Walking Maps

Ogden Reservoir and Fell Wood

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Walk Description

One or two steep gradients together with some relatively rough boggy moorland. A significant number of stiles need to be crossed over the course of the walk.

1. Leave the car park by the main entrance, turn right and then cross the road to pass the village hall on your left. Pass Barley Green Farmhouse on your right and then take the first farm gate on your right hand side, taking care to fasten it securely behind you. Follow the old track way as it zig-zags over Barley Green, passing through two kissing gates whilst heading for the top of the plantation ahead.
2. Pass along the top side of the plantation and cross another stile to join the hard surfaced track and continue straight ahead. Where the track turns right towards the farm yard, ignore the stile straight ahead and turn left to follow the wall down towards Ogden Reservoir. On reaching the reservoir road, turn right and carry on towards Upper Ogden Reservoir.
3. Climb over the stone stile and carry on to the top of the dam wall, then turn left and cross to the stile at the far side of the dam. Follow the trodden path straight up (this section is quite steep and may be quite wet underfoot but rewards frequent rest stops with excellent views of Pendle). On nearing the top of the climb, take the stile on your left and follow the path, over the wall stile, towards the top of Fell Wood.
4. Cross the two wall stiles and on reaching the end of the wood, turn sharp left over another stile and descend the path down the side of the wood. Towards the corner of the wood you turn left over another stile and follow the path down through the woodland and towards Lower Ogden reservoir. At the bottom of the path cross two small bridges and turn right through a small gate onto the reservoir track once more and follow this down and back into Barley.

About this walk

The reservoir history

Both Lower and Upper Ogden Reservoirs supply drinking water to the Nelson area. Lower Ogden, completed in 1914, is the larger of the two with a surface area of 8.55 hectares (21.12 acres), holding 715,989 cubic meters (157.5 million gallons) of water. Upper Ogden, completed in 1906, has a surface area of 2.84 hectares (7.014 acres) and can hold 247,755 cubic meters (54.5 million gallons).

The plantations

Three forests covering more than 23 hectares (56.8 acres) are established around the reservoirs. Fell Wood, the largest, was planted in 1931 with Norway Spruce, Sitka Spruce, Scots Pine and Larch. Blue Wood, originally planted in 1935 with Scots Pine, Sitka Spruce and Larch was felled and replanted in 1981. Buttock Plantation, was planted in 1935 with Sitka Spruce and Larch.

Woodland birds

In the woodland look out for common birds such as blue tits, coaltits, blackbirds and robins, whilst during the summer keep your eyes peeled for the migratory redstart and pied flycatcher, all of which prefer areas containing broad-leaved trees.

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