Burcli one

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The route starts at the top of Park Lane in Cliviger descending passed an interesting History Information Board and new houses on the left. The path enters farmland via an unusual kissing gate with iron attachments and a headroom structure. This stretch of the walk is straight with Townley Hall on the left hand side and local park accessories such as an ice cream van and a children's’ playground.
The path goes to the entrance of Townley Hall and after negotiating the busy road via a pedestrian crossing, a stretch of unattractive road with local traffic is walked for almost half a mile. The highlight of the walk is reached as it turns right onto one of the 7 wonders of the Waterways which is the Burnley embankment, 60 feet above the town with views of Turfmoor (Burnley F C) and a church tower both at almost eye level. The Leeds-Liverpool canal had quite a lot of litter in it but also a heron, 2 moorhens and mallards were visible during the mile long stretch. The walk ends with a short stretch through Brun valley finishing at Burnley Central. Unfortunately the pub there is derelict.

This route left Cliviger along a quiet street, and was soon heading into Towneley’s parkland. I’m afraid I was so fascinated by the unique kissing gate, made of flat stones, and ironwork to bump your head on (unless you’re short like me), that I forgot to check how accessible the gate alongside it was.
There followed a compacted earth footpath with a field of horses next to it. This soon turned into a gravelled path through playing fields, and then into a tarmacked path. Just off from this was a children’s playground, a small café, toilets, an ice cream van, and tables. This was less than 30% through the walk.
Eventually we left the park and crossed the road, via a pelican crossing, and headed along a straight, commercial then residential road. It would have helped us if we’d crossed this road before reaching the canal.
Access to the towpath was via a slightly steep slope on the north side of the road, after crossing the bridge. It’s worth pausing on the bridge to look along the Burnley Embankment that you are about to walk along. This is an extraordinary raised, dead straight section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, that is as much as 60 feet above the surrounding land. There were good views of Burnley’s football ground, and of the housing, churches, shops and hills all around. There was stone seating set into the wall.
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-history/history-features-and-articles/the-seven-wonders-of-the-waterways
After the embankment, the route continued on the towpath right round to the far side of Thompson Park, and up a slope into Thursby Gardens and on to the station. I think this could have been shortened by entering Thompson Park earlier from the towpath.
Overall this was a very enjoyable route. The Towneley Park section was very direct. Using the Burnley Embankment added almost a mile (35%) onto the route, but for me it was worth it. The more direct alternative, along busy roads and through the shopping centre, would have felt a bit tedious.

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