Darwen Jubilee Tower, Lancashire

Wed, 2013 Aug 14 10:31 AM 

Led by Mike. With Eddie, Barry, Gordon, Maureen and me. A short morning walk before the drive back. Fine and sunny.

Just the job for a fine morning's leg-stretch before we travel home.  But first we have a small pilgrimage to make in Chorley to celebrate a local resident who rides a bicycle.

We set off from the café and car park at Roddlesworth Information Centre, Tockholes.  We go past Hollinshead terrace - a row of weavers' cottages, and follow the bridleway until we reach a junction. 
We turn left and almost immediately leave the bridleway for a steep track uphill, with a stone marker for the tower.

We follow the track to the edge of the plateau, then turn right before circling back round to the tower itself. We take a small track as a short cut and have to leap a ditch. 

The 85-foot high Jubilee Tower was built in 1898 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. It was paid for by local people and represents the victory of an 18 year long legal battle where local people re-established their ancient rights of access to the moor.

We climb the 82 steps of the spiral stairs to the windy viewpoint. You can see the Yorkshire 3 peaks, some of the Lake District hills and the Isle of Man on a clear day.  We're not quite convinced today.

Then it's complete the circle of the plateau and down the way we came up.  We call in the café for a pre-journey snack.  Their bird feeders with one-way glass offer a great spectacle, mainly tits and a grey squirrel today!

Map and details