SIXTY years ago, Alfred Wainwright was busy exploring the Eastern Fells of Lakeland as he set about completing the first of his seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells.

But his earliest views of Lakeland were glimpsed in the 1920s as he set about wandering the moors above his home town of Blackburn, including the Yellow Hills, which acquired their name from the abundance of gorse flowers flourishing on the ridge. In May, 2013, a Wainwright viewpoint indicator was unveiled on the top of the Yellow Hills, on a spot that AW would have known well above the old Fielden family estate of Witton Park.

The view here on a good day is surely one of the best in Lancashire — taking in the Lakes, Bowland, the Three Peaks, Pendle and Snowdonia. As well as AW’s spiritual home, Ewood Park. This walk revisits the paths that Wainwright would have trodden as a young man.

Walk past the front of the Priory on the right and turn right down the adjoining lane — Old Hall Lane. Keep to the main lane, ignoring the cycleway turning right, and the lane leads to houses and the gateway to Pleasington Old Hall. Turn left up a field access at the end of the lane and go through a gate/stile. The path runs straight ahead and brings you to the bottom of a very large field sloping uphill to woodland. Head directly uphill aiming between the trees halfway up the field. Continue straight ahead to a stile into the woodland at the very top end of the field.

Cross the stile and continue straight ahead uphill through a birch woodland. A track at the top of the woodland is soon reached. Turn left along the track only for a few metres then turn right through trees along a footpath waymarked as the Witton Weavers Way. Cross waymarked stiles through fields and the path leads gradually uphill to the ridge top of the Yellow Hills overlooking a pond. Here is the Wainwright viewpoint set in a slab of stone. Enjoy the spectacular view from here.

The walk continues along the ridge following the Witton Weavers Way. It crosses a stile and goes straight ahead across a flat plateau top leading to a gate into the woodland of Billinge Hill. Follow the track leading straight ahead through the trees and at the next waymarked junction turn right uphill then left along a higher path. This soon meets another track running left to right. You can detour right just before this track is joined to reach the top of Billinge Hill from here, where there is a blue plaque recording that a manorial court once met here.

Return to the track running left to right and turn right along it. This soon drops gradually downhill. Follow it all the way to the bottom of the woods where it meets a wall and access to the road on the left. Turn sharp right here staying in the woodland and following a path that climbs again slightly then turns left downhill along an adjoining path that reaches a gap in the wall and joins a farm lane.

Turn right along the lane, passing a farm on the left. After crossing a cattle grid the farm lane drops downhill. Go through the gate straight ahead and the track leads to another gate at the back of Pleasington Cemetery.

Turn left then right along the cemetery paths to join the main access road out of the cemetery.

The road swings left downhill. When a duck pond is reached on the right, turn right here by the barrier. The tarmac lane is a cycleway.

This soon joins Old Hall Lane. Turn left to return to the Priory.