Some years ago, and staying with friends who had only recently moved to Wiltshire, we (that is, three adults and two young girls) proposed to take advantage of a fine Sunday afternoon by finding our way to a small piece of woodland which could clearly be seen from the girls' bedroom window. Their mother had told them it would be an ideal place for a teddy bears' picnic.

Not far from the cottage there was a "white man" path sign which pointed in the general direction of the wood and, perhaps over equipped for such a brief encounter with nature, we set off from that point. The girls had taken their teddy bears and were very animated about the afternoon's adventure.

We had only walked a few hundred yards when the path petered out and a lethal looking barbed wire fence prevented us from making any further progress. In addition, there was an unattractive "keep out" sign. The girls were very disappointed as there did not appear to be any way of getting to the woodland, at least from where we found ourselves. There was no alternative but to walk back along the path until we came to the busy road which, because of the noise it generated, I had come to know only too well.

Another path was tried – this time on the opposite side of the road – but the exploration of this also ended in disappointment. After a similar distance of pleasant walking a formidable crop of corn on the cob greeted us. It was clear that, at certain times, there was a path for walkers in this area, but the corn was taller than the girls and we turned round again.

We never did find that woodland and I was appalled to find that most of the old paths in that village were no longer passable for walkers. Over the years the intensification of agriculture had not only resulted in the loss of miles of paths, it was clear hedges and ponds had also been the victims of farmers' desires to maximise their crops.

The soils of North-East Lancashire are not noted for their productivity and this, together with the remains of our pack-horse trails, our cross township field paths and a number degenerated "green roads", is the reason why so many of our paths have survived. From them we can get to the parts of our area other transport systems cannot reach and, in taking advantage of these paths, we can more fully appreciate the beautiful countryside in which we live.

The photo I publish today is taken from a postcard posted in 1906. It shows something of a "cross-roads" of paths to the east of Burnley. The stream, in the middle of the picture is Swinden Water, the historic boundary between the townships of Briercliffe and Worsthorne. To the left of the simple wooden footbridge you can see the Cat Steps, a steep set of stone steps, which led in the direction of nearby Netherwood Farm. On the right, the path leads to a wooden stile which takes the walker in the direction of Rowley Hall and the banks of the river Brun. The photographer, who took this image, is standing on a path which came from Heasandford and Burnley and ahead lies the path to Roggerham via Extwistle's ancient mills.

It is pleasing to record that, with the exception of the Cat Steps path, the 21st Century walker can still make use of these ancient routes. The path from Burnley, it might be said, starts at Central Station and passes along the route of an old mineral railway, around Thompson Park (which today has a most attractive miniature railway), through Bank Hall Park and, under the road bridge, to Heasandford where, above the confluences of the rivers Brun and Don and Swinden Water, the walker will be able to find this spot.

Of course, in over 100 years, there have been changes and one of them is that the exact site of today's picture is difficult, but not impossible, to identify. The difficulty is that the courses of the rivers around here, particularly the Brun, have been altered as part of a project to improve water quality in the Calder catchment area. It is not all that long ago that the Calder was often coloured red by water escaping from polluted coal mines. One of these was the Rowley Colliery the galleries of which, when flooded, produced an orange/red pollutant which was carried through Burnley, Padiham and Whalley out to the Ribble.

The works involved diverting local water courses which are now very different from what they were in my childhood. However, it is still possible to walk to Roggerham, and its famous inn, along the path, which (in the photo) appears to be closed. Notice the sign attached to the tree in the middle of the picture; it carries the words "No Road".

This may indicate the path was not a statutory right of way and certain rights of access were preserved for the landowners. If this is the case it echoes a legal dispute which came to court early in the reign of Queen Victoria.

It is known that Extwistle Hill, and the moorland above it, have been extensively mined for coal, operations dating to at least the 16th Century. The miners used a road across the moors only small sections of which of which are visible today. This road gave access to Burnley but a minor route passed in the direction of Rowley which the landowner wished to close, possibly because he had coal on his own property.

The route seemingly barred at the time this photo was taken is open to walkers today. It is one of the most attractive routes in the area following, as it does, the valley of the Swinden Water. There are some beautiful stretches of bluebell woodland, some of which has been restores by the Forest of Burnley project.

Then there are the remains of two ancient mills to be seen: the first was a medieval corn mill operated by the monks of Newbo Abbey in Lincolnshire, who, from the 12th to the 16th Century, owned this land. The other dates from at least Tudor days and was later converted into a woollen and then a cotton mill.

Of course, there are sightings of Extwistle Hall, High Houghton, Lee Green and High Halstead before one gets to the hamlet of Roggerham. This is an interesting little place where not only will you find the inn, but also the old school house now converted into a most attractive cottage, the water bailiff's house, property associated with one of the mills and a charming roadside water trough.

There is also Roggerham's associations with Tattersall Wilkinson, who, in his day, was known as the "Sage of Roggerham". He was familiar with last resting place of numerous pre-Roman Britons which can be found on the moors in these parts and the remains of the myth surrounded Nogworth Cross. It is not surprising this area is believed to be about the most haunted part of England.
Well worth the walk!