It's been a while since we had a holiday. It's been a while since everyone had a holiday. Covid year they call it!
Jorge had a 2 days cycling event in the Yorkshire Dales and, at last minute, I decided to tag along. I had nothing to do and I was in dire need to get out of the house!
As Jorge's event was a self-sufficiency individual time trial which he planned to do in 2 days (Saturday & Sunday), he kind off told me not to be around as he did not want to be disqualified. He did put it in a nice way...
We were at the Dales last year so I decided to go further west and spend the weekend in Lancashire, at the Forest of Bowland AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
FRIDAY
First and foremost, the weekend started on Friday. We left at 2.30pm as Google maps said the drive would take 4h30. We live near the south coast so Yorkshire is rather far!
It was the hottest day of the year so far, the sun was shining and we decided to stop in Oxford for an ice-cream. We stopped at Alfonso Gelateria (https://alfonsogelateria.com) and as soon as we tasted the ice-creams we understood why they rank as the 2nd best gelateria in Oxford on Tripadviser. It's lush, smooth and delicious italian gelato. Just what a hot sunny day deserved!
What do you get when you add an ice-cream stop, a dinner stop and Friday traffic? A long 6.5h trip.
We stayed overnight in Bingley, a small village between Bradford (we cruised through the city and it looked as bad as it's reputation) and Skipton (a quaint town and 'The gateway to the Dales'). Nothing much interesting in Bingley apart from a very cosy and cheap cottage for the night. We paid £36 and got a cottage that is bigger than it looks in the pictures, well finished, comfortable and in a quiet location. The host was great and he did not complain about us checking in at 9pm.
SATURDAY
Saturday started with a very early rise, a quick breakfast and dropping off Jorge at Skipton, before heading off to Lancashire.
The Forest of Bowland AONB doesn't belong to Yorkshire, it belongs to Lancashire. Well, the northeastern tip belongs to Yorkshire and the remaining land to Lancashire but let's not get too technical...
The Visit Lancashire website describes the forest as
'expanses of sky above dramatic sweeps of open moorland, gentle and tidy lowlands, criss-crossed with dry stone walls and dotted with picturesque farms and villages'.
As I was driving through what I saw were rolling hills of typical English countryside, with stone walls divided fields of manicured lawns with cows and sheep, moorland and patches of forested areas. Quite a pretty corner of England. The roads were fairly open, the hedges and stone walls are small and when the roads are flanked by tall trees, the stone walls are covered with smooth looking moss. Have I ever mentioned I love the touch of moss?
I drove past some of these picturesque villages: Slaidburn, Newton-in-Bowland, Dunsop Bridge and Whitewell. They are all really hamlets, a few houses together, sandstone or limestone construction, maybe with a coffee shop or an Inn and nothing else.
Several bridges are crossed along the way. They seem to all have a high arch that gives you no onward visibility and some have a hidden 90° turn immediately after. Be careful and drive slowly on bridges!
Stop at Whitewell to visit its Stepping Stones over the river Hodder, just a few minutes walk from The Inn at Whitewell. Large stones, placed fairly close make for an easy and fun crossing and good photos.
The Through of Bowland is supposed to be a pass 300m high and one of the most iconic stretches of Lancashire, providing a panoramic view of the Bowland fells. Alas I had no internet reception and it didn't matter how many signs I chased, I couldn't find it. I quit!
Chipping was my next stop, for my 2nd breakfast (who needs lunch when one can have 2 breakfasts?) and to see Brabin's Shop & Gallery.
Brabin's Shop is thought to be the oldest shop in continuous use in Britain, trading since 1668. It didn't look open so I carried on.
I walked through the small town of Chipping and found some beautiful buildings.
I finished my Chipping rambling at The Cobbled Corner cafe, where I had a coffee and cake. It was full of cyclists. Actually, the roads are full of cyclists and I can see why, rolling hills make for a very pretty (and tough) ride.
