Walk 29 Sawley and the Ribble
Walk 30 Waddington and West Bradford
Walk 31 Bolton-by-Bowland
Walk 32 Sabden and Spence Moor
Walk 33 Whalley and the River Calder
Walk 34 Around Downham
Walk 35 Downham and Twiston
Walk 36 Pendle Hill from Downham
Walk 37 Pendle Hill from Barley
Walk 38 Black Moss Reservoirs and Twiston Moor
Walk 39 Ogden and Newchurch
Walk 40 Salterforth, Weets Hill and White Moor
Appendix Route summary table
A Whitewell landscape at hay-making time (Walk 19)
INTRODUCTION
Brennand farm, set in Lancashire’s rolling hills (Walk 16)
For generations of walkers, to speak of ‘Lancashire’ would have instantly brought up mental images of vast smoky grey blocks of heavy industry, although the reality is completely different, and was described by the late comedian Les Dawson as a ‘memory of lakes and woods and rolling hills’. Few who don’t know the county will, I suspect, identify with the latter, even though Lancashire boasts two sizeable Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The larger is the Forest of Bowland, measuring 310 square miles (800 sq km), and this, plus a bit more, is the region covered in this book.
Imagine that: Lancashire, a place of outstanding natural beauty. If nothing else, this book sets out to show that there is much less smoky greyness about present-day Lancashire, and considerably more from which to fashion fond memories.
Primarily, this book offers walks within the AONB, but this is split between the Forest of Bowland and the ‘bewitching’ countryside of Pendle to the south. Between the two lies the Ribble Valley, centred around the town of Clitheroe. So, to make life simple, and provide a remarkable contrast of walks, the range of the book reaches from north of the River Lune (which passes through the northern part of the AONB), across the Ribble Valley, and around Pendle Hill to the outskirts of Colne and Nelson. In essence, then, the Forest of Bowland and Pendle AONB, plus all the delectable countryside in between.
Summit of Parlick – a rash of stones set against the Lancashire fells (Walk 14)
The terrain within this area is extremely diverse, from the lush farmlands of the Ribble Valley, to the more rugged rough pastures of the Forest of Bowland uplands, to the huge boggy uplifts of the main Bowland massif itself. It’s all wonderfully wild walking country.
For walkers who like to ‘collect’ summits, there are six of the so-called ‘Marilyns’ within the area of the book, only two of which (White Hill and Easington Fell) are not included in a walk. White Hill may be added as an extension to either Walk 17 or Walk 24, but not without boggy effort. Easington Fell is easily accessed from the car park at the top of the Waddington–Newton road adjacent to Waddington Fell. For the record, the other Marilyns are Ward’s Stone, Pendle Hill, Longridge Fell and Fair Snape Fell.
THE BEGINNINGS OF LANCASHIRE
The ancient county of Lancashire came into being during the reign of Henry II (1154–89), when the first sheriff was appointed to collect taxes for the whole county. The earldom of Lancaster was invented for Henry III’s youngest son, Edmund Crouchback, in 1266, and he was given extensive powers within the county. In 1351, when the fourth earl, Henry, was awarded the title of duke, he was granted palatine powers for life by Edward III. This authority gave Henry a position not unlike that of the Earl of Chester and the Bishop of Durham, and vested in him the right to exercise immense powers in matters such as the appointment of judges and the holding of courts.
When Henry died the palatine powers were resumed by the king, then 29 years later granted to his successor, John of Gaunt. When John of Gaunt died, the duchy was seized by his nephew, Richard II, whereupon Gaunt’s son, Henry Bolingbroke, returned from exile and recovered both duchy and kingdom from his cousin, and was crowned Henry IV, the first of the royal house of Lancaster. The duchy was never again surrendered by the reigning monarch, and the loyal toast in Lancashire is to ‘The Queen, Duke of Lancaster’.
The first occasion on which the ‘county’ of Lancaster appears is in 1168. The principal advantage of the town of Lancaster lay in its strategic position in relation to the Lune valley, a main through route to Scotland, but this command diminished as the military significance of Lancaster castle declined, and other important centres to the south grew. In 1798 the seat of county government switched from Lancaster to Preston, where it has remained ever since.
Beside the Lune (Walk 2)
AREAS COVERED IN THIS GUIDEBOOK
I have grouped the walks into a number of areas (see below). This is purely for organisational purposes and should not be taken to hold any other significance.
Lonsdale
The River Lune rises among the northeastern fells of the Howgills, in Cumbria, and as it carves its way through the hills provides a long-standing through route to Scotland, before swinging westwards to reach the sea near Lancaster.
The Lune valley provides many excellent walking opportunities, and because of its strategic importance in medieval times, the towns and villages along its banks are heavy with the history of Lancashire and of England.
The Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland and Pendle Hill were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1964, and though Pendle Hill is quite separate geographically, the two share the title Forest of Bowland AONB. It is the eleventh largest of the 40 AONBs and is almost entirely in Lancashire, though a little bit extends into Yorkshire. The Bowland Fells are a designated SSSI on account of the heather moorland blanket bog that supports important upland breeding bird populations.
Hodder landscape, north of Whitewell (Walk 19)
The forest is, of course, a former hunting forest, not a woodland. The name ‘Bowland’ probably derives from ‘bu’-land, the land of cattle, and has nothing to do with bows and arrows. In times gone by, wild boar, deer and wolves roamed here, making the area a much-prized hunting ground for kings and nobility.
The central core of the area contrasts gritstone fells with steep-sided valleys and peaty moorland expanses, and for many years access to this excellent walking country was a vexed subject. But with the introduction of Access Land under the provisions of the Countryside and Rights-of-way Act, 2000, much of this land became legally walkable.
Pendle Hill across Black Moss Reservoir (Walk 38)
The