Ramblers hike through snow

HILL walkers from Halton travelled to a Lancashire village for a winter hiking venue with a plethora of routes.

The Halton Ramblers visited Parbold in the River Douglas Valley.

It is situated at the bottom of Parbold Hill, with the Leeds And Liverpool Canal also meandering its way through the village.

The area is still agricultural but attracts commuters because of the good transport links and therefore the villages have grown over time.

Parbold – surrounded by rolling hills, grassy fields and woodland areas – has a windmill which was built in 1794 which has not been active since about 1850 and is now a gallery for James Bartholomew.

The walkers were prepared for a cold day and had wrapped up warm with all walks starting from the village.

The longest walk was led by Dennis Hignett who joined the towpath on the Leeds And Liverpool Canal to join paths which led to Ashurst Beacon.

It is perhaps the most famous landmark of Skelmersdale, one of a chain of the Lancashire Beacons stretching from Everton in Liverpool to Lancaster Castle and was a form of early warning systems against invaders.

Descending the group walked towards Appley Bridge and to Fairy Glen, a delightful beauty spot filled with beautiful waterfalls and woodland paths, before moving onwards to High Moor and Harrock Hill passing the ancient ruin of the windmill there.

It was ideally placed to catch the full gusts of wind from across the Lancashire plains and although a small windmill, it was sturdy and built with a cellar dug into the sandstone bedrock, which allowed carts to be driven in for ease of loading.

The group descended before climbing Hunters Hill, which is a beauty spot commanding stunning views across Lancashire.

Their descent took them through farmland to visit the Parbold Bottle – a monument built in 1832 to commemorate the Reform Act – before heading down to a towpath and returning to Parbold.

Peter Gallagher stepped in at short notice to lead the B group on a 12.5 mile walk which followed a similar route to the A walkers but excluded the Parbold Bottle.

The moderate C walk was led by Val Hennessey who began using country lanes up to Hunters Hill.

The group then headed towards Harrock Hill but dropped down into Anderton Mill and through fields to The Delph, an old quarry now converted for use as a diving and wild swimming centre.

Heading for home the group then climbed Harrock Hill to the old windmill before taking farmland tracks down to the A5209.

Crossing the busy road, the walkers dropped down to the towpath on the Leeds And Liverpool Canal and back to Parbold.

The shorter walk remained on lower level paths guided by Diane Hornby. The group were able to use the towpaths and paths along the River Douglas up to Appley Bridge.

A Ramblers spokeswoman said: “The day was snowy and wet and the fields were very muddy but all the walkers completed their walks and looked forward to the roaring fire and some refreshment in the local hostelries.”

All the walkers booked for the next trip to Rhuddlan in Denbighshire on Sunday, February 4.

To join contact the booking secretary on 07842 160 944 any day except Sunday between 6pm and 9pm or visit nmcramblers.org.uk