Burnley, Leeds and Liverpool canal, Whittle-le-Woods, Lancashire.
[ 44 km] Fri 04 Apr 2008

Walked to Wheelton for the 6:40am 124 bus to Blackburn. When my bus pass became nationwide I didn’t realise the ½ fare before 9:30am had been abolished and I had to pay the £2.60 adult single fare. I walked across to Blackburn Railway Station and the 7:15am to Colne was waiting. I’d bough a £2.85 ticked to Burnley yesterday in Chorley and used it today. It was quite an interesting a sometimes depressing ride. It’s the first time I’ve been on this line and I got a new perspective of the route even though I’ve driven along the motorway many times which follows a similar route. Most people on the train were probably on their way to work and many dozed as the train trundled along. Some stretches of the track were quite lumpy and the carriages bounced up and down. I got off at Burnley Central station and set off through town to join the canal the area known as ‘The Weaver’s Triangle’. I set off along the canal stretch a little after 8am and was struck by the vast amount of industry that used to line the canal. All that remains is ruined factory shell after ruin.

The half way point
between Leeds and Liverpool.

After crossing the M65 motorway the canal vanishes into Gannow Tunnel where I crossed over by road and path. I crossed under the very busy A678 by subway and was soon back on the deserted towpath. I hadn’t really thought the day through and wasn’t too sure how far I’d be walking. I had plenty of food with me and some water so I just headed off. The towpath was generally easy walking but I was surprised how tiring it could be compared with the open fell that I’m more used to. It was nice to see the feature they’d created for the half way point on the canal between Leeds and Liverpool. It occurred near Church with a marker showing
63 5/8 miles on either side.

The canal followed a very devious route as it wound its way round the contour. Approaching Blackburn and the Whitebirk industrial area the smell of diesel became quite apparent and the rainbow reflection on the surface of the water showed it was seeping in. All the way from Burnley there were also huge amount of dog muck which was totally un-bagged. I reached Eanam Wharf at 1:40pm and had to detour round the buildings as the towpath is blocked off. Further on I was pleased to see that the stretches that were blocked when I passed this way in Feb were open. There was stretch of towpath blocked off at Moorgate but it was easy to get round the barriers. After that it was pretty much plain sailing (no pun intended). The descent of the locks in Blackburn were the first since Burnley and now it was flat all the way to the Top Lock at Wheelton. The threatened rain later in the day didn’t happen though it had been quite chilly all day. I arrived home about 5:20pm after over 30miles of walking. I certainly slept well that night. I know 44km isn't 30miles but I had to walk to the bus stop in the morning.