Avenham Walks

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Continue past Southern Avenue and take the next right down the narrow path known as Swill Brook Lane. At the bottom you can see in front of you Walton Bridge
(Stop D).

The 17th Century bridge across the Ribble used to stand some yards downstream from where the current bridge now stands. The old bridge, like the modern M6, was used for carrying much of the north and south bound traffic that used the route west of the Pennines. Strategically, the site was invaluable, being the lowest bridging point of the Ribble.

It was here on 17th August 1648, while Cromwell was winning one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War, that a heroic role was played by 600 musketeers of the Royalist army. As the Royalists were being routed, these musketeers, bombarded from the slopes above the northern bank, managed to hold the bridge long enough to allow the remnants of their beaten army to regroup above Walton village.

As you walk along the river, you can see the low-lying land on the opposite bank between the Rivers Ribble and Darwen known as the Plump. Identified as a vital crossing of the Ribble and also in close reach of the sea, this spot was chosen by the Roman army in the late 1st century A.D. to set up an industrial base for supplying the needs of the military in the north. The Romans called the Ribble the River Belisama.

Move on to the next part of the walk...

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