Walton Summit Branch: A Trek in 3 Parts

Bank Holiday Monday and todays mission was to find what remains of the Walton Summit Branch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. 

The branch ran from the main line at Johnsons Hillock to a transhippment basin at Walton Summit where cargoes were swapped over to wagons which crossed the River Ribble on a tramway.  The tramway was a cheaper alternative to a large aqueduct. The branch was last used in the 1930s and was largely wiped out after the M61 and a housing estate were built. The spoil from the motorway construction was dumped along the canal, so now it is a raised embankment in places rather than a ditch. 

Part One

Only a quater of a mile of the branch line remains at the junction with the mainline. Look carefully and you can find a quarter milepost. The branch ends abruptly next to a small car park. We parked there and walked up the road to a public footpath which takes you to the line of the canal.

Along the former canal

The line of the canal is a ridge in a field. We walked along it, alongside the motorway, until we came to a steep muddy slope. At the bottom of the slope is a stream which runs under the motorway.

Subway under the motorway

There is a subway above the stream's culvert. The subway is long and dark, you cant see what you are walking on but it was clear and easy to walk through. 

Culvert under the canal

As we emerged back into the light there was what looked like a tunnel in front of us. The stream we had walked above, under the motorway, emerged from the culvert and ran into the tunnel. There is a path through the tunnel along side the stream. The tunnel mouth has some stonework typical of the style of Rennies canal work. The tunnel is a culvert which passes underneath an embankment which carried the canal above. 

The tunnel didnt look too inviting (or dry) so, instead of going through it, we went up a steep path to the top of the embankment. Following the public footpath signs we came to some buildings and some big dogs.

A big dog on the right side of the fence for now...

We were greatful the dogs were the other side of a fence, three large boxers and they weren't happy to see us. We had to get rather close to them as we went down the footpath along their garden fence. Then at the other end of the path, as we went into a field, there they were, two bounding, barking boxers.  Luckily the dogs were happy to see us leave their property alive.

Crossing the field we climbed over a gate and got onto Hill Top Lane. We followed the road, turning left to cross over the top of one of the canal tunnels. It is hard to see down to where the canal once was because of the trees.

Looking down to the canal cutting

We walked back along the line of the canal, back towards the motorway. There is a large quarry next to the line of the canal.  

Quarry

We found a footpath and followed it through the trees and fields until we got to Town Lane. We then walked along the road back to the car park. 

Part Two

We drove up to the Top Lock pub on the main line for lunch. The pub was busy, a popular spot for a pint on a sunny Bank Holiday.

Moss Bridge

After lunch we drove to Chorley Old Road and parked near the former canal basin by Moss Bridge. The bridge is still there and there is a very short stretch of canal albeit shallow and weedy. We went under the bridge and followed the line of the canal towards the tunnel mouth.

Moss Bridge

Tunnel mouth

The canal is empty at this point, you can stand in the mouth of the tunnel and even walk through it if you want.

Down the tunnel

I chose not to as its a bit damp and dripping. The stonework is covered in damp-loving plants. We went back up to the top of the tunnels but there are so many trees you cant see much of the canal cutting or tunnel mouths. 

Back at Moss Bridge there is a display of millstones. Millstones were once loaded onto boats here. The basin is now filled in and grassed over.

Former Canal Basin by Moss Bridge

You can follow the line of the canal along a path behind houses. At the end of the path is the remains of another bridge, where Bridge Street crossed the canal. Beyond this there isn't much sign of the canal until its line crosses the motorway again. 

Part Three

We drove and parked at Carr Barn Brow, about as close to the Walton Summit terminus as you can get. Just a little bit south of Longacre is a subway under the motorway.

Subway under motorway

We went through the subway and turned left into the field. Looking across the field you can see a line of trees which is the line of the former canal. Following the edge of the field, alongside the motorway, brings you to Summit Bridge.

