Pickup Bank Reservoir

The water at Pickup Bank hits you first - that cold, grey stillness on a Lancashire morning, surrounded by moorland that rolls away without fuss or drama. It's a modest reservoir, not one of those vast show-off lakes you'll find further north, but that's rather the point.

You come here if you want space and quiet more than you want postcard views. The walk around it takes the better part of an hour depending on your pace, and the paths are decent enough without being manicured. Walkers dominate the place - locals mostly, folk who know the moorland routes that spider out from Blackburn. Fishermen turn up too, though the reservoir has specific rules worth checking before you cast anything.

It's free to visit and there's no great infrastructure, which means no crowds and no queues for mediocre sandwiches. Bring your own supplies if you're making an afternoon of it. The nearest town is Blackburn itself, about a fifteen-minute drive away.

If you're based at Dearden Wood holiday park - less than six miles south - this makes a solid morning excursion to break up the routine. It won't wow anyone after two hours, but it's the sort of place that grows on you. You get genuine moorland atmosphere without having to venture all the way into the hills proper. Proper Lancashire, if you know what I mean.