Pickup Bank from Whittle le woods

Starting at the top of Factory Lane where it joins the A6, Whittle - le Woods, Chorley PR6 7HS. The adjacent War Memorial Car Park (which is free) is accessed through a narrow entrance on the corner of the A6 Preston Road and Factory Lane itself. St John's Primary School is on the opposite corner.
There are plenty of climbs on this route to keep everyone happy and apart from the urban crossing of Darwen sticks to quiet country roads. After Darwen the road is fairly benign until the sustained climb of Pickup Bank at around 10-12%. The unfolding views after the top bend are worth the effort, exposed here as well so not for a windy wet day! Turning right before reaching the Grane road you can see a very inviting road stretching off into the distance.

Descending into Edgeworth there is a small cafe at the post office, sadly not open on Sundays so if you need a stop it's head for Turton Tower tearooms. Wherever you stop the next bit is the long climb back over to the Belmont road where you turn right and head for home although at this point there are lots of options to return to your start point depending how your legs are feeling.