Summit Bridge

The bridge is recognisable but in a sorry state. Some of the stonework has fallen off. Above the fields were two birds flying around us calling, they looked like nothing I had seen before, black and white with unusual wing shapes. My guess was plovers and I think I was right with Grey Plover. Near the bridge is a path leading to the nearby farm,we followed that until we got to Pippin Street where we turned right. After a while we turned right again and headed down a farm track with two concrete strips running the whole length. At the farm a very big Rottweiler made our presence known but was luckily chained up. Its smaller friend was not and wriggled under the gate to run after us barking. There was once another bridge by the farm but there is no sign of it. We crossed the line of the canal again and headed back to the subway under the motorway and to the car. 

There is enough of the canal remaining to be worth a visit. Moss Bridge and the tunnel are good. Summit bridge and the culvert tunnel are interesting but only for the keen. 

Canal Walk: Johnsons Hillock

What better way to spend a winters Sunday than on the towpath. We parked at Botany Bay and walked up to the Top Lock to have a drink. Its a very nice pub and well recommmended. We had a quick look at the footpath along the former Walton Summit Branch for future reference then back to the car. The canal was frozen and the ducks were waddling along in single file looking most put out.

Canal Walk: Johnson’s Hillock to Withnell Fold ~ 4 miles

A cold and frosty February morning is perfect for a towpath trek. It has been a while since I had a decent walk by the canal so this sunny Sunday it was off to Johnson’s Hillock locks to stretch the legs and refresh the lungs. The area around Johnsons Hillock and Withnell Fold is the George Birtill country. In the 1960s George Birtill wrote lots of books about walking around Lancashire and the history of the towns and lanes around Chorley.
We parked on the road opposite the Top Lock pub; there is a large car park for patrons of the pub and, if you are early, ample parking on the road alongside the canal. The pub hadn’t yet opened when we arrived and there were only a couple of cars parked on the road.
Besides the Top Lock is the lock keepers house, a solid stone 2 storey house. The house is for sale, a perfect place to live if you like canals. And not only is it just a few steps from the pub it has a milepost in the garden!
This stretch of canal is one of my favourite bits of the Leeds & Liverpool. The canal is built on the hillside; on one side there is a steep slope down to the valley bottom on the other side is a high cutting. The 7 Locks at Johnsons Hillock are the work of the great John Rennie. The bridges here look to be the work of Rennie too. They are angled up the hillside. These bridges have a chunkier look than other bridges, their arches are higher, you don’t have to duck as much to walk underneath them. A group of shaggy ponies stood on bridge #84 and watched us pass beneath them.
Between Brown House Bridge #86 and Jacksons Bridge #87 is a tall viaduct linking two fields separated by gorge. It’s certainly picturesque though one wonders why those two fields needed such an expensive structure to link them.
The towpath would have been muddy if it hadn’t been frozen, the frost was melting in the sunshine but there was still enough ice on the canal for the ducks to walk on.
At bridge #88 is Withnell Fold an industrial town. This was once the site of a paper mill and now a nature reserve. The sludge ponds are home to all sorts of wildlife. Even though they were frozen over and it is winter we still spotted lots of tiny fish swimming about. The town of Withnell Fold doesn’t look very inviting from the towpath so rather regrettably we didn’t explore it. Birtll informs us that there is a pretty village square surrounded by workers houses. Maybe next time I will find them.
Near to bridge #88 is a half mile post and a milestone with a bench mark carved on top.
We turned around here and headed back to the locks. We just about spotted milepost 49 covered in ivy behind a fence near to Brown House Bridge.
On the walk back to the lock there were more walkers and a couple of cyclists. Back at the pub there were a lot more cars and the tables outside the pub were taken by drinkers and their dogs. We had lunch in the car and then walked down the locks to lock four. Once again I tried to work out the rope marks on the bridge its hook. We left the canal at Fourth Lock Bridge. The farm building is dated 1727 and has the letters P, H and I. I would guess the date and initials mark a marriage. The date is 43 years before the canal was started. I wonder if the couple saw the canal being built.
Further on down the road is the former Navigation Inn, now a private house. The Navigation was once frequented by bargemen working on the Walton Summit branch which came past here. The branch is now filled in and its hard to see where it ran from the road but you can trace its course on google earth. Over the road from the ex-pub is a car park and the surviving quarter of mile of the Summit Branch, complete with quarter mile post.
We walked up to the junction with the mainline. By now the sun was warm so we had a nice sit down on a bench then walked back up the locks to the car.