Day 1 - Whalley to Haslingden
Distance: 13 miles
Warm and sunny
We were an hour later setting off than planned, due to the train in front of ours breaking down, and it was about 1pm when we set off walking. We visited the Church of Saint Mary as it was on the route we were following, but we did not visit the abbey or gatehouse, which was probably a mistake for pilgrims.
Leaving town, the path went up a steep hillside along the edge of woodland, with meadows, sheep fields and views over the valley and the River Calder. Pleasant farmland, quite parkland-y, led to Great Harwood where we joined the Leeds Liverpool canal, which was quite a surprise. The canal was very green and soupy, but there were plenty of ducks, fish and a cormorant.
An aqueduct took us over the M65 and into Accrington - passing a very precariously parked van. Leaving the canal we joined a disused railway greenway, crossing over near a roundabout which was home to a million rats. At least six.
We had a sit down near Tesco for a foot faff and backache break, then continued along the greenway. We saw some deer and got very distracted by the smell from the Holland's Pies factory. The route into Haslingden avoids the main roads by going up along the hillside along quiet lanes. Another sit down at a playground before heading down into Haslingden where we had a short wait near the war memorial for our bus.
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