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Thirteen Stramblers met at Sankey Valley Visitor Centre for today’s walk.
We set off through the wooded Sankey Valley Park alongside what remains of the Sankey (St Helens) Canal. The path then meandered along Black Brook Basin, following the brook. The weather was warm and cloudy with just enough breeze to keep us cool. We passed Black Brook Footbridge and soon travelled under the East Lancs Road flyover. Shortly after, we passed under the railway viaduct and the dam’s sluice came into view, but after the recent dry weather, there was only a trickle of water flowing down it. We then reached the dam itself. It is Merseyside’s largest inland body of water and was formed in 1720 by damming Blackbrook Valley to power industrial mills. It became a head water for the Sankey Canal and was developed in the 1960s for leisure – Lancashire Powerboat Racing Club and St Helens Angling Association still holding regular events there. A restored Victorian Reservoir Valve stands at the side of the dam. It is one of two valves dating back to the 1860s and provided a water feed to the Sankey and St Helens Canals. The valves were replaced by new ones in 2020/21 during a refurbishment project.
We walked along the dam wall and stopped for a toilet break at the Dam Bar & Grill – currently advertising great views of power boat racing on the dam. Continuing our walk, we followed Garswood Old Road – a wooded path parallel to the railway line at first and then turned to become more undulating with several wooden bridges. After half a mile or so we left the trees and emerged into bright sunshine. We crossed open fields into Billinge and followed Carr Mill Road to reach “Buttylicious” for a snack, where those of us who sat ouside were cooled down by a very short, light, shower of rain This seemed to raise spirits rather than dampen them! Refreshed, we followed Birchley Road downhill and turned into Lime Vale Road where the sunshine returned. With open fileds to our right, we reached the southern end of Carr Mill Road and Otter Swift Farm. The road became tree lined with the Fishing Pond visible on our right and we soon came to the nineteen arched, brick built, bridge. As well as a footpath, part of this bridge contains the main water pipeline to carry water supplies from Rivington Reservoir to Prescot Reservoir. We then followed the edge of the reservoir and saw a great crested grebe nesting, with a number of others swimming and a heron perched on the far bank. The path twisted and turned along the water’s edge and we soon reached the dam wall again. We then retraced our steps through Sankey Valley Park to the start point. We drove to the Carr Mill pub for lunch. A most enjoyable walk.

Thanks to Sheila, Judith and Viv for organising, recce-ing and leading the walk. Hope to see you all on the next one.