Yarrow Valley Country Park

On Good Friday we usually get out for a stroll in the fresh air and this year was no exception. Carole remembered several years ago visiting Yarrow Valley Country Park near Chorley, so we thought we'd go again for a look round with Jean & Kevan.

The source of the River Yarrow is only a few miles away near the summit of nearby Winter Hill, so by the time it flows through the park it isn't particularly wide. Nevertheless it has to work hard in that short distance, feeding several reservoirs along the way.

In times past the area was heavily industrialised, with bleaching, dying and mining all taking place here, not that you would notice today. The area had been derelict for many years before being converted into a pleasant woodland park in the 1980s.


With the industry gone, salmon have been seen in the river for the first time in living memory, and a fish ladder has now been built at Birckacre weir to help them swim upstream to spawn.

The walk itself wasn't too strenuous and we were soon back in the nearby cafe enjoying a hot drink!