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| In The Shadow of Pendle |
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Date : 28th March 2010
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Leader : Sue Larder |
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Report by : Sue Larder |
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Photos © : Phil Bedson |
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| A fine view of Pendle | |
After meeting at Plantation Street initially 17 Walkers set off from the car park in Pendleton which is one of the lesser well known villages in the Ribble Valley. Swarndean Beck runs through the main street and on either side are 17th and 18th century cottages. Adjacent to the car park is the Swan with Two Necks public house which also doubles as a post office. The village was recorded as Peniltune in the 1086 Domesday Survey. Turning right keeping Swarndean Beck on the left we followed the path to the field gate/wall stile. We then followed the fence and turned right at the end going through the kissing gate and crossed the following field to the stile by the power pole. Once over the stile we walked to the next stile midway along the A59 boundary fence and safely negotiated the first crossing of the A59.
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left:
Leaving Pendleton |
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right: Crossing the busy A59 |
Once over the road, we walked through the dilapidated gate and continued diagonally towards the right across the field negotiating the footbridge and then headed for the gate at the other side of the field. The stile was actually to the left of the gate but was overgrown with Hawthorn hedge (note to self, take secateurs on recce). The gate had kindly been left open by the farmer who, by the pungent aroma coming from the field, had recently been muck spreading. This brought us out onto the old road which was the main road used prior to the building of the A59, this is now part of the cycle track/bridleway and runs alongside the A59 and from here we could also see the flag flying on Clitheroe Castle. We crossed the top of Pendle Road and continued along the road passing the radio mast on the left until the road joined up with the A59 again. A second crossing of the A59 was carried out safely and we went through the gate and onto the bridleway proper. We walked up the field to an old lone Ash tree turning slightly left and headed to the gate at the top left corner of the field. We crossed the next field to the gate opposite which brought us out onto a farm lane. We crossed the lane and through the next gate. It was nice to go through gates which swung on their hinges easily and didn’t pose a threat to life and limb fastening/unfastening them. The idea being that the rider can negotiate them without having to dismount.
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left:
The overgrown stile |
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right: Clitheroe Castle |
Once through the gate we then turned left and walked diagonally across the field to the bottom corner and crossed the stile keeping close to the fence on the right we then crossed the foot bridge at the bottom right corner. We then crossed two more fields and stiles surprising some sheep with young lambs along the way. This brought us out into a lane by The Meadows farm. Turning right we followed the lane until it joined the road through Worston on the left is the sheep with lamb sculpture. At the junction we turned right and followed the road through Worston. Worston has links to the witchlore of the area and is said to have had some connection to the Demdikes of Pendle Witches fame. A cottage directly opposite the Calfs Head, Crow Hill Cottage, has a circular “witches” window which can just about be seen over the garden hedge. It is believed that Worston was once involved in bull bating and in a small meadow behind the main road is a large stone with a bronze ring to which the bull would be tethered.
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left:
Through the fields to Worston |
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right: The 'Sheep with Lamb' sculpture at Worston |
We followed the road past the Calfs Head until we came to a footpath sign indicating right through a converted farmyard and a stile by the garage. At this point we took advantage of having a backrest and decided to break for a spot of lunch. The weather was sunny intervals with a bracing wind but it was relatively sheltered by the wall. After a 20min break we then continued up the field following the clear path, through the next 2 fields and finally a metal gate which had a bit of a “Heath Robinson” counter weight system to keep the gate shut which worked very effectively. We walked alongside the fence on the left which brought us onto a farm lane. We turned right walking along the lane passing Little Mearley Hall built in the 16th century which has a splendid double bay window said to have once adorned the Abbot’s house at Whalley Abbey. At the next gate the farm lane turned into a “green lane” and we continued along this passing Laneside Farm and Mearley Hall.
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left:
Little Mearley Hall |
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right: The green lane through Mearley |
The lane from here was more a farm road and we continued along this until we passed Pendleton Hall and crossed the road which goes over the nick of Pendle and continued along the road towards Pendleton. Entering Pendleton village from the top end we passed the old School House on the right which was built in 1837 and the church which was built in 1848. There was also the “Fiddle Bridge” which was an old clapper bridge which bore a plaque reading that it had been ‘returned to the village after 100 years in the year 2000’ although it didn’t state where it had been!! The next cottage on the right had the sign “Old Post Office” outside now just a residence. We passed the Swan with Two Necks and arrived back in the car park approximately 3.30pm. A nice easy walk in pleasant countryside, some occasionally wet field patches but no boot sucking mud to speak of.
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| The Fiddle Bridge | |
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES IN THE GALLERY
| OL 42 |
FOREST OF BOWLAND |
START POINT |
SD 755 396 |
| WALK LENGTH |
5.45 mls / 9 km |
TIME |
2 hrs 15 mins |
| MAX HEIGHT |
168.81 mtrs |
MIN HEIGHT |
106.23 mtrs |
| HEIGHT ASCENDED |
109.06 mtrs |
HEIGHT DESCENDED |
109.06 mtrs |
This map is for reference only and MUST NOT be used to do the walk.
Please use the correct OS map for all these walks.
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