Leaving Chipping behind I drove south about 2 miles and I suddenly remembered I had not payed for my breakfast. Shit! I was so distracted with my thoughts, I said 'goodbye' to the waitress and left. Breaks on and turn around!
The waitress didn't even notice the lack of payment. I was very apologetic. I've never done this before!
I learned 2 things:
- I am more honest than I thought.
- I can get away with leaving without paying, as long as I don't know that I am doing it!
It had been drizzling all morning and I was getting fed up of driving. The rain seemed to have subsided a bit and I decided to brave it and go for a walk. I was lucky as it didn't rain any more and the sun eventually came out.
The Tolkien Trail is a 5.5 miles (9 km) pedestrian walk around Hurst Green and Stonyhurst College. The trail starts and ends at the Shireburn Arms, a historic 17th century Inn.
There is no signage on the route but it's easy to follow as everyone else is doing the same. The grass is fairly well marked by people's shoes. An electronic easy to follow map can be downloaded here: http://tolkeintrail.com/home/index.php?id=83_the-tolkien-trail-the-tolkien-trail-hurst-green-ribble-valley-lancashire.
Cromwell Bridge (Devil's Bridge): Oliver Cromwell spent the night at Stonyhurst on his way to the Battle of Preston in 1648. It's not part of the trail but you can cross Lower Hodder Bridge (pedestrians and traffic), reach the disused Cromwell Bridge via the overgrown river bank and cross it by foot.
Stone bridge named Gandalf bridge of doom.
I thought I had gone up the right set of stairs after the bridge but when I reached the cross the pedestrian route was going on the wrong direction.
So I came down, walked by the river a bit and then found the right stairs.
Stonyhurst College was founded in 1593 and includes several old buildings, it's own grand church, a 19th century dome observatory, the medieval Hill Barn Farm, two 17th century garden pavillions and impressive gardens.
I don't see anything special in the walk. It is enjoyable and pretty but it could be in any other location in England. I can see the locals taking advantage of the connection with Tolkien to increase local tourism. This is a very popular trail, not just with families and dog walkers, but also the sort of people you wouldn't usually find walking in the countryside: groups of nerdy-looking 20-something years old.
The average time to walk the route is 2.5h. I was very shocked to discover it took me 3.5h. I did got lost twice, about 5 min each time, I was enjoying the scenery, it was warm and I was getting peckish by the end of it but still... Very disappointed with myself!
I decided to end the day and check-in at the accommodation for the next 2 nights: The Calf's Head in Worston (https://www.calfshead.co.uk/) - £60 for a single room and £70 for a double room. Worston is a hamlet in the Ribble valley, a very quiet location. The hotel room isn't that impressive, there is carpet in the shower room (yuck!) but the room is clean and the bed is comfortable. It does the job!
I had dinner by myself at the hotel. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single dinner will always attract the full attention of a room. I kept my head on the scrabble app I now play in the mornings and evenings and on my delicious Lancashire hotpot.
Another universal truth is that when I drink a pint of Guiness I get tipsy. A walk was in order to burn off a bit of the beer so I decided to walk around Worston. Being a very small hamlet, there wasn't much to see.
I found a hill which I decided to go up with my flip-flops. Not a good idea but I managed. I'm glad I did because the view was gorgeous!
Then I came down and I really regretted going up.
SUNDAY
An early rise meant I was the first one for breakfast. The breakfast routine has now changed because of covid. Instead of a buffet where you can go around choosing what you want, you now order and the food is individually brought to you. It will probably reduce the amount of waste as people will order what they need instead of getting greedy. The main change however is the amount of walking the waiters now have to do. Every time you want something, it is them who have to pick-up from the kitchen and bring it to you.
There was an extra charge for breakfast and 2 options on offer:
- Light breakfast (hot and cold drinks, toasts, cereals, pastries, yogurt, fruit) for £7.50.
