Fifteen wet walkers emerged from the disused Manchester railway line sometime in mid-afternoon after a 10 mile circular walk in the mist and rain. The weather forecast had said ‘overcast and rain later’ so the turnout was good, many tempted by the expectation of drinks and Christmas cake at Sheila’s at the end of the walk, but most abandoned this in favour of a hot bath and dry clothes. ‘Later’ came sooner than expected and by the time we’d ascended from the disused railway line to Bedlam and passed Green Haworth Golf Club, a persistent drizzle had started. On the plus side it was mild with very little wind, but as we crossed Accrington Moor and on to Sandybeds Farm it became clear this was in for the day and full waterproofs were called for.

As we’ve grown to expect this winter the ground was muddy so we stayed on good tracks as much as possible, but visibility was poor so we were unable to appreciate the excellent views of the hills and reservoirs as we crossed Oswaldtwistle and Haslingden moors. Lunch at the Clough Head Visitor Centre promised to be a short, wet one but the café has now expanded into a cabin which they kindly allowed us to sit in while we ate our sandwiches.

As we crossed the Calf Hey Reservoir we remembered the dry, sunny day we’d had at the same time last year when we scaled Musbury Heights in an extended version of this walk to take in the views over Pendle and beyond as we ate our lunch. This year we took the lower path, initially on the Rossendale Way before bearing left to stay on the path below the slope, leading us down to the track along the side of the Holden Wood Reservoir and then back to Grane Road near the Holden Arms.

The return journey around the disused Hutch Bank Quarry; skirting Thirteen Stone Hill; down to Haslingden road, near to the now boarded up Farmers’ Glory pub; and across the fields back to the disused railway line; was grey and uneventful as people became increasingly wet and tired, but there was still plenty of chatter as it takes more than a bit of mist and rain to get us hardy walkers down!