Thursday October 19th

 Pendle Hill: David and Paul

For one of their occasional walks, David met with Paul at Whalley Warm and Dry where Paul was buying a new pair of boots (after his old pair had trashed his feet on our last walk.). As time was therefore a little restricted and the weather forecast was not encouraging- Scotland was being lashed by Storm Babet- we chose a walk on Pendle Hill, a couple of miles from Whalley. David chose Walk 10 from the Freedom to Roam guide to The Forest of Bowland, which Jacinta and he had used during their January stay. The walk started in the picturesque village of Worston with a three-kilometer walk across fields. Initially, the view of Pendle Hill wasn't encouraging:

Pendle Hill- mostly in the clouds

By the time that we reached the very distinct start of the hill (the ground steepened considerably), the clouds had lifted to above the summit level and we were able to enjoy the views. After a pretty steep climb on a relatively unused path, we reached the much less taxing summit area with a much better path.

More enjoyable (i.e. less steep) walking

We could see our next objective (just visible in the picture above as a black dot on the horizon) which the guidebook described as a "Pile of Stones". This was a fairly disparaging description for a pretty impressive structure- the word "cairn" wouldn't do it justice, either.

Approaching the "Pile of Stones"

This was a suitable spot to have lunch, after which we went on to visit the Pendle Hill summit.

The descent was entertaining- quite a steep and narrow walk with the added interest of Robin Hood's Well. This was covered by what looked like a manhole cover; the guidebook noted that, under this, should be a cup attached by a chain. Happily, it was there, together with a descriptive plaque with George Fox's comments on the spring.


Robin Hood's Well, also known as Fox's Well

We continued down to join a slightly wider track and enjoyed the views, which were much better than we had hoped for, based on the weather forecast.

Views of Lancashire, with path winding down to the right

We only encountered a little drizzle or rain and, during our return to Worston, we had a great view of Pendle Hill. In the photo below, the diagonal paths up (RHS) and down (LHS) may just be made out.

Pendle Hill- visible!

A great outing on a none-too-promising day. 9.2 miles, 470m ascent.


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