Most folks visit Church on a Sunday; visits to Church on a Saturday usually involve a wedding, a white dress and cars festooned with white ribbons. Our visit only involved cycles, and nary a white dress in sight. It was white though, but only on the far hills, yesterday’s snow had seen to that; and of course I am talking about the village of Church betwixt Oswaldtwistle and Accrington.
We met for the ride at Accrington’s Tesco Superstore in its splendid cafe and enjoyed it’s even more splendid coffee: just right to start the run on a chilly winter’s day.
Leaving Accrington on NCN6 which at this point is on the dis-used Bury – Accrington rail-route for a mile or so, we ducked under the low bridge which still carries the trains into Accrington. Next using the cyclists’ crossing over the re-engineered main road junction we turned towards the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, passing through the
village of the title, Church. It does seem a shame that the actual village church is boarded up and un-used, no visits to church here on Sundays then.
On meeting the towpath we turned east and passed through Clayton-le-Moors until we reached Moorside where we left the towpath to join the farm track down to Brownsills. I feel rather guilty using this route, it was very muddy and slippery, and of course Georgie was pulling Frank along in his chariot, but as usual she coped magnificently. This just left us with the climb of Mill Lane, the steepest uphill of the ride, but nothing too daunting, before the easy half mile or so to the other Tesco at Harwood Bar for our elevenses in its cafe.
When we left the café I spotted Autumn in a chauffeur driven limousine outside, perhaps this was the easier option back to Accrington. (See the Photo!) On our departure it was only a quarter mile to join another old rail route; this is the one that becomes the Padiham Greenway at the far end of the Martholme Viaduct. Once the viaduct opens it will become a through route. From the western end of the opened section we regained NCN6 on the towpath of the canal once again, at Rishton this time.
The once popular Bridge Café, now the Canal View, at Rishton has now re-opened, but it was not on our itinerary today. Crossing the canal aqueduct over the M65 we turned east, still following NCN6, and after riding through a few fields on the tarmac track we re-joined our earlier route for the run back into Accrington at the aforesaid
village of Church.
The weather was very kind to us today, bathing us in sunshine, although there was no wind to blow the cobwebs off, but who is complaining.
A great ride, made all the more so by good company.
See you all soon, Brian.

Photos from the ride can be viewed here. https://www.flickr.com/photos/redroserascals/albums/72157663160007313/with/25409667432/