START: Hoddlesden village. Roadside parking near the Ranken Arms pub. Hoddlesden is situated on minor roads 1½ miles east of Darwen.

DISTANCE: 3 miles (allow 1½ hours)

MAP: OS Explorer 287 West Pennine Moors

HIDDEN in the folds of the West Pennine Moors, the village of Hoddlesden was a mining and weaving village that once had its own goods branch line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

This walk crosses the disused railway that linked up with the Ribble Valley line between Blackburn and Darwen. The railway served the ‘Shaws of Darwen’ ceramics factory at Waterside, once the area’s biggest employer.

This short walk climbs up towards the Roman Road above Darwen, part of the south-north route between Manchester, Blackburn and Ribchester.

The walk also passes the site of Hoddlesden’s lost Victorian church of St Paul’s, which was demolished in the 1970s due to dry rot.

There are good views over to the hilltop village of Belthorn, which at its top end sits at over 1,000 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest villages in Lancashire.

1. From the Ranken Arms pub follow the pavement of the main village street downhill. Keep to this main street as it swings left, signed as Johnson New Road.

When it soon swings left again leave it on the right along the adjoining lane next to a factory. The lane runs alongside the factory and bends right to cross a bridge over a stream.

The path then runs along the edge of a garden to the right of a cottage. Keep to the right of the cottage and behind it bear left to reach a stile.

2. Cross the stile and walk straight ahead across rough pasture. The path is indistinct here but a stile/gate in the fence on the opposite side of the field will soon come into view.

Cross this and follow the right field boundary to cross another stile and reach a reservoir dam. Follow the path over the dam and continue straight ahead across the rough car park to reach Johnson New Road again.

The graveyard on the opposite side of the road once had a church, St Paul’s. The stone footprint of the church can still be seen.

3. Turn right along the road and follow it for about a third of of a mile until a crossroads is reached in the hamlet of Waterside.

Turn left here along the signed bridleway that climbs uphill passing Shaws ceramic sinks factory on the right. Keep going straight ahead passing through a gate with a farm on the left.

After passing the farm you cross the old railway line that once ran to Hoddlesden.

Keep going straight ahead uphill along the track, which near the top of the hill passes under pylons.

There is a good view back towards the hilltop village of Belthorn and towards Blackburn.

The track passes through another bridle gate and reaches a tarmac lane.

4. To the right, towards the mast, is Blacksnape Road that follows the line of the old Roman Road above Darwen.

However, turn left along the Tarmac lane (Harwoods Lane) and follow it downhill back towards Hoddlesden. It passes under the pylons again and drops downhill to join the main road into the village.

Keep going downhill along the pavement to reach the village centre.

All Routes North has a programme of summer guided walks in Lancashire. Visit www.allroutesnorth.co.uk to view the programme