Walk Description

I had arranged to meet Steve at Pleasington Station, drive to Darwen and then walk across the moor to Darwen Tower, but when I had a closer look at the map I decided to explore the slightly more gentle countryside at Witton Country Park.  Before I drove to the Country Park, Steve and I walked up the road to Pleasington Priory.  The Priory is St Mary and St John the Baptist Catholic church, it was built by the Manchester architect John Palmer and opened in August 1819.  Witton Country Park is 480 acres of beautiful mixed woodland, parkland and farmland to the west of Blackburn. The estate was once owned by the Feilden family, who built and lived in Witton House (1800 - 1946) and created the park at the same time.

I parked in one of the large car parks near Feniscliffe and walked along the road towards Butlers Bridge, where we turned eastwards and followed the Witton Weavers Way along the river.  I turned off the main path just before we reached the main area of the park and headed up through a narrow strip of woodland towards Billinge Nook.   I was aiming for Billinge Hill but first I had to find a way to cross the large estate wall that circles the hill.  Thankfully there was no need to scale the wall as there was a short tunnel under the wall near Billinge Nook.  Once through the tunnel, I entered the delightful Billinge Wood with its myriad of winding footpaths.  It didn't seem to matter too much as to which path I took because most of them wound their way up to the summit.  Although it was a warm August day, the woods had an autumnal feel about them and there was a good variety of fungus scattered around the trees. 

We stopped for lunch at the summit of Billinge Hill and although the trees limited our view, I stopped for a while to give my knee a rest and soak up some of the warm sunshine.    I then retraced my steps down the hill and left the woods near a small car park before heading across the field past an old quarry and on towards the deep cut of Butlers Delf.  We then crossed a small track and walked a few yards through the woods where the Witton Weavers Way turned off the main path and headed for the first of what felt like many stiles on today's walk.  There was a notice attched to the fence advising walkers as to the correct way to cross a field of cows.  I had a quick look at the empty field and decided that there wouldn't be any problem crossing it.  However when I reached the other side of the field, I found the cows blocking the gateway and a large bull laying there eye closely watching our every movement.  The notices at this side of the field included a large 'Beware of the Bull' sign, which was a little too late for us!

We continued across the field and headed for Close Farm and then down to the River Darwen.  We could tell we were reaching the river long before we could see the water as we could hear a some ducks making a lot of noise.  When I reached the river I was greeted with one of the largest gatherings of ducks that I have seen.  They were heading for the edge of the river where a large amount of grain had been left for them.  We then followed the River Darwen past Hoghton Bottoms and picked up the muddy path that skirted the Golf Club and then climbed Throstle-Nest Brow.  This was almost my undoing, as I was being to feel a bit tired and really had to make a concerted effort to climb the hill. It wassn't long before before we reached the road at Pleasington where we paid another visit to the Priory.  From here it was just a short walk to Pleasington Old Hall. From here I walked down the hill to Butlers Bridge and the car.  I was really glad to be able to sit down, take my boots off and rest my knee.
 

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Walk Profile

The route map shown here should not be used as a replacement for the appropriate map(s). Before attempting the walk you should check the suitability of this route in relation to your capabilities and experience.