Follow Nick Burton's guide to a walk around Anglezarke

START: Anglezarke pay and display car park, off Moor Road. This can be accessed from Rivington and Belmont (via Parson’s Bullough Lane) or Adlington and the M61 (via Knowsley Lane). The car park is on the east side of Anglezarke Reservoir close to the shoreline.

DISTANCE: 4½ miles (allow 2­2.5 hours)

OS MAP: Explorer 287 West Pennine Moors

This article provides a general summary of the route. It is advisable to take a copy of the relevant Ordnance Survey map

The scale of the Victorian Anglezarke Reservoir, built by Liverpool Corporation, is best appreciated on foot as it more than one and a half miles in length.

This circuit around the reservoir takes the walker from the northern end of Rivington to­ the heather clad slopes of Healey Nab overlooking Chorley.

This is at the very edge of the West Pennine Moors.

At the top end of the reservoir the walker crosses the Goit, the man­-made channel linking Anglezarke with the reservoirs at Roddlesworth, further to the north.

Anglezarke and the Rivington Reservoirs were built in the 1850s at a cost of £1.35 million.

The Liver Bird crest of the former Liverpool Corporation can still be seen on many of the surviving waterworks buildings.

1. Walk out of the entrance of Anglezarke car park and drop down the access lane to meet the road hugging the shoreline of the reservoir. Walk straight ahead along this road with the reservoir on the immediate right.

Turn right and follow the road over the dam between Anglezarke and the Upper Rivington Reservoir.

On the far side of the reservoir join a signed footpath on the right, this leads alongside a field edge next to a wall with the reservoir on the right.

The path skirts woodland then swings sharp left skirting around the embankment to cross a stile and join a lane (Charnock Back Lane).

2. Turn right along the lane and follow it for approximately a third of a mile until a waymarked bridleway is reached on the right pointing down the access lane to Kay’s Farm. Turn right here and head for the farm but turn left along the fenced bridleway just before the buildings are reached.

The wide track (Heapey Fold Lane) is now followed straight ahead for the next one-and-a-half miles all the way to Cliffs Farm on the lane to Heapey.

It climbs gradually to the lower slopes of Healey Nab over to the left and gives a good view across to Rivington Pike and Great Hill. it then drops down to meet Higher House Lane.

3. Turn right along the lane and follow it downhill to the top of Anglezarke, crossing over the Goit and passing waterworks cottages on the right. Shortly after crossing the Goit do not follow the lane uphill but join the path on the right in woodland.

This takes you above the shoreline of the reservoir heading back in the direction of the car park, the reservoir is on your right.

The path follows the contours of the hillside, crosses a stream and climbs to the corner of High Bullough Reservoir.

4. Keep this small reservoir on the left and continue straight ahead, the meandering track drops to woodland again and keeps Anglezarke on the right.

A track on the left provides a shortcut through a quarry and leads back to the car park, alternatively just keep to the shoreline path to soon return to the car park.