The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries (between Rawtenstall and Bacup), which flow southwards into Greater Manchester.

The rivers cut through the moorland of the Rossendale Hills, generally characterized by open unwooded land, despite the ancient designation of "forest".

So ‘forests’ were areas large enough to support species such as wolves and deer for game hunting and they encompassed other habitats such as heaths, open grassland and farmland, so not necessarily extensively wooded.

[4] In 1507 the land in the Forest of Rossendale was demised to copyhold farmers and a new church was established on the hillside at Seatnaze around 1511, presumably considered a convenient location for the population at that time.

[2] The river has its source on Deerplay Moor in Cliviger near Burnley, heading south to Bacup, where it turns to the west past Stacksteads.