TRIP 29: PENDLE Stumped for somewhere to go for a short winter trip, I hit upon the idea of treading trails that my parents used to tread when they were ‘walking out’ (Lancashire for ‘courting’). The names that came to mind as destinations were Roughlee, Barley, Wycoller, Trawden and Pendle Hill. So I set myself up for six nights in Barley to do three walks that I reckon they may have done around the town they grew up in, Nelson. This was in late November 2019, when it was pretty cold with frost on the ground. Pendle District lies to the east of Pendle Hill, stretching from Barnoldswick in the north to Brierfield in the south and over to the Yorkshire border just beyond Laneshaw Bridge. If you want to explore the whole area, there’s the 45-mile Pendle Way which more or less goes round the perimeter of the district. Two of my trails will be along parts of the Pendle Way. There are regular buses from Nelson Station to Barley and to Laneshaw Bridge. Pendle District; Crown copyright 2015, Ordnance Survey FL-GV 166842 and www.footpathmaps .com) 282: Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is the landmark for miles around, with its distinctive whale-back shape when seen from the east and the west where the nearby towns are. You can climb it from the north and the south but most people go up it from the east where Barley is the obvious starting point. You could shorten the approach by taking the path from the road past Pendle Side (the bus to Clitheroe goes that way) but you’d miss the lovely path from Barley via Ing Head Farm. Crown copyright 2015, Ordnance Survey FL-GV 166842 and www.footpathmaps .com) 2777: Beck Side 2779: sign for the Pendle Way From the bus stop by the Barley Mow pub, go up the village street, passing the pretty courtyard of Beck Side (2777). The Pendle Way is signed at the top (2779) and takes you up beside Pendle Water (2781).The farmer has placed a typically blunt Lancashire notice by the path which gets my full support (2782). You soon get really good views of Pendle (nobody calls it Pendle Hill) across Pendle Water (2785). 2781: Pendle Water 2782: farmer’s notice 2785: Pendle Hill across Pendle Water I set off at dawn so my first photos show lots of frost; then I emerged into the early morning sun which gave Pendle an autumnal glow (2788). Past Pendle House, you have a choice of paths: to the right, the Pendle Way climbs steep steps up to the north-east end of Pendle (2794); to the left, lies the ‘pensioners’ route, heading south-west up a gentler slope (2795). This is illustrated by a notice at the point where you have to make the choice (2799). The OS map also shows a path straight up to the top but I couldn’t see it. 2788: Pendle in an autumnal glow 2794: the steep route up steps 2795: the ‘pensioners’ route’ 2799: explanatory notice Naturally, I chose the pensioners’ route which is a pleasantly-graded track all the way to the top (2805, 2808 & 2801). 2805: the pensioners’ track 2808: the track joins the Pendle Way and turns right for the top 2801: view from the track towards Black Moss Reservoirs and the terrain of Trail 279 The top is a pretty bleak place with a trig point and extensive views all around: the furthest reaching is to the north where you can pick out Ingleborough (2811) and Pen-y-Ghent (2812); the prettiest view is back down to Barley and the path via Ing Head Farm (2816) but you have to descend slightly to see it all; more typical is the view of the path down to Ogden Clough with hazy hills in the distance (2813). 2811: Ingleborough 2812: Pen-y-Ghent 2816: the route up from Barley with Nelson in the next valley (still under haze) 2813: start of the path down to Ogden Clough Rather than going back down the Pendle Way to the Upper Ogden Reservoir, I chose what I hoped would be a little adventure down the path to Ogden Clough (‘clough’ is Lancashire for ‘steep-sided valley’). This path is not marked on the OS Landranger map I was using but does feature on the footpathmaps.com one shown above. It’s a flagstone path through boggy terrain at first (2818). There was frost on the grass and some of the flagstones were icy so I had to be really careful, almost falling over once (2820). Ice was making pretty patterns on some of the puddles (2821, 2822). I tried a short-cut over the grass to avoid a very icy stretch of path but it was really boggy and even slower going. 