Start: Car park and picnic area on Crookfield Road, just off A675 on left, 2 ½ miles south of Abbey Village. From junction 3 on the M65 take the A675 towards Bolton.

Factfile: Distance 13k 8 miles
              Time: 3 ½ - 4 ½ hours
               Summary:  Includes a strenuous moorland yomp but with few difficulties in route finding.
               Map: OS Explorer 287 The West Pennine Moors

Map by kind permission of the Blackpool Gazette

Directions: Walk back to the A675 and turn right. This can be a very busy road so take special care as you walk along it. After 200m cross the road to a kissing gate leading out onto the moor.

The track heads directly towards the ridge

and then after 700m bears to the right. Soon after this the track becomes less easy to follow as it enters an area of boggy ground. (Or at least boggier than ground encountered so far.) Keep ahead until you reach a fence where you turn left.

This now climbs onto the ridge. Follow the fence until your way is crossed by a flagged path.

Turn right over a wooden stile and walk to the summit of Great Hill.

A stone shelter is close to its highest point. (381m). The views are extensive - especially to the north. In clear conditions Black Combe in the Lake District can easily be picked out. Blackpool Tower, Preston, the Bowland Fells and Blackburn are nearer to hand.

A finger signpost points to White Coppice, Darwen Tower and Winter Hill.

Your way is Winter Hill which retraces your steps back to the fence. Now begins a superb moorland yomp, assisted in no small manner by the platform of stone flags leading south towards the masts of Winter Hill.

Indeed without this pavement, presumably laid as an anti-erosion measure, progress across the peaty plateau would be difficult. With them progress can be rapid. Enjoy! After 40 minutes, just below Hordern Pasture, a wall is reached and the stone flagged road peters out, but soon Rivington Road comes into sight and the now muddier track takes you down to Hordern Stoops.

When you reach the road turn left and commence the descent into Belmont village which soon comes into sight. After 150m bear left onto a footpath

which clings to the edge of the hill and at places becomes narrow and rocky.

As the path nears the edge of Belmont follow the direction of a waymark post to a stile over a wall. Keep ahead on the track which quickly leads you to Belmont.

At the first houses turn right onto a footpath that cuts through to Ryecroft Lane.

Turn left and walk down to the A675.

Turn right.

For those seeking refreshment the route passes the Black Dog which won high approval ratings when our walking group, the Dotcom Walkers, passed this way before Christmas.

Returning to the route continue along the A675 and on the edge of the village turn left into Egerton Road.

The lane dips down to the mill complex that once was Belmont Dye Works. Across the bridge on the left look for an almost concealed footpath. 

 Take this as it leads upwards to Lower Whittaker and then follows the farm road up to where it gives out onto a lane (Longworth Road North) below Higher Whittaker.

 Turn left. The lane drops down to the southern end of Belmont Reservoir. Take the lane on the right by the reservoir that leads up Higher Pasture House.

 At the farm turn right between buildings

and continue upwards along a track with a wall on your right. At a junction turn left and along a good track return to Crookfield Road car park in about 30 minutes.