Rather than waste a day I suggested we went to a National Trust house and that I thought the guide book was in the tray under the passenger seat. It wasn't!.
However there was the "50 Walks in Lancashire and Cheshire" book. Chris looked through and I suppose it isn't surprising we had walked many of them.
The "Deserted Valley of Haslingden Grane", although short (just over 3 miles), sounded intriguing. The history of the valley is worth reading and the walk well worth the detour.
Starting at Clough Head Information Centre, we were entertained by a group of adults and children holding an outdoor religious service, (very happy and quite clappy!), as we put on our walking gear. One animated song remined Chris of "Hand, shoulders, Knees and toes, knees and toes", and she suggested she should go over and give them a chorus...
In the carpark was a "random deer" sculpture/weaving; I think it was to signify the fact that this had been a deer park prior to the 16th century. We headed off, left of the information centre, through a small plantation and climbed steeply up Clough Head; I could tell we hadn't walked for a few weeks! We joined the Rossendale Way, half-way up the slope and, I'm pleased to say, remained for some time on a fairly level path.
The walk itself can be seen at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1322504. The route took us past many ruins; evidence of the once populated valley (over 1000 people at one time). Reading the history of the valley puts into perspective the hardships of the population of this area. Relying on poor farm land, handloom weaving and distilling of illicit whisky (I'm impressed by the latter) the advent of larger mills, and the flooding of their best land (when the reservoir was built), together with falls in commodity prices, explaind the abandoned valley and ruins.
I've tried to capture some of the beauty and sadness of this valley by using autostitch. Six images have been stiched together to provide a 180 degree image including reservoir, moorland, woodland and plantations, as well as ruins .
Oh, I nearly forgot, it also includes Chris who took a short break while I took the photographs.
On reflection, the lack of wildlife seen on the walk also indicated the lack of man's influence; apart from a few cows and an odd sheep or two, the walk was quite uneventful. It was however noticeable that a large number of fungi were appearing, showing the beginnings of Autumn (Fall for our American friends).
In general a short but varied walk, well worth a visit.
P.S. The food at the Information Centre was good as well.
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