Drive and Stroll with Ron Freethy

ANYONE driving along the A56 road from Burnley towards Rawtenstall can look to the left at Clowbridge and see the waters of a reservoir.

They may see the colourful sails of windsurfers and think that this lake has been here since Adam was a lad.

Actually, the reservoir is on the site of the medieval village of Gambleside and North West Water and the Lancashire Heritage Trust have produced a leaflet describing a circular trail around Clowbridge.

Enough still remains to get the feel of the old village.

Gambleside is first mentioned in 1242 when it was one of 11 vaccaries (cow farms) in Rossendale.

Others in this area were at Loveclough - I wonder how it got its name - Goodshaw, Crawshawbooth, Constablelee and Rawtenstall, whichat that time was only a small settlement.

By the 16th century wool spinning and weaving was becoming an important industry and the finished cloth was sent by packhorse trails to Rochdale.

These roads can still be seen alongside the reservoir and, apart from wool, lime and coal were also carried.

Part of this route was often called the Limersgate and it linked with Clitheroe, which was an important source of lime.

Coal was also carried and Gambleside had important and quite extensive coal mines from 1612 onwards. As the Industrial Revolution gathered pace open cast mining gave way to deep pits. Gambleside Colliery had two main shafts, one on the hillside and the other at lower level and called Pumping Pit.

There are old photographs which show the winding gear and miners around 1920.

The colliery only ceased working in 1936 and North West Water still pumps water from the mine workings into the reservoir.

Clowbridge reservoir was built in 1866 and, although this flooded the village, the coal mines continued to work.

The Ormerod family lived in their mansion until 1874 but by 1890 all but a few farms had disappeared.

Because of safety, the period between 1940 and 1950 saw the demolition of the buildings but alongside the Gambleside trail there are a number of interesting reminders of the settlement.

In 1839 a Baptist Chapel was built and, although this has gone, there was also an open air baptistry.

This was a bath in which the faithful were dipped during the baptising ceremony and this structure was restored by North West Water in 1995. Very few of these structures survive and this really is a fascinating walk through history.

Close to the baptistry I listened to skylarks singing and, with a curlew "bubbling" away in the distance, the scene was a far cry from the 1930s when the mines were working. The reservoir itself has a triple function - it provides water, a place to walk around and there is also a sailing and windsurfing club.

On the day of my visit I was lucky because, although a strong wind blew, it allowed the windsurfers to reach impressive speeds.

The sky and clouds provided a delightful backdrop to the water and the cottages on the hillside above the A56 road looked splendid as their white walls were reflected by the sunlight.

This, I would suggest, is one of the most underrated walks in Lancashire and I wonder if any readers have memories of the period when the Gambleside mines were working?

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.