Members: Trish Cranston, Roger Dyke, Alan (Liverpool) Jones, Iain McCallum, Al Metelko, Dave Shotton, Peter Walker, Keith Williams, Dave Wylie

This proved to be an enjoyable walk in fine weather for the time of year, though it was quite cold on exposed heights and in the face of the chill wind blowing over the reservoirs. The day was dry although some of the paths were very muddy underfoot!

The group assembled in the car park behind Brinscall Swimming Pool for a 10am start (parking on Lodge Bank as the car park is signed for ‘no all day parking’). We walked through the woodland of Wheelton Plantation and followed The Goit water channel to the hamlet of White Coppice with its very fine cricket pitch. However deep mud forced us to leave the path by The Goit and cross over a bridge to follow tracks across open fields towards Anglezarke Reservoir. As it was Remembrance Sunday we paused for a minute’s silence at 11am by the lane at the north end of the reservoir, after which Keith left us to go back to his nearby home as he had other commitments later that day. By this time Pete and Alan had (as they had forewarned) dropped behind somewhat intent on a shorter version of the walk, but did meet up with the others later in the day.

We followed obvious paths along the eastern shore of Anglezarke Reservoir, stopping for late elevenses at about 11.30am, passing the dam at the south end and continuing along the shore of Upper Rivingon Reservoir until we reached the dam and the Rivington Bowling Club and Tea Room at its south end at about 12.30pm. They weren’t keen on customers eating their own food at the outside tables so some of the group drank tea at the tables while the others had lunch in the car park.

Afterwards we crossed the adjacent dam via Horrobin Lane, and started the return stage along paths and lanes by the western shores of the Upper Rivington and Anglezarke Reservoirs. Some of the paths towards the end were quite muddy, especially the corner of one field which had been churned up by cows and ponies! Along the way the main group met up again with Pete and Alan at the junction of Charnock Back Lane and the track to Heath Fold Farm & Kays Farm; the two had taken a different, shorter route by following The Goit water channel to Anglezarke Reservoir but then taking the anglers’ path next to the water on the western side of the reservoir and then on to the meeting point.

Pete and Alan walked with the others for a little while but then made their own way back to the cars. Iain was also somehow left behind in the vicinity of White Coppice; the others (the two Daves, Al, Trish and Roger) couldn’t find him on retracing steps and in the end continued to the cars to find that Iain had got back first a little under 10 minutes ahead at 3.05pm, according to the note left on Dave S’s windscreen! A phone call later that evening revealed that Iain had followed an alternative (and apparently less muddy) path and beaten them to the finish. The total distance covered by the main group was about 10 miles.

The two Daves, Al, Trish and Roger walked round the corner to the Cottage Tea Room in Brinscall but unfortunately it was too busy to get seats so we didn’t have refreshments in the end.

Pete and Alan later reported that they had got back to the cars some time later at about 4.00-4.15pm. Alan also reported that after the walk he decided to take a rest day on Monday and missed his usual trip to the gym!

Brinscall & White Coppice: a short walk with a tea shop!

Following the success of one or two shorter (by KMC standards) walks earlier in the year, I have decided to use the following criteria for this walk: 1) it should be relatively short (8-10 miles/13-16 km) and easily completed in autumnal daylight hours; 2) it should include at least one cafe/tea shop; 3) it should be not too far from Manchester. (I had also considered a train-friendly route but unfortunately many of the relevant Lancashire lines appear to be running as bus replacement services on the date in question!). Newcomers and veteran club walkers alike are welcome.

This is therefore a fairly short circular walk skirting the NW edge of Anglezarke Moor, to the east of Chorley. It takes in a couple of picturesque small villages (Brinscall and White Coppice) and follows the shores of the Anglezarke and Upper Rivington Reservoirs, on fairly level and low-lying ground.

Start point: Public car park behind Brinscall Swimming Pool (Lodge Bank, Brinscall). Map ref SD 627213, swimming pool postcode PR6 8QU. On-road parking also available on Lodge Bank.

Start time: Meet at 09:45 for a 10:00 start.

Map: OS Explorer sheet 287 (West Pennine Moors – Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington & Bolton North) or OS Landranger sheets 103 (Blackburn & Burnley) & 109 (Manchester).

Distance: About 10 miles via Horrobin Lane/Rivington Bowling Club Tea Room; a shorter variation returning via the Anglezarke Dam (omitting the walk round Upper Rivingon Reservoir) is about 8 miles.

Route: From the village of Brinscall, follow footpaths through Wheelton Plantation and along the course of The Goit water channel to the picturesque hamlet of White Coppice (reputed to possess the most attractive cricket pitch in England, although as the cricket season has ended, the cricket club cafe won’t be open unfortunately). Then continue further along The Goit and follow paths down the eastern shore of Anglezarke Reservoir.

There is the option of crossing the Anglezarke Dam at the south end of Anglezarke Reservoir – this allows for a shorter variation of the walk with no cafe until the return to Brinscall. However my plan is to continue along the shore of the adjoining Upper Rivingon Reservoir to the Horrobin Lane road bridge (dividing the Upper and Lower Rivington Reservoirs), next to which can be found the Rivington Bowling Club and Tea Room (also visited on Lester’s Rivington Walking Meet in January).

We then cross the Horrobin Lane bridge and follow paths up along the western shore of the reservoirs then on field paths back to White Coppice and Brinscall, by an alternative route to the one followed earlier in the day.

The Cottage Tea Room (popular with walkers, cyclists etc and displaying works by local artists) is located on School Lane near Brinscall Swimming Pool and is open for optional post-walk refreshments until 4pm if we are back in time!

Post-recce update (11/11/17):

The car park behind Brinscall Swimming Pool is in fact signed for swimming pool users only (i.e. not public) and prohibits all-day parking; it is therefore advisable to park on the adjacent road (Lodge Bank) rather than in the car park, but there is plenty of room on the road so that shouldn’t be a problem. Still meet in car park as planned.