TAKE a 70-minute drive from Kendal and walk in the area that a young Mr Wainwright trod before he moved to Kendal in 1941, writes JOHN EDMONDSON. This walk goes from Whalley, a charming Lancashire village with historic buildings, cafes, restaurants and pubs, to Great Harwood and Dean Clough Reservoir.

Start from King Street, Whalley, Lancashire, grid reference SD 733 362, postcode BB7 9SP.

INFORMATION

Distance: 7 miles with 1,100 feet of ascent

Time: 4 hours

Terrain: mainly grassy paths and stony tracks

Map: OS Explorer 287

ROUTE

1 Walk southwards down Whalley King Street, a road that is still similar to a drawing that Wainwright made in 1928 for A Ribble Sketchbook. Cross the bridge over the River Calder, which joins the Ribble a couple of miles beyond the impressive railway viaduct on the right. Bear left up Moor Lane and where the road bends right turn left onto a bridleway. Keep left onto the footpath and walk beside a fence with views of the river on the left. Continue along a private road past a house and bungalow at Proctor Farm then go through a wooden gate past new houses and along a tarmacked lane (Dean Lane, Whalley Banks). Where the lane bends right keep straight on the footpath, following a fence on the left and descending to a kissing gate. Walk along the valley bottom beside a stream. Pendle Hill can be seen in the distance ahead. Descend towards the river, cross a footbridge then go up a stepped path through woods. Continue along the footpath past Squires Farm to a tarmacked lane leading to Allsopp Drive. The road to the right originally led to Allsprings, the home of James Lomax, who owned most of the land in this area in the 19th Century. During his time the village of Harwood (pronounced locally as "Arrod") expanded four-fold into a small cotton manufacturing town.

2 Turn right into Memorial Park. At the top go over two stiles onto a field path, passing houses on the left and joining a road beside the Dog and Otter Inn. Turn right onto Blackburn Old Road, which bends to the left at the top of the cricket ground, then turn right down Goldacre Lane. At the bottom of the lane turn left onto the bridleway to Dean Clough Reservoir, which was built in 1879 to provide water for the rapidly expanding town. Walk along the path below the dam then turn right.

3 Go through a gate and turn left to walk alongside a fence and past a stone ruin. Cross a stile and continue alongside a fence on the right then through gorse bushes and alongside a wood on the right. Go through a new metal kissing gate and cross a track, left then right. Descend to a tarmacked road. Turn left then right onto a signed footpath down to the bottom of Dean Brook. Cross a footbridge then ascend the other side of the valley up to the top of Bowley Hill for a good view of the reservoir. Descend and cross two stiles to meet a road (Dean Way). Walk down the road and at the approach to Bowley Activity Centre keep left to descend the bridleway. Cross a bridge then walk along a path to a farm and house. Turn left onto a lane and where the road bends left, go straight ahead on a stony lane and follow the bridleway, continuing in the reverse direction of the outward walk and back into Whalley.

Next week: Tarn Hows, Tom Heights and Black Crag

NB: restrictions on space mean that this article provides a general summary of the route. It is advisable for anyone who plans to follow the walk to take a copy of the relevant Ordnance Survey map.