Click the links to see brief videos of the commemoration event in Chatterton. Turn the speaker on! Chatterton Band 1 Chatterton Band 2
Photo by Paul Wright
VILLAGE LINK
To view the Village Link website and its walks, click the Village Link logo.
PILGRIMS' WAY
Follow the route of the Pilgrims 
from Whalley to Manchester.
For detailed information on this walk click
Pilgrims' Way
or click the picture.
WALK REPORTS
WEDNESDAY 22nd OCTOBER 2026
13 walkers set off from Entwistle Reservoir car park for a hike across the Darwen moorland, which included a section of the West Pennine Way.
Entwistle terrain
The day was rather damp and misty with very low cloud.
The first part of the walk took the group westwards along the banks of the reservoir. The low water level was quite noticeable despite the recent rain.
Entwistle Reservoir
The route then joined the A666 for a short distance before picking up the West Pennine Way near to Cranberry Moss. Here we could see the remains of several coke ovens in an adjoining field and a ventilation shaft for the tunnel on the Bolton to Blackburn rail line.
The route then took the group to Aushaw and the Roman Road. Here we passed the abandoned Crown and Thistle Hotel once a busy and popular pub and restaurant but sadly now looking very neglected.
Crown & Thistle
Soon after we stopped for lunch overlooking the valley as the light drizzle stopped and the cloud cleared enough to enjoy the view across to Broadhead Brook.
The route descended into a sheltered wooded area following the brook before climbing up to Entwistle railway station and the Strawberry Duck pub. All along the route and especially in the woodland, there was an abundance of different mushrooms which were thriving in the moist conditions.
Mushroom
This mushroom is highly toxic. It contains psychoactive compounds such as ibotenic acid and muscimol. Ingesting it raw or improperly prepared causes severe gastrointestinal distress, confusion, and visual hallucinations.
We continued along a narrow road to a stile, which took us back to Entwistle Reservoir and to our starting point.
Distance covered was 9.8 miles.
WEDNESDAY 14th OCTOBER 2026
Turbines Scout Moor
Whittle Pike
WALK REPORT FOR WEDNESDAY 14 th OCTOBER
SCOUT MOOR TO WHITTLE PIKE, RETURNING VIA PARADISE 6/7 mile walk
This was the first of our short monthly walks not starting at Greenmount. The meeting point was the car park opposite the Owd Betts pub. The morning was very misty with visibility down to about 15 meters. 16 walkers set off for Scout Moor Windfarm undeterred by the weather and being warned of the missing bottom rung on a ladder stile and the possibility of a route change if the water in Cheesden Brook was too high to use the stepping stone.
Following the footpath up the moorland and over the first of the ladder stiles which had been recently repaired we headed up to the high stone wall at the top of the hill. Thankfully the bolt, which had held the bottom rung of this ladder, was still there making it possible for everyone to get over the wall safely.
We turned left, still in the mist but able to hear the whine of the turbines as we followed the footpath alongside the wall. Near the end of the wall, we headed up to a turbine. Using the Turbine roads we made our way round Higher Hill, straight across the Rossendale Way, and continued on, bearing right at the next junction before leaving the road to take the footpath up to the cross on Whittle Pike. Here, still in the mist, Tony used his binoculars to read the plaque on the cross. The cross is in memory of senior scout leader at St. Mark’s Bury, who was lost on a flying mission in 1955. It overlooks Scout moor.
Making our way off the moors we stop in wonder as the mist was clearing far into the distance, bathing Owd Betts reservoir in sunlight. Crossing the track, called Coal Road. Going down into the valley below, the mist lifted, revealing a beautiful day. After our coffee break at the ruins of Grain Barn we made our way to Paradise, along the edge of a now redundant lodge and the few remaining ruins of Four Acre woollen mill built in 1810 but disused by the end of that century, before crossing Cheesden Brook. Fortunately the stepping stone was still visible, so we were able to cross and make our way to the ruins of the farm called Paradise.
After negotiating through the rushes, we followed the good path down to a row of houses before crossing the road to go down to the ruins of Cheesden Lumb mill ruins. Here two people had just finished swimming in the pool under the waterfall.
It was then just a short walk back to Owd Betts, after a most interesting and enjoyable walk.