go, but as we walked the scenery surrounding the river continued to improve, with all sorts of shades of green, dappled with whites, pinks and yellows of wild flowers.



The Ribble at Miller Park		The boulevard alongside the Ribble

At Avenham Park we walked over a bridge to watch the waters passing below us, and met a Polish couple who wished to pose for a photograph. Carol, in her usual chatty way, wanted to know all about them. Returning to terra firma we continued to walk along a boulevard which was lined with attractive light green trees with silver trunks. Our path continued along the side of a housing estate, on the fringe of woodland on the river bank, and then we passed the confluence of the River Darwen with the River Ribble. the River Darwen is well known for its excessive pollution in the 1960's and 70's as a result of effluent from the many paper mills on the course of the river. This has now ceased and the river is clear again. The river flows through the town of Darwen, near Blackburn and eventually reaches the Ribble at this point.

We continued to walk along the river, the housing estate and the woods and eventually we saw the span of Walton Bridge, along which is the A6.



Confluence of the River Darwen with the River Ribble		Walton Bridge

Crossing over the A6 we turned into the Shawes Arms car park to again access the banks of the Ribble, this time along a large grassy swathe immediately abutting the river bank. On the opposite side were houses all facing onto the river. We passed a sand martin nesting site and could see them flitting in and out of their small golf ball size holes in the river bank. There were hundreds of holes but each Sand Martin instantly recognised his hole. The sand martin makes its nest by boring into the sand or gravel river banks. They will be between 3 inches to 4 feet in depth and its nest within will be lined with straw and feathers.



Sand Martin nesting site between Walton Bridge and the M6		Spot the heron on the river bank

As we neared the A59 and M6 we rounded a large sweep of the river and could see Mellings Wood in the distance. Before reaching the wood we encountered a farmer's track from Mete House, and followed this along the river and into the woodland, and then we skirted a golf course and a large open area where there was easy access to the river, and quite a few bathers.

We followed the track under a bridge carrying the A59 across the Ribble and on the far side walked into a farm yard and then turned right, away from the farm and back in the direction of the M6, on a path running parallel to the river and on the opposite side to the Tickled Trout Hotel.

The noise from the motorway was irksome and was a constant drone in our ears for at least 45 minutes as we passed beneath it and beyond. Immediately after passing under the motorway and slip roads we followed the Ribble Way signs left to pass through the grounds of Brockhole Quarry. The noise of the motorway never left us as we passed through the quarry. We were funneled along a narrow grassy track between hawthorn trees, and only when emerging from the quarry did we spot the gravel pits that our guide book referred to and that we had been looking out for, which were now filled with water.

Leaving the quarry we followed a grassy swathe into Boilton Wood, finding a ladder stile as entrance to it. on the other side a path ran from left to right and the temptation was to follow it right. The Ribble Way actually followed it left, away from the river and in the opposite direction, back towards the motorway, which we could still hear. We climbed steeply through the wood and emerged at the top on a large grassy field, where locals were testing their scrambling bikes. The Ribble Way sign pointed the way directly back to the motorway, but this was at variance with our map, which directed us along the perimeter of the woodland top, swinging away to the right. We followed this route and later learned that the sign had been turned by youths as a joke.



Ribble Way through Brockhole Quarry		Gravel Pits in Brockhole Quarry

Our path now skirted the top of the woodland for some time, passing industrial buildings and a crematorium on our left. There were also raised pipes running alongside us. We crossed several field stiles until eventually reached a stile that took us into Tun Brook Wood, where we descended steeply on a narrow track to a wooden footbridge, and then crossed a field to emerge on a track leading to Elston Lane. We turned left and after a hundred yards or so joined Elston Lane, where we turned left and walked about 3/4 of a mile uphill.

We looked for and found a farm track on the right taking us to Marsh House Farm. We passed the farm on our left and then the path forked. We took the right fork and passed through a metal gate and followed the track to a bend, where an overflow of cow swill entirely consumed our route. There was no getting round it. Carol and I tried to walk along the very edge of the grass verge that was strewn with nettles. I was wearing shorts. I manage to evade all but one sting but Carol, thinking her trousers would protect her, pushed hard into them and was stung rather badly.

Shortly after passing the bend there was a stone stile to the left of a gate and we passed this to enter a field. We continued to walk along several fields, the last one being completely barren save for newly planted crop, and requiring us to walk right though its centre. In the middle of the field was a small pond that seemed to be home to many ducks and swans.

Eventually we passed to the side of a cottage and emerged onto Alston Lane. This was a significant point for us. On the opposite side of Alston Lane was a stile which we crossed, to enter a field. We were to return to this very spot in just over an hour's time, having walked around in a circle, and were about to walk back past the cottage in the direction we had originally come from. Fortunately we recognised were we were, for the first time in the last hour).



Pond en route to Alston Lane		Cottage to side of Alston Lane

So we crossed the stile again, with trepidation, wondering if we could correct the mistakes we had so obviously made in our navigation. The guide book we were using was so brief in its detail that little use could be made of it. Back into the field we kept to its left perimeter and found it hiding in a wooded dene below. It was entirely hidden from above, where Carol and I were walking, and there was no obvious track down to it. We had to each take a bank of the field to search the hedgerow for it, having earlier made the mistake of making our own egress from the field. There were wooden steps at the bottom and leading across a small brook, but very hard to spot from above.



Egress from first field enclosure after Alston Lane		Egress from field 2

We continued across many other fields, crossing stiles and bridges and eventually arrived at a stile beside a metal gate at Hothersall Lane. We turned right at the lane and walked down hill, at the same time seeing a beautiful sweep of the Ribble Valley. The properties here were very attractive save for the field study centre that let down the tone of the area considerably.



Cottages in Hothershall		Hothershall Hall

We proceeded forward along the lane past Hothershall Hall Farm, which turned into a tarmac track through the grounds of Hothershall Hall. Passing the Hall we passed through two gates and then turned off the track to walk diagonally across a field to the top tip of a wooden embankment. From up here we could see Ribchester in the distance and also had a fine view down to the Ribble below. Skirting the trees at the top of the embankment we entered a field and turned right to find a gate at the bottom which led to a lane, passing a farm and taking us past the Roman Museum in Ribchester. We were most pleased to see our car, having walked 12 miles from Preston plus an additional 2 mile detour.

Day 1

Day 3

Author - Roy McKee