- Cooked breakfast (light breakfast + English breakfast, fried/scrambled/poached eggs) for £9.50.
Today I was intent in proving to myself I am not a slow walker. The extra hour it took me to do the trail yesterday was seriously bothering me. I was going to conquer Pendle Hill in record time, come rain or shine!!
Pendle forest is a detached part of the Forest of Bowland AONB, on the southeastern side. It's highest hill is Pendle Hill, at 557m above sea level, and a popular walking destination.
I parked at Barley, a small village by Pendle Hill and from where the most popular routes to go up Pendle Hill start. The car park (in Google Maps is marked as Barley car park for Pendle Hill) has public toilet facilities, a visitor information centre (which is currently closed) and a small coffee shop (open for take-away only). The parking fee is extremely affordable at £1/day, paid into a honesty box.
I decided to do the Pendle Hill trail that takes in the steepest climb, going through the hill's eastern slope. It is a 5 miles (8 km) circular walk and the outward section of this walk follows the Pendle Way.
The Pendle Way is a long distance walking circuit of 45 miles (72 km) which has historical associations with the 1612 infamous witch trial of the Witches of Pendle, one of the best recorded of the 17th century. It is easily identified on waymarks by a witch on her broomstick. How cool is that?
There was a bit of rain in the beginning of the walk but it remained dry for the rest of the day. I had planned for the worst but 10 min into the walk I removed my waterproof jacket and 10 min later and at the start of the steep climb, I took my jumper off and was down to a vest.
The climb was steep on the hill's rocky face. There was a bit of panting, a fair amount of sweating, but I didn't stop, I kept a steady pace and wasn't overtaken. First goal achieved!
There is a plateau on the top and the views around are incredible. Apparently, on a really clear day, Blackpool Tower by the coast can be seen from the top of Pendle Hill.
The descent is on the south side of the hill, not as steep, through moorland. It was windy on this side and 10 min into the descent I was putting my jumper on.
I was going for it, rather faster than I should for a single walker. I had broken the first rule of walking by not telling anyone where I would be. In case I didn't return, where would Jorge send the rescue party to? There was a group of 3 men walking not far behind and I was hoping they would help if I got into any difficulty. The only groups that overtook me were the fell runners, a fair amount of them I must say, some chatting their way downhill!
When I reached Barley my legs were remarkably well. I was expecting to be much more tired. I had packed a couple of Jorge's energy gels just in case I needed a boost but it turns out I calculated breakfast rather well: 2 poached eggs, 2 rashers of bacon and toasts is all one needs to climb Pendle Hill.
The official average time to do this walk is 3.5h. I managed in 2.5h, 1h quicker. I made my point: I AM NOT A SLOW WALKER!
I read there was a life size statue of one of the Witches of Pendle at Roughlee and, being only 5 miles from Barley, I went to meet Alice Nutter (yes, that was actually her name!). The statue has got a certain je ne sais quoi about it. Maybe it's the colour combinations or the serenity of her face.
To Whalley I went next to visit the ruins of Whalley Abbey, which dates back to 1296 when a Cistercian Abbey was founded. The visitor centre is closed but the ruins and gardens are open and can be visited for free.
By now it was past lunch time and I was hungry so I decided to drive into Clitheroe for a quick lunch and to visit its castle.
Clitheroe Castle, 12th century, is said to be the smallest Norman castle in England and it stands on the aptly named Castle Hill. The castle museum is closed but the grounds are open. The extensive gardens, which include a bandstand, a children's playground, a skate-park, a labyrinth, a rose garden and lawns, and the tower with it's amazing view over the city & the surrounding hills can be visited free of charge.
Before lunch I had thought about climbing another hill. My ego's glory had been restored and I was feeling energised. Unfortunatelly, after food the body gets a bit sluggish and my legs were telling me that perhaps it wasn't a good idea... I decided to end my weekend pursuits, head back to the hotel and wait to pick-up Jorge sometime in the late afternoon.