Liverpool & Leeds Canal - Burnley to Blackburn (★★★☆☆)

Today we are walking the Liverpool & Leeds Canal from Burnley round to Blackburn, having walked from Gargrave to Burnley on the previous day.

This section of the canal is fairly urban, and it does spend a long time running parallel to the M65 - and so I'm not entirely sure what to expect from this section of the canal, but heading out from Burnley things get off to a good start.

Although it is pretty windy today, it is a nice walk out along Burnley Embankment - which is a raised section of canal running in a straight line across town.

Burnley Embankment

This embankment is one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways - although with this list dating back to 1946, there have been suggestions of replacing some of those on the list with more modern wonders (and I suspect this would be a prime candidate to be replaced).

But the embankment was built between 1796 and 1801, and was put in to avoid having to install lock flights at either end of the Calder valley  - with the embankment able to use spoil from the nearby tunnel and cuttings.

The River Calder itself passes under this embankment - and we get to see this as we head down off the embankment to Tesco's to get some food and drink for the day - which sits safely out of the wind on the western side of the canal.

And over on the eastern side you can just about make out Turf Moor - which I visited for two of their European games in 2018, when they played games against exotic European teams, such as Aberdeen.

But in general, this is a nice walk through Burnley - and at the far end of the Embankment we have a few buildings of interest that we pass on our way through town.

Turning west at the end of the Embankment

An old dock

A converted mill

After a bit of a wiggle around these older parts of town, the canal heads through a tunnel, and here we must make our way over the top - along a route that passes underneath an interchange of the M65.

Once back on the canal we cross back under the M65 not once but twice, and then start to break back out into countryside, as we head on towards Hapton.

From here we have the M65 as company for much of the day, and so if walking alone you will find this section much more enjoyable if you have an audiobook and some headphones - as whilst the motorway is not always visible, it is often audible.

But having made it past Hapton, and got far enough along the canal to be level with Altham, we are at least rewarded with some fairly pleasant countryside.

Much more rural now

The view out to the side

But after a while this rural walk (the motorway aside), comes to an end as we pass through Clayton-le-Moors - but this is a short trip through town, and it's a pleasant town to walk through - with the canals now being lined with fairly modern developments.

Heading out of Clayton-le-Moors

But today we will never get too much a break from the towns and villages that are dotted along the canal, and despite having soon left Clayton-le-Moors behind, we are soon scrapping against the very edge of Accrington - as we reach the very midpoint of the canal.

On the very edge of Accrington

Here, as we pass the edge of Oswaldtwistle (on the outer edge of Accrington), there is a mural which includes paintings by the local college students, which is worth a closer look on your way past.

A painting

A second painting

A third painting

There are more paintings along the wall, but these were my favorites - and they do certainly jazz up what would otherwise be a bit of a grim concrete wall.

But here we are only briefly running along the edge of Oswalkdtwistle - and soon are back into more open country - and heading towards the town of Rishton.

On the way to Rishton

Before we can reach Rishton, we first must pass over Dunkenhalgh Aqueduct, which crosses over the top of the M65 (and I bet people driving along don't realise a canal is sat above their heads).

Moving onto Dunkenhalgh Aqueduct

Looking back from the far end

Built in 1984 at the same time as the construction of the motorway, this is fairly attractive for a modern crossing (with many of the more modern aqueducts focusing purely on function, rather than on a blend for form and function).

And having made it across, we can now head round the edge of Rishton - after which we will start to head west towards Blackburn - and our final destination for the day.

Having circled round Rishton (we loop round the town rather than run through it), we enter a final stretch of countryside - with hills lining out passage on this final run towards Blackburn.

Our final section of countryside

But once we close in on Blackburn this countryside is gone, and replaced by industry and retail outlets, as we slowly head through town - along what is a very well done stretch of canal path, but with this being offset by the fact that it is lined by fairly depressing modern industry.

At some of these industrial sites, we once again see a return of the heavy levels of litter that plagued the end of the previous day - and there is nothing in the way of residential development along this canal, despite it being clear that quite a lot of money has been put into this section.

An old mill near the centre

An old dock

And in the end it is a quiet walk through town, with no one else about - and in many ways this makes sense, because there are few entry points on and off the canal - with it mostly being bordered by fences, with little else other than industry on either side.

And upon reaching the centre it is hard to tell which is the best route up to the station - so upon reaching the A6078, I turn off and head along the roads round to the train station, ready to head home.

Total Distance: 17.4 miles (16.8 miles on the canal)

Total Ascent: 456 feet (446 feet on the canal)

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5

This day had been a much more urban section (as had been expected from the off). This made for the least good day along the canal so far, but it was still a nice enough day out - and there is certainly no need to skip this bit if you otherwise plan to complete the length of the canal.

At the same time this probably wouldn't be your first choice if you were only going to do one or two shorter sections along the canal - with other sections being better for the more casual explorer.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 103 OS Landranger map (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked, and there are signs to help you through the tunnel section