Bold Venture Park and Darwen Tower
After my recent failure to conquer Pen-y-ghent, I sought out something a little easier to climb this weekend and also a little closer to home.
Darwen is closer and the tower an easier climb for sure. The weather was also lovely and sunny unlike last weeks’ gloomfest.
This tower is quite prominent from anywhere around the region and is not so far from civilisation to make it inaccessible for the casual walker. It is around 1.5 miles to get to the top from a parking spot.
The walk started via Bold Venture Park and ascends into rugged moorland. I visited this tower around a year ago but it was blowing a gale and at that time, I daren’t climb to the top part in fear of being blown over.
The walk starts quite gradual with lots of trees and greenery but thins out as parkland turns to moorland and a barren heath.
We came across a stone marker that has seen better times. Considering the tower that it is referring to is over 100 years old, the marker is likely to be of the same age.
As we ascended I took a few photographs of Darwen and the surrounding areas. A little digging on the tower, reveals:
It was built in 1898 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and also to celebrate the victory of the local people for the right to access the moor.
It seems the top dome has been blown off several times over the years, the last time being in 2010. I can believe this after experiencing the hurricane weather that I witnessed last time I ventured up this hill.
On approaching the tower I tried to entice my Golden Retriever ‘Shadow’ up the stairs with me. He tried 5 or 6 steps but wimped out and retreated back to the base. The winding staircase was easy enough to climb but quite dark in parts. The top section was metal, tightly spiralled and well used.
You always seem to get graffiti, vandalism and people scrawling their names in these places wherever you go.
This time there was little wind and besides experiencing my familiar vertigo on the top section it was uneventful, and I gained more landscape photographs of the moors and surrounding areas.
I was hoping to be able to see the west coast of England from the top section, and although I thought I could see it, I couldn’t spot Blackpool Tower.
Hopefully these walks I’m doing will strengthen my legs a little so that I can start running again. I felt that familiar strain on my calf while descending but it didn’t ‘snap’ in the same way I get when running.
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Great adventure! Thanks for sharing. I had to go back and look at your older post - glad that you still salvaged a nice set of pictures on that walk. I really miss the canals! I lived along the Kennet-and-Avon canal for a couple of years - it seemed you could not see a canal boat without a dog in it (occasionally a cat.) If I had to do it again, I would live on a canal boat! (But might give Devizes a miss - at least after the first time.)
(I came in from the Asapers magazine.)
I live close to the Leeds/Liverpool canal, and would love to rent one of those barges. They look like great fun!
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P.S. I would love to do this hike, looks like a good walk and nice views. @insideoutlet
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That looks to be a nice track and landscape!
It was much easier than that mountain that I tried to climb the week before! I'll be doing more of these in the next few weeks. Hopefully the running will start again soon.
That would be great!
What a lovely place to take a walk!
Your photos are fantastic too! :D
I dont get it why they cant build all landmarks on level ground. That way id visit them all since i wouldnt have to climb. :P
Beautiful tower. I love these buildings that are unnecessarily beautiful for their function. :D
All the interesting stuff is on top of mountains it seems here! They make you for work for it.
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Thank you!
Great travel blog & accompanying photography =)
That is a really cool old tower, how far was the coast of England from there that you thought you could see? Did you try using binoculars or the zoom lens on your camera? I would be curious to know the distance.
Looks like some neat country side to explore.
Its around 30 miles to the coast, I thought I could see the sea as it was a clear day. I don't own any binoculars these days though.
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