Warland Reservoir

Distance: 17 miles

Ascent :

Weather: warm and sunny

Setting off from the car park up by the aerial at about midday, after a late night and morning spent on not fun stuff (work), we decided to go along from Hollingworth Lake and up to the Pennine Way and back.

It was quite windy as we got out of the car, but we soon warmed up and the going was dry underfoot, even though it had rained last night it has been very dry of late. There were plenty of meadow pipets flying and, higher up, a small airplane pulling an election banner for George Galloway. Good luck with that..

Crossing the M62 at Hollins Farm, we followed Pennine Bridleway along to Hollingworth Lake, stopping for tea and sandwiches at a handy bench. After a slight change of plan, we decided to go through the small nature reserve at Cleggs Wood and along the canal at Littleborough, heading up to the Pennine Way at Warland Reservoir.

Along the canal we heard a very noisy pheasant, saw a heron and lots of Canada geese, some of whom hissed, and some fluffy goslings. A couple of chaps were fishing, one of them asking us if we had seen any of those big carp, as they'd not had any luck and had only seen bream. Must remember google this when we get home.

We did see some goldfinch, what was probably a great tit, an enormous rhea with two little rheas, a donkey, a few llama, goats, chickens, swallows, sandpiper, mallard, ringed plover and curlew.

At Warland Reservoir, it turns out that they are doing work on the embankment and the path has been diverted around the back along Stony Edge. It wouldn't add much if you were walking the Pennine Way, but added almost two miles on to our walk because we had to go practically the whole way around the reservoir to get south.

It was a lovely evening and we had good views from Blackstone Edge and over the moors on the way back.