Sunny April days are perfect for a ramble round a beautiful reservoir. Lancashire has its fair share of man-made lakes that provide water to homes and industry in the county. Some like Entwistle Reservoir at Edgworth near Bolton have a good footpath meandering round them, making a great circuit popular with families, dog walkers, runners and just about anyone who wishes to immerse themselves in some lovely Lancashire countryside.
Inspired by a post on Eunice’s blog , Wil , Hugo and I made Entwistle Reservoir our chosen destination one Saturday morning. There is free parking on the car park on Batridge Road right next to the path entrance. It was a bright morning but a little chilly as we set off on our walk.
The trail hugs the water and makes for a pleasant 2.5 miles, though there are plenty of opportunities to wander off the beaten track through woodland or up into surrounding moorland. We mostly stuck to the footpath though.
Entwistle Reservoir has a rather lovely art installation on the Northern shore , a metal heron sculpture called ‘The Wader’ which stands in the water. I love finding sculptures so was very happy to see him. 🙂 As for real life wildlife, we didn’t actually see any heron, though there were plenty of Canada Geese and cormorants.
And so back to the car park after crossing over the bridge. The Bolton Water Company plaque features an Elephant. Elephants have a connection with the nearby town because of cotton trading links between Bolton and India.
We still had a bit of exploring left in us before lunch. A footpath from the car park leads through a woody valley to another reservoir. Wayoh Reservoir also has a waterside path and seemed quieter than Entwistle. From here you can continue on walking to Jumbles Country park and really make a day of it. An idea for the future maybe…
Nearby both reservoirs on Overshores Rd is the unusually named Strawberry Duck pub! It is here we headed for a dinner of huge fish finger butties, sat outside in the sun. The area of Entwistle is named from the Old English ened and twisla which means a river fork frequented by ducks. Not sure where the strawberry association comes from though. 🙂
The Strawberry Duck is very near a request stop train station on the route to Manchester , so we may catch the train instead next time.
Thanks for dropping by. X
sunshine and celandines 
It’s nice to know that my blog inspired you to do this walk, it’s lovely on a sunny day. Believe it or not though, as many times as I’ve been there I’ve never yet been to the Strawberry Duck!
It definitely did Eunice. Great for dog walks! The Strawberry Duck is very dog friendly with a water tap and dishes in the beer gardens and dog treats for sale on the bar. X
That looks like a lovely walk. I’ve often thought it strange that Entwistle is a request stop, especially as I now know it is situated near to this popular recreational area. Every time I’ve been on that train people have got off there. I wonder how people request to get on – stick their hand out? 😁
I know it’s pretty strange. Request stops are a bit worrying, especially if you can’t attract the attention of the train! Maybe the Strawberry Duck has rooms if you can’t get home…;)
😁
Lovely walk & the weather looked pretty good too. I do so love seeing photos of places like this & glad one inspires another. Was the colour of the door inspired by the name or vice versa. Just a silly thought. Dogs are so well catered for in UK aren’t they? The pussy willow buds look so soft & velvety, great photo. Is that a viaduct on spot in one photo? Thanks for sharing & take care.
Maybe the door colour was inspired by the strawberry name. You never know! Yes that is a viaduct and the train to Manchester goes over it. X
Looks lovely. I do like that sculpture.
Yes it’s very effective isn’t it. X
What a beautiful walk. Our local reservoir is very dingy in comparison, plus dogs have to walk on the lead, so we don’t do that as a walk at all.
The blue skies have been fantastic this week, but I can feel the chill in the air on your photos from here.
It is quite nippy! You have some lovely beach walks near you though , so you don’t need that dingy reservoir. 🙂
Absolutely – beach and countryside. But still seems a shame to have dogs on leads when they don’t need to be.
What a lovely walk. I love the heron scupture and also your photo of the cormorant. The Strawberry Duck sounds interesting too, such an unusual name:)
It was wonderful seeing the cormorants. I love how they hold their wings, like they are drying them in the sun. 🙂
What a super walk and I especially like the heron.
The heron is a perfect addition.X
What a lovely walk. I like the heron sculpture.
It’s great and definitely compliments it’s surroundings. x
Looks a lovely walk x
It was very scenic. 🙂 X
Not heard of this one – to be added to my “must-do walks”. The heron sculpture is amazing.
I love finding sculptures on walks. 🙂
Very nice place loved the sculpture.
It’s another lovely place to wander. X
Nice heron, and happy wandering 🙂 🙂 Good Easter?
Yes we had weather that Portugal would not find out of place. The reservoir walk was before Easter but lovely all the same. 🙂