The walk begins near the southern end of Anglezarke Reservoir, the second largest of the group and perhaps the most interesting with many secluded corners that can only be reached by footpaths. A succession of wood anemones, bluebells, foxgloves, and willowherbs line the banks, dotted with carrs (boggy copses) of alder and stunted oak trees.
Soon you come to an overflow channel known as the 'By-wash', leading from the higher Yarrow Reservoir (an open water attracting plenty of ducks during winter). After heavy rain, water tumbles noisily and with great force over a series of large steps, though in the height of summer it may dry up completely.
From here, sandy lanes lead down to the edge of the village of Rivington, whose village green is flanked by ancient drinking troughs and crowned by a set of restored stocks. Beyond it, you turn onto a path and down a set of 39 steps to a wooded avenue. Most of the woods along the route are relatively young, having been established since the lakes were created in the mid-19th century — with the notable exception of Dean Wood, a jealously guarded remnant of ancient woodland in the depths of a plunging ravine.
In the damp valley bottom, barely discernible through hazel and bramble scrub, rare and luxuriant ferns, mosses, liverwort, and fungi grow in almost total seclusion, studied in detail only by the most determined permit-holding naturalists. The route then crosses the edge of Anglezarke Moor beneath Noon Hill (site of a primordial burial ground), with the very name Anglezarke evoking a mysterious past for these bleak moorlands (‘Anuf's Heathen Temple’).
You descend again with Yarrow Reservoir sparkling below to your left into the pleasant valley of Limestone Brook, a swift-flowing moorland stream graced by small, attractive waterfalls where dippers and grey wagtails dance from stone to stone chasing water-borne insects. In the 17th century, Limestone Clough was the site of lead mining, and several disused workings have been restored by conservation groups (with a waterwheel pit, pump shaft, and other relics visible).
A winding set of stone steps weaves up the hillside to a stone memorial commemorating the crew of a Wellington bomber that crashed on the moorlands during World War Two, killing all on board. The next section of footpath follows a straight track, thought to be of Roman origin, leading to the Manor House — an imposing stone dwelling with decorative black and white barge boards (the age of the oldest part is unknown, though a datestone confirms extensions were added in 1604).
You now descend a steep, narrow path to the banks of the smallest and most secluded lake, High Bullough Reservoir, shrouded by mature woodland and resounding with bird calls at dusk and dawn. After skirting its northern edge you climb to the Knoll, where identification boards help you assimilate the surrounding area. After emerging from a beech wood, you arrive at the site of a disused quarry first used to provide stone for the reservoir embankments and later to make millions of cobbles trod on for years in Manchester and surrounding towns, from where a short walk leads back to the start.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