2818: the flagstone path 2820: an icy stretch 2821: pretty ice pattern 2822: another pretty ice pattern After ¾ of an hour of this ginger-stepping, I reached the start of Ogden Clough, a steep-sided valley curving down to the reservoirs (2823, 2825). Without flagstones, the path was actually easier to manage with only a few icy puddles to avoid. There are a couple of steep descents to negotiate (2826, 2828) before the path levels out as it approaches the reservoirs (2831, 2846). You join the Pendle Way coming down from the top (2833). It looked pretty steep and I was glad I’d come down the gentler gradient of Ogden Clough. 2823: start of Ogden Clough 2825: further down Ogden Clough 2826: one of the steep descents 2828: looking back from the bottom of 2826 2831: approaching the reservoirs 2846: I can’t resist a ‘still life’ ½ k further on, you are at the end of Ogden Clough and can look back up it (2835) and forward to Upper Ogden Reservoir (2836). You are also back in green territory with proper green grass and trees (2838) by the path, which now becomes a track descending gradually to pass Lower Ogden Reservoir (2841). 2833: Pendle Way coming down steeply 2836: Upper Ogden Reservoir 2835: looking back up Ogden Clough 2838: trees by the path 2841: Lower Ogden Reservoir The track becomes a tarmac road and I got my map out to plan my next trail, thereby walking oblivious onto a patch of ice and falling painfully onto my left hip. I was just glad that I hadn’t fractured it but know it will bruise and stiffen up later. The road gets steeper into Barley Green and I almost slipped over again but hobbled back intact into Barley (2776). 2776: Pendle Inn, Pendle and Pendle Water from a bridge in Barley In retrospect, I reckon I chose the better routes up and down Pendle, both for the gentler gradients in icy conditions and for the more varied terrain. Whichever routes you choose, Pendle Hill beats many a mountain – it’s a few feet short of being an ‘official’ mountain – for its extensive views and its beautiful surrounding countryside (2959). 2959: postcard of Pendle in summer; copyright Phil Hilton Art Photos; www.philhiltonartphotos.com 283: Black Moss I had read that there are good views from Mountain Farm above Black Moss Reservoirs to the north of Barley. So I set off in that direction to see what I could see. Crown copyright 2015, Ordnance Survey FL-GV 166842 and www.footpathmaps .com) It was another frosty morning (2848) but Pendle had a covering of cloud - the normal state of affairs. Turn right at the corner at the top of Barley Village. The reservoir road is straight for 1k, climbing up to Lower Back Moss Reservoir, then running along beside it. It takes a right turn to climb up to Upper Black Moss Reservoir which it accompanies for another ½k (2849). 2848: frosty trees 2849: road beside Upper Black Moss Reservoir I thought the best view over the reservoirs is from near the top end of the upper one (2850), after which you cross the inlet to the upper reservoir on a bridge (2851). 2850: view over Upper Black Moss Reservoir to Pendle (in cloud) 2851: view over Upper Black Moss Reservoir from the bridge I turned off the track on a footpath past a derelict building, hoping it would be more fun than the track. It went through a field of long grass (2852) to a road where the map shows a path directly opposite (2853). I squeezed myself through the narrow opening and then got lost in the grounds of a posh house, being unable to find the footpath. The owner came out to help and told me that the footpath goes over a bridge to the left of the property and then over a high wall. That sounded too much for me with my bruised hip from the previous day so he suggested I go back to the road and head down to the driveway for Mountain Farm (2854). It would have been much easier to have stayed on the track in the first place since it comes out opposite the driveway. 2852: field of long grass 2853: narrow opening into the house grounds 2854: old signpost by the entrance to Mountain Farm (taken for the colours and shapes) The driveway goes up to the farm where there would have been a sea of mud had it not been caked hard with the frost. I had intended to climb the 388m hill but the weather clouded over so there seemed no point. I just had time for one decent photo from above the farm (2855).