From the Village Hall car park turn left up Hurst Green to its junction with New Street and turn left. After 200 yds turn left by the footpath sign up the track past Sunnybrook Farm. The track swings steadily left; ignore the turn off to Back House Farm on your right but continue ahead along the green lane to where the track ends at a large field. The footpath actually goes across the field to the field corner that you can see jutting out to your left, but if crops are growing it is perhaps better to follow the field edge round to it. Continue along the left hand edge and soon a deep ditch appears with a brook chuckling in the bottom. This stretch can be rather muddy after wet weather but eventually you will emerge onto another farm track where you turn right.

  Follow this around a left then a right hand bend to where the hedge on your left ends, turn left here and walk along the left edge of the field beside the stream. The path follows the raised embankment over one cross-track and at the second, shortly after the stream has turned slightly left, turn right to follow the "Meadow Lane" footpath sign. This track divides beside a lone conifer after about 100 yds, take the left fork. After about 800 yds the track crosses a bridge then peters out, but you continue ahead along the field edge and soon a ditch appears on your left. When you reach the field corner, with a small orchard ahead, turn right for a few yards then just after an isolated thorn tree turn left along the edge of the orchard to Meadow Lane, where you turn right and walk towards the bridge over the River Douglas at Rufford. Do not cross the bridge but continue ahead along the track that goes past the pumping station until, just before the track turns sharp right a flight of steps goes up on the left; at this point you have a choice, if you wish to do the longer walk climb the steps and miss out the next paragraph.

  If you wish to do the short walk do not climb the steps but continue along the track round to the right. It continues over the first concrete bridge, do not cross the second concrete bridge but follow the track to the right beside the ditch. Shortly after passing under a line of pylons the track ends beside a third bridge, go left over this and turn right to follow the field edge with the ditch now on your right. Follow the ditch round to the left at the field corner and continue for about 200 yds until you meet a cross ditch with two wind-beaten oaks at the junction. Turn right in front of the cross ditch and walk along beside it. The ditch is overgrown and full of bracken, brambles and a variety of plants. When I was there in the autumn it was full of twittering chaffinches and goldfinches feeding on the seed heads. Follow the ditch for about two thirds of a mile over three fields until, just after passing round the left end of a thorn hedge, you see four stout posts ahead; these are the ones that we saw on walk 3. The longer walk joins in from the left at the four posts, continue ahead past the stile. Miss out the next two paragraphs, and follow the directions from (A) below.

  At the top of the steps cross the railway lines with care. You will find yourself on the right bank of the River Douglas. The path is a grassy highway, Rufford Old Hall lies half hidden in the trees to your left whilst to the north and west, on a clear day, good views of the Bleasdale Fells, Great Hill, Winter Hill and the Up Holland Ridge may be obtained. The river is tidal at this point and can be polluted. If you are lucky it will be high tide, if not the muddy margins look very uninviting although the mallard seem to find plenty to interest them. Follow the river for about 500 yds until immediately after the first stile, you see a footpath sign on your right pointing out over the field. Follow the sign in the direction indicated and turn left at the track which runs beside a ditch. Cross the first bridge that you come to and follow the track along the other bank of the ditch. This track is known as Shepherd's Lane, perhaps indicating rather different crops than we see today. You are now at the lowest point of the walk, the land to your right is only 13 ft above mean sea level, it would be under water without the system of dykes and ditches; it is uphill all the way home. Continue along Shepherds Lane until you reach a cross track, turn right onto Finney Lane. Follow the long straight track ahead until, soon after crossing the railway line, you meet a stony cross track: Moss Lane, turn left along it towards the houses of Croston. The track steadily improves, first becoming cobbled then tarmaced, this is Drinkhouse Lane. A little distance beyond, notice the three storied terrace of what were weavers' cottages on your left, a sign of a local industry long since gone. Continue along the lane and, shortly after you have gone round the left hand bend, turn right into Turflands. At the end of the road turn left then right to cross Town Bridge, the 16th century packhorse bridge over the River Yarrow. Take time to explore the delights of Croston.

  To continue the walk turn right then right again beside the cross which gave the village its name and wander down the attractive cobbled Church Street to the church of St. Michael and All Angels, go through the archway by the school and cross back over the river by the footbridge. Turn first right then left onto the tarmac roadway and walk along beside the woods. The road soon deteriorates to become a track; Harrock Hill lies slightly left ahead. Ignore the side tracks leading to farms and at the T junction go right then immediately left. The track thins out eventually becoming a footpath along the field boundary. In a little while you reach the four stout posts that we noted on walk 2 and re-enter the Parish of Mawdesley. The shorter walk joins from your right and you turn left beside a stile.

  (A) Walk along the edge of the field with a ditch on your left. In about 300yds the path turns half right away from the ditch to follow a field boundary and 50yds later, at the end of the first field, turns sharp right along the field boundary to head towards a thin line of trees, including two conifers. Turn left in front of the trees for 200 yds, heading towards the white painted Boundary Farm, then turn right beside a stout post. The path heads for an electricity pole and beyond follows along the right hand side of the ditch; ahead slightly to the left is Back House Farm. Ignore the track off to the left but continue ahead along the developing track to reach a thin clump of trees surrounding a pond where you turn left towards Back House Farm. Head for the farmyard, pass through the farm buildings and turn right just beyond the house onto the track.

  Follow the track round to the left to join the track that you started out on and return to Hall Lane beside Sunnybrook Farm. The village and your starting point lies a short distance to your right.

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