Monkey business

THIS letter from reader J Jennings, of Burton Street, Rishton, set me off on a wonderful nature ramble:

"SOME time ago in your column about country walks you printed a piece about Tommy or Jacky Moore's Monkey, a walk around Nelson or Burnley where people used to go for picnics. I wonder if you could possibly help me to obtain a copy of the article."

I began by parking and having my lunch at Barden Mill shop at Burnley and which is set alongside the Leeds to Liverpool canal.

From the mill there is a circular path which leads down Barden Lane, over the bridge which spans Pendle Water.

From there a sharp right turn leads to a market garden area with lots of greenhouses.

The footpath leads through a complex of buildings where Jack Moore had his tea room, shop and he had a monkey as a pet which was an obvious attraction.

In the old days there were swing boats and other attractions. I know that the owners of Barden Mill are going to try to revive the tradition, perhaps for the year 2000.

In the meantime walkers have to be content by following the track with the M65 motorway on one side and Pendle Water and the canal on the other.

The circular walk is concluded by turning across the river at Brierfield and returning to Barden Mill along the canal towpath. This is quite a long walk but it is circular and flat. Throughout the walk the wildlife is spectacular with dipper, heron, kingfisher, reed bunting, swallow and martins in evidence. There is also a rich cover of vegetation providing food for insects.

One thing is clear. The river and canal water is much cleaner than it was when Jack Moore's monkey was in its heyday. Also long gone is the thick cover of soot, smoke and steam which was so typical of industrial Lancashire up until the 1960s.

It would be a wonderful thing if the Jack Moore tradition could be revived in a much more healthy environment than was once the case.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.